A8 Parts Forum  

Go Back   A8 Parts Forum > A8 D2 > D2 - Engine Bay

D2 - Engine Bay Everything under the bonnet

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 2nd February 2014, 09:08 PM
johnny_quattro's Avatar
johnny_quattro johnny_quattro is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Wallington, Surrey
Posts: 555
Unhappy Gearbox - limp home mode grrrrrr

Hello to all. My old girl is an A8L FL 2000 model, 4.2

Can anyone offer advice with regards to the A8 gearbox entering limp home mode? I was just outside of Gatwick and went to pull away at the roundabout. I heard an enormous thump and lost drive. Put my HWL on and then noticed all red lights ablaze on the dashboard (PRND432). I managed to pull away with about 2000 rpm (going nowhere fast) and managed to get back to a friend's house.

I noticed a couple of days ago a slight non-output of power when changing gear. MY gearbox has always thumped a bit when drawing up to a junction, I suspect when changing down from 2nd to 1st gear. Nothing since apart from today's experience.

First off, I'm going to try to get back home which is a 15 mile journey. Is there any danger in attempting this? Secondly, will a gearbox fluid change help in any way or am I going to be throwing money away? I say that, because I read something on Paul Waterloo's audipages.com site about something similar and the chap in question managed to fix his problem with a fulid change. That would be a right result compared to the cost of either a repair or reconditioned gearbox.

If a gearbox recon looks like the only option, does anyone have any recommendations for companies in the South London/Surrey area?

Thanks in advance for any insights or assistance.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 2nd February 2014, 09:15 PM
HPsauce HPsauce is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Chilterns, almost over HS2!
Posts: 8,366
Default

Hello John, really sorry to hear that. Presumably this is the car that's been off the road "in protective custody" for so long.

I guess the first thing to do is get VCDS plugged in and see what that reveals, but it doesn't sound good.

Based on various threads here there ought to be a viable business rebuilding these boxes as they do seem to be the "A8 killer" in many cases.
__________________
2003 D2 FL S8. Irish Green Pearl/Beige. Solar sunroof, auto-dim mirrors, electric rear seat functions, ski hatch retrofit; extended leather. Aftermarket DVB-T, reversing camera and full XCarlink (Bluetooth etc.).
2016 Volvo V40 T5 Cross Country (4WD) with ALL the toys including adaptive cruise etc. etc. Osmium Grey with Blonde/Charcoal leather interior. Polestar performance "optimisation". (A much rarer model than a D2 S8 by the way!) Oh, and a brand new engine at just under 30,000 miles on the factory one!
Finally: gone, but not forgotten.....
1998 D2 PF S8. AgateGrey/Platinum. Every option (I think) except electric rear seats, tiptronic steering wheel, ski hatch, towbar & dimming door mirrors.
e.g. Cruise control, NavPlus/TV, Bose, GSM, Xenons, Solar roof, Parking sensors, Alcantara/leather everywhere of course. (internal dimming mirror added later)
1998 (very early) Ford Focus 1.8 Zetec; ABS/TCS, Heated screen/mirrors, Aircon, Auto-dim mirror, Leather, Trip computer, Cruise control, OEM Ford SatNav with CD changer.
And before that a lot of Rover 800s, a few oddities, a lovely Triumph Dolomite 1850HL with Overdrive and way back in my schooldays an Austin Seven aka Mini 850!
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 2nd February 2014, 09:30 PM
notorious's Avatar
notorious notorious is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 2,147
Default

If you value your car don't drive it. Put it on truck and bring it to ZF specialist. I can recommend Chester Transmissions. I predict it will be full gearbox rebuild.

Another option is finding the same model of used gearbox and finding someone to help you swap it.
__________________
I'd rather drive on left
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 2nd February 2014, 11:49 PM
tintin tintin is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Manchester
Posts: 3,560
Default

There are normally two specialists recommended on here, but neither are down south:

1 - Chester Transmissions - as mentioned (in Chester, unsurprisingly!)
2 - Mackies, in Glasgow.

I've used both. Chester did the gearbox flush, which made the problem much worse (a common result, from other's posts on here, and not their fault).

I then drove it (VERY carefully…) to Glasgow, where Mackie's rebuilt it, perfectly - but expensively. I chose Mackies over Chester due principally to the quality of their guarantee - 100k miles on the rebuild
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 3rd February 2014, 06:28 AM
johnny_quattro's Avatar
johnny_quattro johnny_quattro is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Wallington, Surrey
Posts: 555
Default Codes 17114 and 17117

Got the car back home late last night, and ran it through on my cheap £20 reader which showed the two fault codes, 17114 and 17117. I'll probably go for a fluid change first to see what good that does, if any.

I'm going to try and investigate some more 'local' options first while the car is off the road for the time being. Thanks to everyone that chipped in, and I'll post back here if I have any news. Nothing is going to be happening on that front until Thursday, when my current shift ends.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 3rd February 2014, 07:30 AM
mannyo mannyo is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Blandford, Dorset
Posts: 1,974
Default

17114 is gear monitoring, incorrect gear ratio.
17117 is also incorrect ratio for 3rd gear.

Reading elsewhere the only cure maybe a transmission rebuild, choose the specialist wisely.
__________________
Manny
2004 A4 1.8T Sport Cabriolet, 89K Miles
Past
2004 D3 A8 3.7 Quattro, Xenon, Bose, Blinds, Solar Sunroof, TV, ACC, phone and almost every option. 168K miles rising slowly
with retrofit AMI and DVB-T in place of Analogue
2003 Volvo S60 D5 SE Manual, 197K miles.
2001 D2 A8 3.7 QS, Bi-Xenon, Bose, Blinds, Electric Everything, retrofitted RNS-D, 191K Miles
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 3rd February 2014, 01:33 PM
ainarssems ainarssems is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Rushden, Northants
Posts: 3,799
Default

Oil change will most likely be waste of money. Check the oil level, if it's fine then I am afraid it's time for rebuild.
__________________
Currently 8less
2011 Q7 S Line 3.0TDI, 2016 Tesla Model S 90D

8 history:
2006 A8 Sport 4.2TDI quattro SOLD,
1997 S8, reached end of life with gearbox failure
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 3rd February 2014, 01:55 PM
sarg sarg is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: West Northamptonshire
Posts: 1,999
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by ainarssems View Post
Oil change will most likely be waste of money. Check the oil level, if it's fine then I am afraid it's time for rebuild.
^ this ^

the banging you describe on the change is very much a symptom of a broken gearbox needing a rebuild.

If anything, changing the fluids at this stage could make it worse
__________________
2019 BMW M5 (my daily driver)
2002 Mark's D2 S8 FE
2020 BMW M340d xDrive (Anely's daily driver)
2000 FL D2 4.2 QS - SOLD 2011

Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 3rd February 2014, 02:01 PM
johnny_quattro's Avatar
johnny_quattro johnny_quattro is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Wallington, Surrey
Posts: 555
Default Contact made with autogearbox man in Wimbledon

I've just spoken to a chap based on a recommendation from the garage which looks after my A8L. He said he'd take my money all day long with regard to my request for a fluid change - he said it would be a waste of money.

From the information I gave him, he said it sounded like one (possibly two) clutches were damaged/broken and that the drum may have gone as well. Prices ranged from £1720 to £2300-£2500 for a full recon. This is really the same price that I paid for the car originally so I am now seriously considering buying a replacement car. The guarantee/warranty offered to me was 12,000 miles or 12 months, which doesn't really compare to the 100,000 mile warranty I read somewhere else on these forums.

Even if I lived in Wales or Scotland (thanks for the suggestions for Chester/Mackies), I'd probably shy away from the £2000 cost of a recon, if I'm honest. It's a real shame as I love the car to bits.
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 3rd February 2014, 02:03 PM
johnny_quattro's Avatar
johnny_quattro johnny_quattro is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Wallington, Surrey
Posts: 555
Default Apologies to tintin

Just re-read the thread and saw that it was you tintin commenting on the 100,000 warranty so thanks for that and apologies for saying I'd read it elsewhere :-)
Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
gearbox limp home a8l fl

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 03:31 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.0
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.