Depressed A8 owner - Warwickshire

[sarg]

Hello all, registered here a while back, but never got round to posting before, but have had disaster and need some assistance.

My car is W885HFC, a facelift 4.2 quattro Sport, owned since October 2006 and now on 121,000 miles.

For a while I've felt that the gearbox was not as smooth as it once was, change from 2nd down to 1st when pulling up particularly noticeable.

So, last week I got round to having a transmission oil change at Vasstech in Rugby, and had the engine oil replaced and the wheels re-balanced at the same time. They assured me they only use OEM parts by the way.

I didn't really notice any improvement in the change unfortunately, and today the worst has happened, the gearbox seemed to have given up the ghost.

On the way to work this morning, some of the changes were really clonking, complete with the noise, but on the way home it felt like the clutches were slipping, then it went into 'failsafe' mode.

I drove straight back to Vasstech - the guy there came out for a quick drive and basically told me it's terminal, but not a job they would take on due to lack of expertise.

So, what I need to know is:

1. Has the dealer used the wrong ATF and done me, or;
2. Was it coming anyway, and this is just coincedence?

If the latter, can anyone point me in the direction of somebody that can repair/replace at reasonable cost, otherwise I have no choice but to scrap her, which would be a total shame as she is pretty good order otherwise, if not perfect.

Thanks for any help or advice you guys can give me.

Steve - 07973 335168

[sarg]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/63142815@N08/5737765860/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/63142815@N08/5737186179/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/63142815@N08/5737746926/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/63142815@N08/5737770066/

All the pics are on this site, but please ignore the rusty brake discs, she'd just been washed

[Singh]

Steve, I was going to call you but got my baby nephew here and he won't let me do anything. I'll come back to this thread soon. I'm only in Leamington.

[sarg]

No worries and thanks

The worse thing is I'm booked on a ferry in 36 hours time to travel to S.France for a fortnight, luckily made arrangements to borrow father's car.

Guess it's better to have happened here than there!

[PsYcHe]

Could be terminal... Sometimes disturbing the box can cause it.. But I'd have it checked independently to check the oil quantity as it's easy to screw up.

[briang9]

Thats a lovely example, would be a real shame if you had to scrap it, but guess sometimes the economics dont make sense, do you know how much a new box would cost against what the cars worth?

[Singh]

Sorry to hear about this Sarge. I had my gearbox rebuilt on my S8 last year for the below cost

Labour to Ben at Revo/AVP £250 to remove and refit but I asked him for another quote a few weeks back and he said it was £450 now. This might be Revo rates rather then AVP ones.
Rebuild cost with vat is going to be a minuim of £1300 now I reckon with the VAT rise. Also my gearbox problem seemed more simple then yours does.

Don't scrap the car, get a price on what A8 Parts will offer you and I will try and match it and keep it in one piece.

By the way. It was VMTP transmissions that did mine so you may want to have a chat with them. Let me know if I can help in any way

[Adrian E]

general wisdom around these parts is to do as you've done on a car with high-ish miles if it's showing signs of box problems - to leave well alone given the mileage until something plays up, try an oil change as it's cheaper than a new box, but if all else fails recognise that fresh oil could cause an earlier failure than leaving it alone with a minor fault.

If the bill for oil was anywhere from £75 upwards then probably the right stuff - from memory it's in the £10-20 bracket per litre!

Get the oil level checked properly, as suggested, but it'll need to be done more or less cold/level/in the air.

If it does end up terminal/uneconomic then speak to A8 parts and I'm sure they'll make you an offer for the car. Drop me a line as there's a couple of bits in the pics I wouldn't mind - I do hope you get it sorted but the bill will probably run to £2-2500 for a refurbished box from Audi, plus fitting if it's a worst case scenario.....

edit - d'oh! Amar got there first lol

[PsYcHe]

I've just worked out a new business for Conan now that he's a man of leisure....

A8 gearbox rebuilds! He'd make at least a tenner a year

And if he does write ups for each, we could sell them for comedy value and make some money.

[sarg]

Bill details ATF part number G 052 162 A2, 9 litres, total £87.39 plus VAT, but no filters or gaskets - reading the transmission pages, seems I should have a 'fuller' gearbox service with a ZF specialist/dealer