Gearbox dipstick? Any thoughts?

[green A8]

I was having a chat to an old friend of mine who owns an engineering company, one of the few old school engineers left in the country. For a hobby he restores Spitfire fighters to airworthy condition, so you could say that he's pretty good at fixing things. He hasn't crashed a Spitfire yet, though he did his best to remove some roof tiles from my house last summer, with a very low level flypast You can't beat the sound of a Merlin at full chat!

We started chatting about cars, and somewhere in the conversation I mentioned the dreaded Audi 'sealed for life' automatic gearbox, I suggested that a lot of the issues with this transmission could be avoided if the cars owners could check the state and level of the transmission fluid, and top up the oil levels 'as required' through a simple old fashioned dipstick/filler tube. As all automatic gearbox's I've ever encountered used to have in the 'good old days'.

The end result of all this nattering is next time he's in my neck of the woods, he'll be borrowing a spare gearbox and having a go at 'fabricating something' It may not be the worlds most advanced mod ever, but I can't see why it couldn't work?

opinions and suggestions would be welcomed.

[47p2]

I've had a few Mercs that have had sealed for life gearboxes with no dipstick, but Merc did at least fit dipstick tubes as standard and would supply to trade dipsticks as they were listed as 'special tools'


The hardest part I would guess is to route the tube where it was easily accessible from the engine bay

[David's8]

Originally Posted by green A8

...I suggested that a lot of the issues with this transmission could be avoided if the cars owners could check the state and level of the transmission fluid, and top up the oil levels 'as required' through a simple old fashioned dipstick/filler tube. ..

Doesn't this pre-suppose that the cause of the failures is in allowing ATF levels to fall? Is that really the case? In all the discussions I have read on this subject it has never been clear what the root cause(s?) is/are.

[PsYcHe]

It's not the cause in all of them... and it's more the life of the oil that's the issue than the level being low usually..

[green A8]

I agree with the comments above.I'm not claiming that a gearbox dipstick will instantlly cure all known gearbox issues, but I would have thought that it would at the very least keep the cars owner aware of the level and condition of the transmission fluids. I'm sure most owners know what dirty or burnt oil looks and smells like. At the moment none of us have a clue what the hecks going on inside the auto box. Unless we've just had the box serviced.

When my 02 8 lost all forward drive with no warning whatsoever, having been parked unused at Manchester airport for twelve days. There was quite a bit of confusion as to what was the cause of this sudden failure. Audi stated that the gearbox oil was in good condition and at the correct level/quantity. In the end a replacement gearbox was fitted. From memory I think that an internal pump or valve, was blamed for the loss of drive. The car was just under a year old and had covered 86,000 miles. A bit on the low side for me. Several other fleet 8's suffered similar problems in 02. It was their worst year ever for terminal breakdowns. To give Audi their due they very quickly replaced the offending parts and kept vital people mobile with replacement cars. One of the chaps in my department got given a Bentley Arnage for a few days, he suffered a load of ribbing over that! It certainly impressed his future in-laws though

[David's8]

Interesting. It is a valid point that NOT knowing the condition of the oil (metal particles etc) in "sealed for life" box is a poor maintenance strategy - which is why aircraft (especially helo gearboxes) are subject to oil sampling / particle analysis on a frequent basis. Its all very well having magnetic metal particle collectors in the gearbox sump if you remain unaware that the cogs are busy depositing themselves on the magnets. Several members have suggested an annual service (oil flush/change) as an effective way of dealing with the issue. The Glasgow autobox specialist (Mackies) does this for £155ish (using the proper sucky, squirty, pumpy, filly thing) which would appear good value when compared with the cost of repair/new box.

[ainarssems]

Too much hustle to install one, gearbox would have to come out. Can't really see need for one either, gearbox does not use oil like engine so only way oil level would drop is if you have leak which could be seen anyway and would need repair.

[sarg]

I thought it was the o rings failing that broke the gearboxes anyway, not the oil level itself