I can drive my car again with the shifter in D!!!
 

Got my car back today from Gabor.....long story short.....my transmission was rebuilt by Gabor and Eddie, the Clutch F seal was blown, therefore, no reverse. They got a rebuild kit for it and rebuilt it. The F clutch seal is all the way at the end of the tranny, so the whole case was empty during the rebuild!

It performs incredibly well, super smooth! It has a rebuilt torque converter installed (which I believe was not mine) and the non Audi ATF which Gabor recommends.

However, it still drops out of lockout on the highway between about 64 and 53 MPH. If above that, the torque converter stays locked, and it appears to stay locked below 53 MPH.

The valve body is the same.

Around town, it's abosolutely incredible.....silky smooth shifts, super smooth downshifts, super smooth power downshifts (when you give it gas), and can go 25 MPH with almost no throttle up to 45 MPH with almost no throttle (low load) and it works perfectly! A did see it hunt once.

So we'll see what changes it makes in the next few days.....

But I would like to publicly thank Gabor for a great job! He even tried adjusting the valve body once, but then put it back to stock after the install (that's dropping the pan twice).

If you are in Chicago and need your A8 tranny rebuilt, I would highly recommend him!

And a few pictures he gave me.....

<b><i>Who cares about the car, look at the calendar!


<img src="http://www.audipages.com/images/sm_DSCN0023.JPG">

<img src="http://www.audipages.com/images/sm_DSCN0030.JPG">

<img src="http://www.audipages.com/images/sm_DSCN0031.JPG">

Notice the clogged drain.....
<img src="http://www.audipages.com/images/sm_DSCN0033.JPG">
<img src="http://www.audipages.com/images/sm_DSCN0034.JPG">

<img src="http://www.audipages.com/images/sm_DSCN0038.JPG">
<img src="http://www.audipages.com/images/sm_DSCN0039.JPG">

This is drive gear at the end of the tranny that drives the shaft going back to the front...
<img src="http://www.audipages.com/images/sm_DSCN0040.JPG">
<img src="http://www.audipages.com/images/sm_DSCN0041.JPG">
<img src="http://www.audipages.com/Tech_Articles/auto_transmission/A8newtrans.jpg">

Blow Clutch F seal, I take it that with this seal gone, there is no hydraulic pressure to actuate the Clutch F....


<img src="http://www.audipages.com/images/sm_DSCN0048.JPG">
<img src="http://www.audipages.com/images/sm_DSCN0049.JPG">
<img src="http://www.audipages.com/images/sm_DSCN0050.JPG">
<img src="http://www.audipages.com/images/sm_DSCN0051.JPG">

The whole thing is empty! And it's back together and working....amazing!

<img src="http://www.audipages.com/images/sm_DSCN0052.JPG">


</i></b>

Great news Paul...
 

My 2000 needed the rebuild after my Clutch F (no reverse and no down shift into first in tiptronic) went last year. Mine died in my boss' boss' driveway after a Christmas party! I was tempted to ask the wife to push it up the driveway in her party dress, but I was concerned she might scratch/dent the hood.

Its painful to know that a $50 part causes a complete rebuild. But the results are terrific...smooth shifting and confidence!

Any raionale on the non-Audi ATF?? Also, do you need to check the fluid levels again after a month or so of driving?

GREAT NEWS. Glad to hear you're back on the streets.

great to hear.. go Tozo

I don't think I need to check the fluid
 

If the level is correct initially, it's not going to change unless there is a leak.

Regarding the non Audi ATF, the whole thing was apart, so there wasn't any ATF in it. The Audi stuff is a few hundred bucks, the stuff Gabor put in is a few bucks.

With no fluid in the tranny, and knowing more about them, I don't think it's going to be a problem. It's not like I need the car for another 140K miles.

Actually, it seems to be a little faster (but I've been driving my van for a week), wonder if the fluid frees up any HP.

And after thinking about the dropout, I am more inclined to say that it's an input to the TCU that could be causing it.

Congrats, Paul. I'm curious about the vb .. why reuse it when we're 95% sure it's the cause ..
 

.. of hunting?

Don't think it's the valve body.
 

....I think it's an input to the TCU that causes the dropout.

I.E. a throttle position sensor, MAF input, engine torque sensor (don't know how it calculates that), etc.

We had to reuse my valve body. I could always get a rebuilt one, but that's another $800 or so.

I will have to read that guy's post who has the A6 4.2 that found a wiring problem in detail. I book marked it.

Oh ok ..
 

.. when Tozo says that swapping the VB in and out of his car makes it hunt and not hunt, instantly, I just come to the conclusion that it's the VB.

I remember that wiring guy, too tho.

Just read his post
 

His problem was a speed sensor wire which caused it to go into limp mode when upshifting from 1st to second.

He first tried a rebuilt valve body, that didn't fix it.

Finally, replacing the wire fixed it.

My problem is different.

I will see if it gets better or worse with time, Gabor said it was terrible when he first put it on the road, but overall in every aspect, it's better. He said it got better in the next day.

I can also put my 97 TCU back in and see if that changes anything.

I know I bought a new MAF, and I think I installed it a while ago, like at least a year ago.

Once I have time again, I will look into it.

Good news Paul. Also good work Gabor! If it was not for this board where would we be? heh

no 6 speed S4 swap? $$$ ?
 

If Tozo had it at his shop, would he do a swap for the right amount of moula?

I would love to see the cost comparison between risking another tranny or taking the plunge with a custom 6 speed setup. I know Tozo has used a 2000+ A8 tranny, not sure if that is the ultimate cure for our bad pre facelift cars.