Cosmic Charlie

Hi Guys,

I noticed a small spot on the garage floor the other day didn't think too much of it, the car has been driving just fine. Now I see the spot is growing. The fluid is reddish. I looked for a dipstick or fill tube but didn't find anything. All other fluid levels are fine so I'm thinking it must be trans fluid. I found a receipt from a previous owner for a "reconditioned ZF5HP24A transmission with exchange rebuilt torque converter" 24/24 warranty... "not transferable". This was done 3 years & ~10,000 miles ago and the trans shop is ~1000 miles from me anyway, so no help there. Hopefully it may be a seal or gasket? I haven't noticed any issues while driving but of course now I'm concerned with the fluid level. How should I check/top up?

Thanks for any suggestions.

2001 S8

The transmission is a "sealed" unit. So to top-off/check the fluid, you have to get under the car. Such a scam of a design. Same thing with my D4's transmission.

I miss my old D2 S8. It was such a great car. I hope you're enjoying yours.

Good luck.

jfrahm

Audipages has good info. What is the location of the leak and the color of the fluid?

It's often the rear output shaft seal, unfortunately, and that can be pernicious. On my 2001 I eventually put in a Speedi-Sleeve to renew the counterface and that helped, along with NOT using a particular seal that I assumed was a good quality but seemed unfit for purpose in this role (kept tearing). There is also an updated output yoke you could try.

At 100-140K I also expect to see front axle shaft seals dripping but one would hope those were replaced during the rebuild.

The seals that failed were orange Timken XX4052 (obscuring the part number to prevent misunderstanding)
Seal that lasted was brown and made in Germany. You can get this seal from Audi or ZF if you want to pay more for peace of mind or get one from Reinz or the like.

Cosmic Charlie

Thanks for the responses. Yes, I do enjoy the car. It's not my daily driver but I like to take it out a few times a week just to 'enjoy the ride'.

Until recently, the garage floor has been dry so I don't suspect that it's been going on for long. Clearly it's not a case of topping it up and continue to drive so I will make arrangements to have a shop look at it.

I know the natural reaction is to convert to manual but I have a couple of other cars with sticks for when I get the urge to row through the gears. I'd like to enjoy and maintain the S8 as a sporty luxury car, as opposed to a luxury sports car (if that makes sense). OTOH, if the automatic is doomed...

4Driver4

Two drops of fluid on the floor with a low mileage rebuilt trans and we've gone to manual conversion in four posts?
That escalated quickly.

Just find the leak and fix it. Trans fluid is honey colored if it's the correct stuff. Coolant should be pink or reddish.
Find the leak first.

Cosmic Charlie

The coolant level is right between max & min. Geographically, the leak seems to be centered below the firewall. The fluid appears to be more "reddish", has a thicker consistency than coolant. I can't really detect a strong enough smell to identify.

I have no intention of swapping out a good transmission, just thinking out loud (through the keyboard).