Gearbox oil change, advice please.
Hi guys. The gearbox in my D3 is a bit on the clunky side. Sometimes when pullling out from junctions, it feels like there is a minimum of torque getting through the gearbox then you put your foot down a wee bit because of the timber lorry hurtling towards you and you fly away with a jerk.
When shifting third to fourth under load - I only really hear it when im coming up the hill to my house which is very steep - I hear the hooting noise. Gearchanges are generally notchy/rough. Theres often a clunk going into first when you slow to a halt. My description makes it seem a bit worse than it really is probably. When we got the A4 cabrio though, which has the 3.0 tdi and the same gearbox, its silky smooth, like you might imagine rolling naked in marscepone cheese would feel like. There is a huge difference in the quality of the drive as a result. Clearly the most likely fix to my gearbox is an oil and filter change. The car actually came with a new filter. The PO was gloing to have the oil and filter changed himself. The advice I'm looking for however: The car is a 2003 4.0tdi with around 135k on it. My assumption is that it is still on its original oil as the fairly substantial pile of reciepts that cae with it don't ever mention it. Would I be as well having the oil changed for the same stuff, which I can get very cheap (My old man works at a trade only motor factors so I use his very substantial discount) and have the sump dropped, filter changed and the oil refilled, the same as I would have done on the 5hp19, or is a full flush required? Alternatively, should I go for the new style blue oil and full flush, which would mean a trip to glasgow, software update and vast amounts more money? Obviously my preference is for the cheaper option of replacing the oil like for like. I'm not sure if my local(ish) autobox specialist has a flushing machine though if it required a full flush. If this option wont do anything or will significantly reduce the life of the 'box though I suppose I'll just have to suck it up. I don't know a great deal about this gearbox, so all advice is as always, gratefully recieved. gill |
LMAO @ "rolling naked in marscapone cheese"!!!
Here was my experience: http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/showthread.php?t=11941 After all that, I'd certainly recommend a fluid change, but not necessarily using the affectionately named "sucky blowy pumpy machine". |
The general advice here is change the ATF at or before 60K miles and repeat at 120K, 180K etc. which worked for me when I had a D3.
In your case if you are pretty sure it has never been changed, I wouldn't touch it as you may do more harm than good. Lots of Auto's pack up after a fluid change late in life. I would check the ATF is at the correct level and then leave it be and budget for a rebuild or good used box if you intend keeping the car for the long haul. |
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Perhaps if i dropped a small amount of it and had a look and see what like it is, I might get a better idea. Obviously if it's black and smells bad then its probably not a good idea, but if there is still some colour in it then I ight give it a go. might also be worth speaking to my local specialist. There is certainly no slipping or unusual noises except the odd chirp going up my hill on the loud pedal. To be honest i was kind of under the impression that these boxes were pretty robust and it was the 5hp19 that was prone to failure after an oil change. Its a really difficult decision, I dont want to leave it and ruin the box and have to fork out thousands for a replacement of unknown quality. Equally I dont want to get the oil changed and then have the box fail. Ive booked the car into my local garage to get the crank sensor replaced as my workshop is chock-a-block. I'm hoping it will cure the hot start problem without having to go into a long drawn out detective process. Maybe while its on the ramp I'll drop a wee bit of fluid out and see what it looks like. I am assuming I'm looking for gold ATF? thanks for the comments so far guys gill |
If you drop some ATF out, it's likely to be well dark in colour if it is in there from the factory. The Autobox on the D3 is much more robust than the 5hp and mine was perfect at 230K+ miles when I sold it but it got 60K fluid changes.
Plenty others have also had high miles without issue on the original fluid, maybe I wasted my money, I'll never know. From memory, they dropped the Pan to change it rather than use the machine. If you have lots of receipts present and no mention of ATF, it's highly unlikely it was ever changed. Most Dealers will still tell you it is filled with lifetime fluid and doesn't need changing. ZF who make the box say change it. I would first check the fluid level is correct which needs to be done at a particular gearbox temperature, I'm not familar with the details as I always got my local dealer to change the ATF. I'm sure you'll find it on the web. If you're fluid level is low, topping it up to the correct level may solve your issues without any big expense or risk of making it worse. |
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gill |
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