A8bil

Hi all,

I'm a newbie that just bought a 2001 A8L with 50,000 miles on it, after driving a 1990 V8 5spd for 14 years. I've read a lot of threads over the past couple days coming up to speed on this car, and it seems that the only major trouble spot is the transmission. Reviewing the prior owner's records, I see no evidence of the transmission flued being replaced and I doubt it was since it was fully dealer maintained, and I now know that the dealers at least believe this to be a lifetime fluid.

Perhaps its just my imagination, but I think I am hearing a faint knocking sound from the engine area when the car is in gear at rest. No noise in park or neutral. None of the squealing from the cavitation. Transmission otherwise functioning perfectly. Any ideas what this might be?

I'm guessing as a precautionary measure, all of you would suggest that I change the filter and fluid promptly. I intend to. My questions: (i) I suppose Wendy referenced on Audipage.com (great site BTW) is a good source for the parts, is this right? Any other recommendations?; (ii) It seems the debate over synthetic vs. OEM Audi fluid is unresolved. Is that right? If the major concern here is breakdown of the fluid, it would seem that synthetic would be definitely desireable, provided it is compatible with the internals; (iii) where is a good source to get the oem fluid from for cheap?

Thanks in advance. I've been a regular on the v8 list over on audifans for a long time, which is the only real support for my V8, but they have virtually no support for the A8. The contributions on AW for the A8 are great, particularly PaulW (those S8 seats are sweet BTW).

Cheers,

Bill G.

JimR

i) Wendy seems to be out of that business, which is a shame. I used her to source my A6 timing belt parts. I use ECS tuning a lot for parts, now.

ii) Correct. Tozo and TSHong are the most adventuresome on that issue, both are running non-Audi fluid.

iii) ECS isn't bad, you might be able to save a dollar or two a bottle elsewhere.

-OvO-

It's impossible to tell what the faint noise is that you're hearing. Personally, I've found that most faint noises eventually get louder until you can tell exactly where they're coming from. The exception was the occasional horrific metallic screech that my Prelude used to make intermittently when engaging the clutch on a hill. Eventually it disappeared - I figure that whatever bit of protuding metal was there must have just worn away.

I believe that the fluid gets dirty, not so much that it breaks down, so I wouldn't think that there was a real advantage in synthetic.

Quaker State claims that their Multi-vehicle ATF is compatible with the Esso fluid that I understand is the identical fluid which VW/Audi sells as OEM. Their datasheet claims suitability for all models of audi.

The cheapest source of the OEM fluid which I have found is

http://www.olyonline.com/genlookup.asp?T1=G052162A2

at $9.16/l but I just bought out the last of their stock so you'll have to wait. That's quite a bit more than then $3/l for the Quaker State fluid, but on the other hand, whats an extra $54 every 100K miles?

The best price I've found on the filter and gasket kit was www.europartsdirect.com.

The Bentley procedure and the Audipages procedure are both pretty **** about the exact temperature that the fluid and transmission must be at while filling, but I'm skeptical that it can possibly be that sensitive. I'll have to do some experiments to see how much the volume varies by between 65F and 140F.

A8bil

So doing further research to answer my own question, I came upon a VW website that was addressing the same issue of substitutes for Esso LT 71141 ATF. They note that Quaker state Multi-Vehicle ATF is a confirmed substitute for Esso LT 71141, and reference a webpage (in German) which contains the confirmation (http://www.taligentx.com/passat/maintenance/atfchange/quakerstateatf.pdf). Note further down on the Passat page, they also confirm compatability of the Redline product, but there's no citation for that, just a phone reference.

Anyone think this is/is not sufficiently reliable to act on?

Cheers.

Bill G.

My question: would the transmission in my 2001 still be using the LT 71141

JimR

Yes to your last question, it's the same transmission.

awdinut

its the same transmission but not the same torque converter; it is the torque converter that is the source of the problem...the torque converter sheds material that plugs the filter that starves the trans of fluid and that causes the wear that causes the manifestations you read about here.

Your 01 has an updated converter and you should not have problems. my info comes from the techs at the Audi dealer tech hotline. And my opinion on the fluid is'don't gamble with trying to find a fix in a bottle...your ain't broke (and won't be) so use the OEM fluid."

tozoM8

I swapped them a few times, I can't feel any difference. They look a same and drive a same.