SevaA6

Ok, I'm going combat mode on this - I only have 3 hours of lift time at the cab garage that I work at, trying to make some progress. Laptop under the car typing with oily fingers.

Background: Transmission started slipping. I grabbed my blauparts tranny fluid change kit that I had around and was too nervous to use. Changed fluid, car drove better, but soon after started slipping again, and leaving puddles behind. Figured I didn't tighten the drain or the fill plug enough, just now put a couple more quarts in. Started up the engine, went through gears, and saw that it's leaking pretty bad, but not from the transmission fluid pan! Instead leaking from somewhere in front of, above, and to the right of the transmission. (Right being the passenger side). Never dealt with this before. Now taking off right front wheel to get a better look at source, at the same time appealing to the wise elders for guidance. Please help.

raj99

I hate to ask, but a pic would REALLY help! if you happen to have something that we can visualize, it goes a long way into being able to assist in diagnosing.

SevaA6

Ok, this is going to be expensive. I cleaned everything around the area in question, and started her up again. And there it was, bubbling up from between the engine and the transmission. Damn. See the pic. Need new seal gasket thing, right? Gonna have to pull the transmission. I can rent a lift at the shop for $100 for 24 hours and have an all nighter, red bull fueled, all or nothing... you get the picture. So... any particular hints or advice regarding the operation? Specifically, any suggestions to expedite the process would be appreciated, such as if I can avoid completely taking down the transmission and maybe get away with just sorta moving it back/down a little, like when changing a clutch on a truck? Any good resources or step by step guides, beyond the standard autozone free online repair manuals? I appreciate the advice and blessings of you wise masters, for this young jedi is about to have his audi trial by fire. Thanks in advance.

raj99

sorry to hear mate, but that is a REAL job you've got ahead of you. I know that some of the C5 experts on this forum will have the required Bentley pages you need to follow.

With the amount of work you'll be doing, this is any IDEAL opportunity for you to potentially fix other issues also I REALLY HOPE the tranny itself is good, since changing the gasket and having other issues post work would be a travesty.

I've not done this job...so I'm no expert, but 4Driver4, jcman, etc...will have better info and may have potentially done this work.

nickcarguy

Sorry to hear of your predicament. Never done this before either. So far from an expert.
Assume you checked the integrity of the transmission cooler lines?

Prospeeder

Ok its NOT just the front trans seal. Its really common when people wait way to long for doing its first service. The front pump becomes damaged from the horribly broken down fluid that was ment to be changed every 40k and it will leak badly. Your going to need a new transmission I can bet. You will pull it out and the converter wont come out, or if it does part of the pump will have welded itself on to the converter. Seen this at least a dozen times in the last few years. Not once was it just the seal.

Sorry but being afraid of a simple fluid service has destroyed it.

SevaA6

Ok, so even if this transmission is busted, i still gotta pull it out before i can put another one in. So the first half of the job is the same. In fact, wouldn't the entire job of replacing the tranny be fairly identical to the gasket job? So here's what I would like to know...

1: Once the transmission is out, what are the signs to look for to determine whether I need a new one? I guess whether the torque converter comes out is one, and if the pump is fused to it is another. Are there any more? And is there a way to replace the pump without replacing the whole transmission?

2: What "unusual" tools would be needed, beyond a standard 10-25mm socket set and standard extensions, etc? I know that the fluid fill plug needed a 17mm hex, which is something I have never seen before. I noticed that there's another one on the wheel mount.(I improvised by grinding two sides off of a large bolt and holding it with a wrench when opening the plug, will buy proper huge hex for wheel). Any more odd/unusual bits or sockets that I can expect?

Also, certain legendary elders named "4Driver4, jcman, etc.." were mentioned as possible sources of info. How do I petition these esteemed individuals without incurring their wrath or being ignored like the puny mortal that I am?

(for the record, I've only owned the car for a few months. As tempting as it is to mete out justice upon neglectful miscreants who are "afraid of a simple fluid service", I am not the one to blame. I was holding off on doing the fluid change because on this forum they said to just leave it alone if it works and never had a one, it might make it worse. Although if I had done it, the pump might have lived, so in a way you're right...)

Prospeeder

If the pump has damage like that, the entire unit will be contaminated with metal shavings and wont last long if it works at all. For the extreme amount of work do you really want to just try repairing it.....a Used trans for these can be had on ebay for less than 500 bucks. You will spend almost that on a transmission pump probably plus the risk of the entire unit being junk anyway. If you have space for it to sit pull it out and see if the converter comes out and inspect the trans and converter.

realmexyaudi

Maybe u overfilled the tranny

Airbag

um yeah .I think his 3 hours of lift time expired by now ..