Someone mentioned the possibility of doing this, which I tried in vain last winter at two different shops.<br>Apparently Audi wants that fluid to stay in there and has put a tamper proof plug on the drain, which my dealer doesn't have tools to open. They pretty much said they couldn't do anything, except maybe add some oil when it was down. <p>Anyone else have different experiences? The redline oil sure sounds like a good idea to me..<p>Rich<br>'98 2.8 Q sport<br>with stubborn 5 sp, as always...

Either I drive like a pansy, or the RedLine Synth has done wonders for my tranny. 944s are notorious for a little tranny noise, but not mine. 120,000+ with RedLine put in there at ~20,000, and it's as good as new (actually, better than the A4 ever was).<p>I believe the dealer removed the old fluid with a hose and suction pump, then replaced it with my provided RedLine fluid. I also keep Mobil 1 15W-50 in the engine.<p>BTW, the 944 runs both rear end and tranny with this fluid, so I figured the Synth can only be a good thing. And my posi is still working fine; I can't turn one wheel without the other following (no single-sided burnouts). This is a clutch-driven posi, I think, so the Synth did nothing to harm the clutches and probably even made them last as long as they have.<p>So I would obviously recommend RedLine, and if I drove the A4 regularly, I'd put it in that tranny, too!

Big O...not drivin' that beastly A4 'o yours?<br>I think I tried to get them to remove it via suction last year, and they said it's too narrow a space to get the suction down, or they didn't have suction, etc..perhaps a better dealer.. Seems to me they said that the regular Audi trans fluid *is* synthetic..<p>Rich<br>stubborn A4 5-speed, Audi trans fluid..<br>

Does anyone know for sure if Audi puts synthetic gear lube in there?<p>I think my brake bleeder tool should do a good job removing the fluid. May take a while, though, but if you're patient . . . . <p>No, the wife is busy dinging up the front end and watching the "Check Engine" and "Airbag" warning lights come on every few days. I think it *knows* that she doesn't truly care about it . . . like a cat or dog, they know! They know! ;-)<p>BTW,at first she thought the fact that I put SP8000s in 225/50 size on there to make it handle a little better may have been the reason she hit the Accord. You know, "Well, those tires you put on there are probably why I . . . . ". It was warm and dry.<p>(None of my previous cars or any other cars I borrowed ever did anything to me without somehow communicating it to me first, so I took care of it before anything ever really broke. I think it's "Automotive Zen"!)<p>I think I'll let her pay off the remaining $13,000 or whatever on her own and grind it into commuter hell. It's tough being a car freak and providing or caring for a vehicle that is used in daily commuting, rush hour, parking outside etc. Not that she doesn't care at all, it's actually remarkably ding-free, but she's very quick to call it "unreliable" because the tires are noisy (she let them get down to 18 psi ?!?) or a light may come on, won't check the oil (ever!), and when it misfires states that the "car shook like it was going to explode". "Never had this trouble with the Toyota", sure, but that car also lost quarts of oil, blew past the valve guides, had tie rods looser than Heidi Fleiss, and died when it got wet (of course, never when I was in it) by the time it hit 70,000 miles.<p>Funny how humans can both care about their stuff, and yet care about them in such different ways as to make it impossible to share them on the same level. If I let someone drive my 944, I worry. Usually that generates a "fine, I'll just rent a car or ask a friend for a ride" or "That's just an old, cheap Porsche, why do you care? You'll be buying a new one soon anyway!". I guess I have some level of attachment that is hard to describe, and it pains me to claim it as "mine" when it is completely out of my hands.<p>Wow . . . was that a soapbox, or what?

Changing the gear oil is a waste of time and money. Unless you've damaged some synchros (highly unlikely) and ended up with shavings in the case, there's no reason to change lube. Synthetics are not going to correct balky or grinding gears - that's a tranny problem.<p>I used the RedLine NS in my MR2 Turbo in an attempt to fix a high-rpm synchro gnash - no dice.<p>Leave it be.

I've got a full dump from the Alldata CD-ROM on everything 1.8T A4/Passat. It mentioned synthetic gear lube, I can probably get the amount/viscosity/part no if you want...<p>AJL<br>98 Passat 1.8T

The A4 manual transmission comes from the factory with 75W-90 synthetic. Why do you want to change it? The plug removal socket for the drain is available from places like Baum Tools (not cheap), or one could be manufactured from a 17 mm hex head socket (or whatever size it is).<p>The info on factory fill is from Audi's factory repair manual. Fill capacity is about 2 quarts if I remember right.