maelove

Hello, this is my first post. I'm going to try to be as specific as possible about my current problem, but if I miss a detail or two, please be patient with me. I'm not used to this haha.

I know this is long, so if you feel like skipping all this and getting to the point, I've numbered the paragraphs, so feel free to skip down to paragraph "5" to get straight to it.

1 - Alright, to being, about four months ago, I had purchased my very first Audi. It's a 2000 A6 Quattro, 4.2 V8. I bought it for $3,500. I overpaid for sure, but was reassured that the car had been owned by a mechanic and was taken exceptionally well care of it's entire life. The car had no throttle response, engine bogged down occasionally, several electrical issues, but overall nothing extremely bad. I love the car, but something became quite clear to me.

2 - Now I love to work on my car and improve it. No detail goes unnoticed to me. But before the Audi, the only car I had worked on was a BMW 330xi. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. So, Right off the bat, I downloaded the Bentley Repair manual and started to inspect the car. This is what I found: oil had been leaking and was running down all over the alternator, and weeping behind the timing belt. Air filter was FILLED with debris. Fuel filter was the original the car came with (did I mention the car was at 179,000?). Lazy bank 1 02 sensor, setting off lean codes in B1 and B2 of the add. trim. Rack to pinion dust boot on drivers side was torn. Engines timing advance was off (due to thicker oil being used to compensate for the leak and 87 octane fuel being used before I knew I couldn't do that), back drivers side caliper was seized, thermostat stuck opened, electric cooling fan on drivers side (behind radiator) didn't work, oil sludge under oil cap, plugs foiled with oil, and the MAF sensor was reading below normal values.

3 - Needless to say, I was pissed. I told the guy I bought it from he really needs to consider a career change. But I fixed most of those, (PCV valve was clogged, causing oil leak when moon gasket gave into the built up pressure, MAF sensor cleaner, fuel filter replaced, spark plugs replaced, oil changed, rebuilt caliper, fan replaced, switched to 90 octane fuel) and then the car ran great for a while. But EVERY SINGLE TIME I DID A REPAIR, something unexpected happened. Fuel filter for instance, the new one came with O-Rings that were too small. Causing gushing from the banjo bolts. Brake pad replacements I found out about the seized caliper, I also found out the routers were beyond their minimum measurement. Yes, this is relevant, you'll see soon.

4 - But then at 181,000 miles, my car stopped running. Randomly. After two weeks of not having a car, and checking out every single forum and looking at everything they said it could be (speed sensor, coolant sensor, throttle body adaption, ECU relay, fuel pump relay, check fuses, bad TCM, battery, spark plugs, ETC.) I found out the fuel pump wasn't pumping out enough pressure. I ruled this out as a fuel problem because I squirted starter fluid into the air intake, but the car wasn't even starting. Found out later the throttle body valve wasn't opening (unplugged battery to have it tested, resetting it). New pump, ran like new again.

5 - Except (and this is the beginning of the problem I'm having) the car randomly jolted at higher speeds. A loud "thud" followed by a bog. I had no idea what this could of been, and figured it'd eventually throw a code, but never did. Now this is important, because I think it may have something to do with my problem. But as stated above, my drivers side electric fan wasn't turning on. I found this out one day in stop and go traffic in 96 degree weather. The coolant gauge kept climbing and climbing. I know the importance of over heating, so I pulled over as soon as I could, let the car cool down. I kept an eye on the transmission fluid temperature, and at its hottest got to 210 degrees. I noticed there was a correlation between my oil temp and the engine temp. Once the oil got to the middle mark of 250 degrees, the engine heat would start rising too. That's when I found out the fan was responsible for cooling down the transmission and oil temperature when the engine could no longer regulate the temperature itself.

6- SO HERE'S MY PROBLEM. As with most of my problems with this car, it occurred randomly. I got into it one day after driving it for 15 miles. Turned it on, reversed, and then put it into drive. I gave it gas, and instead of moving, my RPM's went up. There was traffic behind me, and recognizing the signs of a slipping transmission, I panicked. After my 3rd attempt, there was a loud "THUD" from the transmission, I jolted forward, check engine light came on, and there it was. The thing I had dreaded ever since I first got the car. The gears were highlighted in red, with a square around "R"

Limp mode.

I have VCDS, but the free version. To give you an idea as to why I work on my car myself, it's because I'm a broke college kid. I can't even afford the $100 to buy the full version for the blue cable. But I do have the codes. And here they are:

ECU: 17544 (P1136) - Lean (Add) Fuel Trim, Bank 1
17546 (P1138) - Lean (Add) Fuel Trim, Bank 2
16806 (P0422) - Bank 1 Cat below Efficiency (causing the lean codes)
18265 (P1857) - Load Error: Signal From ECU
18032 (P1624) - ECM signal requesting CEL for issues in TCM
TCM: 17114 (P0730) - Transmission Gear Ratio

There are 3 other codes, saying that gears 1,2, and 3 have an incorrect gear ratio. When this first started, I couldn't have my RPM's over 2,300 otherwise gears 1, 2, and 3 would slip. Reverse works perfectly though. Then that went away, and found the car would just slip. 1st would engage for about two seconds, and I could accelerate for 2 seconds, but then car felt like it went to neutral. Wouldn't even creep forward when letting off the brakes.

So here's what I did: Pulled the TCM to check for any wetness. Completely dry. The fact I can still communicate with the TCM via VCDS leads me to believe it's not a bad TCM. I changed the fluid and filter. The fluid was black. And yes, I know what many of you are going to say. "Transmissions shot. Black fluid". But the fluid was last changed 50,000 miles ago. It was kind of to be expected.

The pan WASN'T filled with metallic dust, but was dirty. The magnets on the pan didn't have an excessive amount of shavings, I'd say about normal. But remember how I said every repair I've done something unexpected happened? The fill plug on the drain pan was stuck. Wasn't budging. I tried everything. Even welded another bolt to it. The bolt broke off before the plug would even budge. I spent 7 days straight trying to get it, but couldn't. So I had to do something I wouldn't recommend.

I called Audi and asked them how much ATF I need to fill the tranny up after a filter change. They said 9 liters. So I got a lotion suction top, connected a series of tubes on it, and while the pan was off, I marked the distance the tube had to be up the drain plug to be at the same height as the fill plug. Dumb? Yes. Smart? Eh, kinda. I poked a hole at the bottom of the hose, so once I pumped 9 liters in, I let my thumb (covering the hole I punched on the hose) off it. And figured if the measurements were exactly correct, then instead of the fluid in the tube going down, the excess amount in the pan would drain with it and be a continuous stream until it leveled out. It worked, but it was difficult.

So here are the results: 1st gear now catches for a few seconds, and creeps forward again. Reverse still works, but I'm getting limp mode still. So it brought it back to a earlier stage, but didn't fix it completely.

Here are my final 4 questions for you: I lost ATF in the process of pulling the hose from the drain pan and trying to quickly screw the drain plug back in. I didn't have exactly 9 liters to begin with, i had exactly 9 quarts. Could I still be low? There was a lot of weeping around the gasket and surrounding areas of the trans pan, which is why I think the ATF was low.

Is it likely that since the first 3 gears went out all at once, that this eliminates the possibility that the transmission is bad and be pointing at something else?

Anyone know the values I should be seeing on the transmission input/output speeds? VCDS under measuring blocks, I only have 1 through 25 blocks available. How about anything else that could give me clues?

Solenoids. If one were bad, or blocked, would the TCM be throwing a code? If not, what should I look for?

I know this is long, and I apologize. I only want to be as through as possible, and any help. At all. Is appreciated. Thank you for reading this and taking your time to help me.

FYI - I did take pictures during my filter and fluid change. I can upload them if anyone wants to take a look.

maelove

I didn't explain something well,

Currently Reverse still works perfectly well. Same with 4th and 5th gear. The ones before them are not and slip. Tiptronic functions don't work, or if they do then the other gears are slipping completely.

maelove

Also, (since I can't edit the post) I meant to say the fill plug on the pan was stuck, not "The fill plug on the drain plug pan". I must of been typing too fast.

maelove

The fill plug that wouldnt budge.





The transmission filter. I was the one that broke it open to see what the actual filter looked liked.





Transmission pan after cleaning





50,000 miles worth of transmission shavings on the magnet.

N_Jay

I would do a new transmission pan and proper fill as a start.

maelove

I'm going to try to top off the fluid today... I hope that was the issue...

clancy

Agree with N Jay. Trans fill level is key to proper function. Simply adding 9 quarts because the dealer said it took 9 liters is silly....

Assuming you are keeping this vehicle you will eventually have to replace the trans pan, or free the fill bolt. Do it now, before guessing on fill level costs you a trans.

mulinde

Like you, I bought my 2003 A8L with a lot of error codes. I had them all fixed and the last code remaining was 17114 incorrect gear ratio. The car would run fine until it got hot, then it would start slipping and eventually end up in limp mode. I had two independent shops look at it and run their tests on it. Both concluded that the transmission either needed to be replaced or rebuilt. One had even replaced the tranny oil and filter just to be sure. The rebuild option would cost at least $3500. The replacement option was cheaper, labor costing approx $1200 and a used transmission around $1100. It is still in the shop, hopefully I'll get it back later this week. Unfortunately based on your symptoms, it sounds like your tranny is done.

maelove

Deep down, I know it is done too. But until I cannot think of anything else, I'm going to keep trying. I just put an additional quart of ATF in (roughly). Try it again, see if it works.

mulinde

Based on all the reports from Audi owners that I've read, it sounds like all Audis between 1997 and 2003 have a 70 % chance of developing transmission issues by 150 k miles. And there's no recall on these transmissions at all, although there should be based on those odds.