Replaced TIP tranny on my '00 2.7T
05-31-2006, 09:12 AM
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Replaced TIP tranny on my '00 2.7T
Hey folks,
So finally, after over a month in the shop, I got my car back. Replaced the auto tip tranny in my '00 2.7T.
It took so long because we ordered a used tranny from out of state initially, when it arrived it had a broken mounting part from the outside or something, so that had to go back.
Then by the time we found another one with decently low miles, after it was installed, I was to take it to an audi dealer to flush and fill with new ATF and "reprogram everything". But they refused because it wasn't them that did the tranny replacement and were worried if something is bad, I can blame them and it's not their fault, yada yada. So my mechanic then had to do it all, and that meant ordering a new oilpan as well cuz mine was bent.
So...he finished, test drove it, but when they took it back and lifted her up, leaking tranny fluid. Bah...turned out to be a faulty front seal. OFF with the tranny AGAIN. Out of paranoia, he also ordered a replaced the rear seal as well, since they were in there already...
Finally, I got it last night. Wacked my wallet for $2400 parts and $1700 labor, totalling over 4 grand. Ugh. What a complete disaster, nothing worse could have happened in this damned Audi.
I guess I just got unlucky. I've asked about this on the forums before, it seems enough of you think that my APR chip was NOT the cause of my early tranny demise, and instead it was just bad luck. Well, perhaps, but I am reluctant to drive around in boosted mode all the time now.
What a horrible experience. The alternative was to tow it to a dealer and they do it relatively fast, but you'd pay how much, at least 7 grand? I mean my mechanic saved me at least $900-$1000 on labor btw, he knows me well and I am a repeat and good customer to him so he gave me a big break.
I am nervous now about the entire car's reliability now and if I hadn't already put so much money into it (I did the timing belt, bi-pipe upgrade, chip, xenon lights, replaced front upper control arms, fixed a couple of seals, did a full tune up last year, brand new 18 inch wheels and tires, spoiler, etc) I would contemplate selling it.
But nah, I guess I'll just cross my fingers and hold on to it.
The car drove fine on the way home last night except for a rough idle, and also a little weird hesitation from the engine, which the mechanic told me about before I drove off, they said it is most likely just a symptom of sitting for more than 5 weeks undriven (and it was raining non-stop here for almost the whole of last month). I did get a check engine light, and we reset it with the OBDII tool, and it didn't come back. I guess it was just dirty or something, spark plugs maybe. I hope! =P
Thanks for reading my disaster story. Boy do I regret not getting an extended warranty now. Boy oh boy. My worst car experience ever so far. Money down the drain. I thought I was saving money getting this car for such a good deal a year and a half ago...ugh. =(
So finally, after over a month in the shop, I got my car back. Replaced the auto tip tranny in my '00 2.7T.
It took so long because we ordered a used tranny from out of state initially, when it arrived it had a broken mounting part from the outside or something, so that had to go back.
Then by the time we found another one with decently low miles, after it was installed, I was to take it to an audi dealer to flush and fill with new ATF and "reprogram everything". But they refused because it wasn't them that did the tranny replacement and were worried if something is bad, I can blame them and it's not their fault, yada yada. So my mechanic then had to do it all, and that meant ordering a new oilpan as well cuz mine was bent.
So...he finished, test drove it, but when they took it back and lifted her up, leaking tranny fluid. Bah...turned out to be a faulty front seal. OFF with the tranny AGAIN. Out of paranoia, he also ordered a replaced the rear seal as well, since they were in there already...
Finally, I got it last night. Wacked my wallet for $2400 parts and $1700 labor, totalling over 4 grand. Ugh. What a complete disaster, nothing worse could have happened in this damned Audi.
I guess I just got unlucky. I've asked about this on the forums before, it seems enough of you think that my APR chip was NOT the cause of my early tranny demise, and instead it was just bad luck. Well, perhaps, but I am reluctant to drive around in boosted mode all the time now.
What a horrible experience. The alternative was to tow it to a dealer and they do it relatively fast, but you'd pay how much, at least 7 grand? I mean my mechanic saved me at least $900-$1000 on labor btw, he knows me well and I am a repeat and good customer to him so he gave me a big break.
I am nervous now about the entire car's reliability now and if I hadn't already put so much money into it (I did the timing belt, bi-pipe upgrade, chip, xenon lights, replaced front upper control arms, fixed a couple of seals, did a full tune up last year, brand new 18 inch wheels and tires, spoiler, etc) I would contemplate selling it.
But nah, I guess I'll just cross my fingers and hold on to it.
The car drove fine on the way home last night except for a rough idle, and also a little weird hesitation from the engine, which the mechanic told me about before I drove off, they said it is most likely just a symptom of sitting for more than 5 weeks undriven (and it was raining non-stop here for almost the whole of last month). I did get a check engine light, and we reset it with the OBDII tool, and it didn't come back. I guess it was just dirty or something, spark plugs maybe. I hope! =P
Thanks for reading my disaster story. Boy do I regret not getting an extended warranty now. Boy oh boy. My worst car experience ever so far. Money down the drain. I thought I was saving money getting this car for such a good deal a year and a half ago...ugh. =(
05-31-2006, 10:53 AM
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Sorry to hear. What was your first indication of trouble?
... and if you had a do-over would you have taken any preventive measures? Sure feels like throwing money down a hole.
I've gotten a 17125 tranny/torque converter code and hope I'm not getting set up for a similar adventure. There are a couple of technical service bulletins on the topic, can be ordered <a href="http://www.audi.ddsltd.com/cgi-bin/default?ACTION=START&USERTYPE=C&COMPANY=AUDI">here </a>.
Not that that helps your situation, which really sucks. Hopefully that's the last of the big dollars you have to throw at it.
I've gotten a 17125 tranny/torque converter code and hope I'm not getting set up for a similar adventure. There are a couple of technical service bulletins on the topic, can be ordered <a href="http://www.audi.ddsltd.com/cgi-bin/default?ACTION=START&USERTYPE=C&COMPANY=AUDI">here </a>.
Not that that helps your situation, which really sucks. Hopefully that's the last of the big dollars you have to throw at it.
05-31-2006, 11:37 AM
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Re: Sorry to hear. What was your first indication of trouble?
Well, the tranny was just fine almost up until the failure, which happened on the highway trip going back home.
On a Friday, I took a ~4 hour drive to a distant city, and it was just fine. Next day, saturday, while driving around in town, I did notice a couple of times that when I slowed down to a halt for a traffic light, it did buckle slightly, as if my engine was bucking from a crappy stick-shift driver. I guess that must have been an early sign about tranny clutch-pack problems.
But it was extremely short-lived and i only noticed it a couple of times.
The on Sunday, I went back home. About an hour or so into my ~4 hour commute back home, during which I was simply cruising on the highway at like ~70mph, I lowered the sound system cuz I thought i heard something.
Sure enough, it was a very audible whine from the tranny, so I took an exit right away, slowing down. I got into the emergency lane, slowing down some more, and then my tranny started bucking pretty wildly and then there were unpleasant sounds of metal crunching...ouch. Then it was toast. I couldn't move anymore and all you heard was a "rocks tumbling in a laundry machine" type sound. =(
Maybe I shoulda slowed down while in neutral.
I have no idea if that whine was due to the ATF going bad. Or if it just overheated and THAT caused the ATF going bad, on my 4-5 hour trip up (it was not a warm day, it was average, sunny but nice climate, and I was NOT racing in my car, just pretty much regular cruising at 60-80mph mostly).
The thing is, I never took the car for anywhere near that long of a trip.
I dunno....perhaps it was just destined to happen.
Bye bye 4 grand...for nothing. What a waste.
On a Friday, I took a ~4 hour drive to a distant city, and it was just fine. Next day, saturday, while driving around in town, I did notice a couple of times that when I slowed down to a halt for a traffic light, it did buckle slightly, as if my engine was bucking from a crappy stick-shift driver. I guess that must have been an early sign about tranny clutch-pack problems.
But it was extremely short-lived and i only noticed it a couple of times.
The on Sunday, I went back home. About an hour or so into my ~4 hour commute back home, during which I was simply cruising on the highway at like ~70mph, I lowered the sound system cuz I thought i heard something.
Sure enough, it was a very audible whine from the tranny, so I took an exit right away, slowing down. I got into the emergency lane, slowing down some more, and then my tranny started bucking pretty wildly and then there were unpleasant sounds of metal crunching...ouch. Then it was toast. I couldn't move anymore and all you heard was a "rocks tumbling in a laundry machine" type sound. =(
Maybe I shoulda slowed down while in neutral.
I have no idea if that whine was due to the ATF going bad. Or if it just overheated and THAT caused the ATF going bad, on my 4-5 hour trip up (it was not a warm day, it was average, sunny but nice climate, and I was NOT racing in my car, just pretty much regular cruising at 60-80mph mostly).
The thing is, I never took the car for anywhere near that long of a trip.
I dunno....perhaps it was just destined to happen.
Bye bye 4 grand...for nothing. What a waste.
05-31-2006, 12:46 PM
#6
BTDT. I spent $5,000+ on a new transmission. Ended up dumping the car.
I faced a similar decision (at 57,000 miles), and chose to go with a factory remanufactured transmission. I then had a reputable independent shop install it. They could not get it to function properly, and after a couple of months put in ANOTHER unit under warranty (this one was brand new), and then they could not get THAT transmission to work properly.
Six months after the ordeal began, I bring the car to an Audi dealer who tests it and says it seems to be fine. I trade it in to that dealer (for a 2002 TT Roadster). A month later the dealer calls and says that I was right all along and the transmission is FUBAR. His problem, not mine.
Bottom line, you may never get the thing working right again, and it may make sense to sell and run. I had a different set of issues with each of the three transmissions, and I was pretty sure that I would never have any confidence in the car again. Sadly, the original transmission was working fine, it simply kept throwing an error code. The repair escalated, and with each major repair, the number of problems seemed to multiply. The car never came close to working properly.
I had no warranty either, but we both had ECU chips that could have voided it anyway. And, of course, I had changed tranny fluid at 30,000 miles.
Six months after the ordeal began, I bring the car to an Audi dealer who tests it and says it seems to be fine. I trade it in to that dealer (for a 2002 TT Roadster). A month later the dealer calls and says that I was right all along and the transmission is FUBAR. His problem, not mine.
Bottom line, you may never get the thing working right again, and it may make sense to sell and run. I had a different set of issues with each of the three transmissions, and I was pretty sure that I would never have any confidence in the car again. Sadly, the original transmission was working fine, it simply kept throwing an error code. The repair escalated, and with each major repair, the number of problems seemed to multiply. The car never came close to working properly.
I had no warranty either, but we both had ECU chips that could have voided it anyway. And, of course, I had changed tranny fluid at 30,000 miles.
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06-01-2006, 03:56 AM
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Interesting that you say that "most here don't think it was the chip that caused the problem"....
...It was well-established long ago that the design limit for the 2.7T tip trans is right about 295 lb. ft. of torque. This info is located on a ZF document listing the specs of the 2.7T and 4.2 transmissions.
The APR chip makes something north of 360 lb. ft., which is WAY too high for the trans to handle for any length of time. That is, UNLESS, some say, you also add a GIAC tip chip, which quickens the shifts, thereby lessening (allegedly) the stress on the trans as it slides from gear to gear.
Some have also had luck (so far) with replacing the torque converter only with a higher-capacity aftermarket unit, but the jury's still out, IMO, on the long-term durability of even that setup.
Bottom line, again IMO - chipping a 2.7T tip is a dicey proposition, unless perhaps a GIAC tip chip is also added, and even then, who knows?
That said, it is a shame about your problems and the $$$$ you had to spend to repair it.
The APR chip makes something north of 360 lb. ft., which is WAY too high for the trans to handle for any length of time. That is, UNLESS, some say, you also add a GIAC tip chip, which quickens the shifts, thereby lessening (allegedly) the stress on the trans as it slides from gear to gear.
Some have also had luck (so far) with replacing the torque converter only with a higher-capacity aftermarket unit, but the jury's still out, IMO, on the long-term durability of even that setup.
Bottom line, again IMO - chipping a 2.7T tip is a dicey proposition, unless perhaps a GIAC tip chip is also added, and even then, who knows?
That said, it is a shame about your problems and the $$$$ you had to spend to repair it.
06-01-2006, 04:57 AM
#9
Still believable. I had a GIAC chip that should have put out no more...
... than 310 ft/lbs and is the "mildest" chip on the market. Then again, it was more torque than stock.
