New A8 4.2 D2 - Gearbox queries !
 

Hello peeps. 2 days ago i bought a D2 4.2 107K on the clock broken history, i had been trolling the forum before i bought it and new about the gearbox problems. But it didn't bother me I have an A4 2.6 also it runs great, easy to maintain etc etc.

So driving it down the motorway it was fine, but i noticed at road works around 40mph - 50mph it felt like it was slipping (slightly jerking or seemed like it was looking for a gear, revs were going up and down 500rpm) when giving very little throttle (harder throttle its fine), reverse engages the car jerks when you let the brake off ( whats that all about ?).

I knew before i bought it that i would be doing a gearbox oil change. But i didnt know how hard and expensive it was to get parts. Iam used to normal cars where you have an option of choices for parts and oils.

For this all i can get is the ATF code G052 911 A2 and quoted at 18.99 1 litres, and for the filter gasket and sump nut, came too £49.94 from slough Audi.

So if 7 litres are needed £132.93 in oil and £182.87. Plus i need an oil change, rear pads and a rocker cover gasket (also new was a common problem)

My engine and gear box codes are ABZ and DNW DTD. If any ones done this work and has the same codes can you give me the part numbers and where i should be buying them. One audi place i phoned has no idea or what i needed or was trying to do and swore he had never had anyone ask about this problem before.

I got a feeling im barking up the wrong tree here. Can some one perhaps point me to a more appropriate tree or let me know if i indeed have the correct tree to be barking up.

Please help me !

Yup.. that's definitely hunting.

A workaround is to drop it into tip and then into 4th which stops the problem.

Where are you located, might be an idea to go to a experienced indy for the work.

Hello mate, Im in slough

I have an good mechanic at hand i reckon we can do it, But the parts seem very expensive. Is this the correct price for the world. I dont mind paying if it is, just as long as im not paying over the odds for no reason.

I m confident going with the audipages printed guide it will fix the hunting problem. Im just wondering if the parts seem too expensive can get my ATF and gaskets somewhere else?

Ive kinda come from buying stuff from GSF car parts for most of my cars or ebay. With this A8 the options for bit seems quite limited (and expensive)

For example on cheesebay you got this option.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AUDI-A4-A6...-/170717667072

But for my gearbox codes the ATF fluid and gaskets i seem to have only one. AUDI DEALERSHIP !

On a side note would it be possible to use a hand pump to drain off the more of the fluid than comes out from side bolt on gearbox ?

I think you need to go to Audi for it all.. 190 quid for all the bits sounds about right, though if your mate is a mechanic, try TPS with all the audi codes and see what they come back with.

Thanks for the update, I will bite the bullet And goto Audi, the cars lpg so at least that's it's saving grace, the body is mint and it drives perfect, new Tyres but only on 16s, hid kit, parrot and some other bits. At frost I felt a bit like a lemon who had bought a lemon but after googling I understand nearly all 8s hunt 4th 5th a little from this age. It's got 107 on the clock if Ivey it too 155k I'm happy. That's alot of luxury motoring for little money. +++

Is this a manual gearbox? The reason I ask is the oil you are quoting seems to be a 75W-80 grade which seems to me to be a manual transmission oil...

Here is a Fuchs equivalent oil to your G052 911 A2 at £9.25 per litre.

This is probably not what you want to hear right now, but the DTD box was the first 5 speed box that Audi put in the 4.2 A8, and it was the least reliable.

I've never seen one make it past 120K personally.

The oil change may well be too little, too late - Normally, the box feels better for a day or two, then goes back to being clunky, and in the worst case, changing the oil dislodges all the gunk that was resting peacfully and finishes the box off.... :(

Let hope in your case it pulls through - Let us know how you get on ?

Hi peeps will let you know. How much would a manual conversion be? This is a Autobox with triptronic.

The hunting isnt to bad, its only at 40-50MPH on very light throttle. If i give it loads of beans its fine at higher constant speeds its fine.

Rather than rebuild the box id prefer to try a manual conversion, especially if the box i have now is so unreliable there is little point to rebuild it. Unless i can swap it for another code of gearbox?

changing the oil dislodges all the gunk that was resting peacefully and finishes the box off ! Ive heard this all over many forums. I don't believe in this theory (So it will 100% happen to me now :( ) I cant believe changing the gearbox fluid will do a gearbox any hard if done properly. Maybe those boxes were just on there last legs ?

If that code of oil is for 75-80 makes no sense to be either as id of thought more like 75-90 would be the way to go ?

PS the gear changes and lever are not clunky at all on this they are smooth, only reverse and forward is clunky when you let go of the foot brake when first selecting D or R.

Im starting to think i should of taken a small load a bought a VW phaeton, bmw or benz. My sister for example has a 323I which she bought for 14K years ago. She does 20K at least year. Hammers it everywhere in the 3rd plane does a basic yearly service - its done 190K and still going strong.

Tbh im thinking **** VAG, ****ers. I had a golf gti at 75K it was a pile of crap had new throttle body the works. My audi 2.6 is a jap import so only done 60K Miles prob why it feels to good.

I got an old c200 never had a single problem, and a Vito too with no issues out the norm, why is it only Audi, VW and Skoda that give such issues. Over rated ?

I personally have spent around £2500 for all the manual gearbox & related parts. Some I got second hand, some I got brand new from local Audi dealer.
Then there is labour to add on top of that. I havent done the conversion yet, when I'm ready I'm planning to go to Unit 20. Just have to sort out the pedal box. Thats another complication, there was no RHD manual pedal box.
My current idea is to get someone to weld on a A6 manual pedal box onto the A8 auto pedal box (with all the protruding bits machinde off).
Nollywood has found someone to make him a custom pedal box.
So its not a light undertaking, lots of parts gathering and waiting.
The main part is the gearbox, if you can get one of those cheap, you have a good chance of limiting parts costs to under £3k.
Look for gearboxed on German ebay, thats where I got mine for £500.
A guy in the states has done at least 2 conversions using Audi S4 gearboxes, so you dont necessarily need a A8 manual gearbox. The thing to watch out for is the final drive ratio in the gearbox to match to the rear diff final drive ratio.

Here is Tozo's post when he did his S8. For the A8 you either have to re-code the ECU so it doesnt look for the Auto gearbox signal, or trick it into getting a signal, thats what Tozo did on his A8.

http://forums.quattroworld.com/a8/msgs/12898.phtml

All cars have their problems, before I found this forum and bought a S8 I researched E39 M5 (vanos problems, needs frequent valve shimming), and Mercedes SEC560 (not too bad but a bit wallowy round corners, rusty). Later I also looked at Mercedes E55 (had some timing chain and head gasket problems, rusts from new, water based paint, check Wikipedia).

If i hadn't gone for this id prob gone Mercedes E/ 55 or BMW 5 like you say those have problems too, what pees me off about this is its major and there seems to be no good permanent fix. If i go for a rebuild im still on the DTD weakest box. So it will likely fail again even with 20K oil changes from what i hear. Will a better auto box fit ? +++

For the manual box conversion the most id want to spend is 3 grand but for that id want a drive in leave for a week, and drive off solution !

You have an ABZ motor, would the CML box go in there anyone? And what else would need doing, brain and selector?

CML On ebay right now. I would even mind getting and keep it as a spare ! Well worth it on a car like this as could aim for 200K miles +

Infact loads of boxes

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/A8parts/Aud...&_sid=37490737

Just not DTD :(

Damn you DTD !

CLM is 4 speed, and seemed far more reliable.

I guess you'd change TCU, selector, rear diff at least. Possible front drive shafts, possibly prop shaft as lengths can vary.

Should be do-able though, ABZ ran with both the DTD and CML, so cant be *that* hard....

Cheapish fix if you're up for a bit of DIY......

Aim higher. I've seen a CML with 330K on the clock..... +++

Yeah come on i'm at 190 and i'm not finished with it yet

Hopefully some one whos done a DTD change out, will be here soon with a fix.
Will get gaskets, filter and oil this week. Test it for 100 Miles. If it ok drop the engine oil, filters and do rear pads.

A guide to doing it would be useful i can pass this to my guy who can follow it.

Hopefully just the oil change will be enough to hold it out for a few 10ks. Is no ill be back asking about changing the stereo and other bits. !

My DTD had done 150k when I sold the car on, did hunt and thump a bit as per the known issues, but was still silky smooth around that.

A how too guide can be found on Audipages +++

I have attached list of 5 speed boxes. I believe they should be physically the same and if you swap boxes with the same final drive ratios it should be only gearbox and TCU swap but might be OK with the original TCU. If different final drive ratio then matching rear diff also needed. I have heard of somebody having vibrations in car which were traced back to gearbox being changed to different without changing to matching rear diff. Don't know if TCU were changed as well.

You might start with checking fluid level and topping up if required and do a diagnostics scan to see if anything comes up.


Last time I checked it was about £130 for oil and parts and £200 including labour at local ZF specialist.

The problem is that if oil have not been changed for 100K+ miles it does not work properly and do not keep all the gunk in oil and it settles out. When you put fresh oil in it starts washing and lifting it all up again. If gunk dissolves slowly you are fine if it comes off in lumps you are in trouble. Theoretically you could take box apart, clean it and still be fine.

The problem is there is no manual box coding for 4.2 A8 as they never came with manual boxes, only S8. So it is either bodge job with TCU and other gobbins in place or custom software rewrite for ECU so that it can be coded for manual.

You can use gearbox from A6/Allroad TDI quattro, you can get them for less then £300 and also have longer gears for better economy

Mate your a supa dupa star.

My cars drives like as smooth silk too, im so anal about having the right bits done its is disturbing. I always like my cars to run mechanically perfect, marks on the body i can handle.

Then there the whole man hood aspect. Did the guy i got the car from try and **** me over ?

I cant be sure !

Buying a lemon is the worst, your hole family rips it out of you, then your more distant relatives followed by your friends.

Followed by a few random people that say ' if you asked me i would of told you not to buy it' or 'if i was there i would of told you to walk away' and the inevitable. 'why don't you just buy a simple car'



Please god don't let this one be a lemon !

I phoned audi in reading and they game me these details

OIL GO 52 162 A2 £11.93 + VAT
Filter 01 L 325 429 AA £36.55 + VAT
Seal O1 L 325 443 £2.66 + VAT
Gasket 01 L 321 371 £23.03 + VAT

so more inline with that IT said.

Any one know if there an equivalent to GO 52 162 A2, i think Esso LT 71141 is the only equivalent making it pointless as its not for sale anywhere.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mobil-Esso...item1e6c4504bf this is only £1 or £2 quid cheaper. So audi oil seems best option regardless.

i can run a cheaper version for 5-10K and then dump it.

Would help if the audi dealers actually new in the first place.

ZF Lifeguard 5

thanks again mate, Not easy to find ZF-Lifeguard but will keep eyes open.

Give J-Pat a call and speak with the storeman. I recently bought Lifeguard from them at a very good price and next day delivery. They also supply gaskets and filters +++


Telephone 0845 130 4754

thanks mate did contact before.

But they said needed my gearbox numbers.

Will try again now i have audi part numbers.

got 8 litres of G052162A2 from here

www.germanautopartsdirect.co.uk (after trolling threads)

Get gaskets tomorrow or Thursdays. Will post update.

After reading sarges threads. At least my mechanic is not likely to **** this up by using wrong ATF. +++

Some times a home worker mechanic is best !

hype1

1st, I'm not convinced the garage I used totally fouled it up, as I think it must have been in its way out anyway, but they certainly didn't do the job properly, but that's the thing, most people don't know how to di it properly, you really need some kind of pump to make sure all the old oil is removed.

2nd, your symptoms sound similar to mine, the biggest jolts were when slowing down to a halt, at a junction for example, it would jolt a bit changing down into 1st

3rd, a reconditioned replacement box is definitely the way to go if yours does fail. I sold my to a Polish scrapper and bought a Boxster to replace it and now deeply regret not just using the cash to replace the box as I loved that car and it was in great nick otherwise with a nice spec, and I'd have saved about 6k by not buying a new car too!

Mine droves great too and has lpg, it doesn't judder when driving or knock or when down shifting it's smooth. Maybe it's had an easy life or oil change in the past it does hunt and have the clutch slipping affect under light throttle. Which in these cars you tent to be using a lot. I. 50/50 if I'd get a rebuilt gearbox, but I'd deffo swap for a more reliable one. I know the cars got a lot of life in it yet. These would of been one of the ultimate motorway cars and solidly reliable if Audi had just stated the gearbox oil needed changing at 20k. Plus they would of made more money for the dealers


I'd probably not buy another Audi and especially not oqne above an a4 if I can't get this fixed. Yes these are amazing, smooth,reliable and luxurious cars. But a fail at the end the day is a fail.

Not the same kettle of fish I know, but if I'd gone for a e36 m3 It would of likely lasted ages and been cheaper and easier to run. Non smg model.

I would definitely have another A8, nothing to beat them IMO.

All cars have their problems - M3 brakes are horrifically expensive, rear springs break, brittle alloys, expensive parts, expensive insurance and the E36 is easy to break into - I know from experience, My E36 328i Sport also had to have the nicasil liners done at less than 10k and a few months old.

Porsche has problems with the RMS (touch wood I'm ok on this!) and poverty spec cars, and the most up to date nav update you can get is still dated 2007.

I will get this done prob next week now as oil may not come or too busy to pick up gaskets. Hopefully it will fix or reduce my problem significantly as its nothing major. Its more annoying than anything. (in the back of mind i know it will break one day at any time. which is the more annoying bit)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2906837495...84.m1439.l2649

this is the car i got. £2100 i paid it was on ebay 3 hours before my offer was accepted. It isnt a high spec in terms of options but it still decent enough. Came with decent tyres on all 4 corners to falken and perillis

If i had to break it, i reckon the LPG systems worth 800 quid alone. So ill know ill get some money back at least.

But really i want this beast on the road, was going to add 18 or 19s at some point, but thats been put on the back burner for now.

Good deal, bad deal anyone ?

Or guess it depends on box !

For the mileage and lpg i thought it was ok plus its clean, it did look for a while and really wanted lpg so i was prepared to pay a bit more.

No time to goto audis so got

Strainer/filter £39.47
Washer £1.97
Sump gasket £24.89

+ 9.99 del...

ordered from prestige motor services.

ready for take off, hopefully job will be a good un !

All parts in total and del came to about £150 about will be £60-70 quid i reckon.

Will post update, hopefully not with a wrecked box !

Depends on box and condition for the rest of car. But still £2100 is a bit on high end for PF A8 even if the box were fine without anything needing to do on it. LPG does add value if you do lot of miles. And it is a non sport.

For this kind of money you probably could have got S8.

Ranj's A8QS with LPG sold for £1.7k and I were quite surprised it reached that much but his was with higher miles and some niggles to sort. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1808283445...ht_1553wt_1396

So yours might be worth it if box turns to be OK, everything else is fine and you are happy with it.

I would be surprised if you got over £300 for second hand LPG kit.I have been toying with idea to fit LPG to my S8 and some of the V8 kits on e-bay auctions go for £150 or even less.

Scrappy was offering a used LPG setup recently (prinz) for £200 removed from an s8

S8 for 2.1K even without lpg, maybe at 250k- 300K Miles on it.

Personally i think if the gearbox is ok and i manage to get 50K miles out the car then i got a good deal.

Yeah you can buy cheap conversions and have no certificate, but your insurance company wont cover the car.

The value in the car i guess is the fact its been professionally installed with certificate.

Done
 

Firstly I would like to thank every one that replied to my post as ot made my life easier,

I had my gearbox oil done at 107k miles.

Parts cost me 150 and labour was 100. Plus I throw in some tins of beer and some fags.

Firstly we had to remove the cat because the 2 hidden screws were so hard to get too and rusted.

We used a pump to get as much oil out as possible and in the end she took about 7.5 litres of gearbox oil.

I have a little 1 2 mile test drive and it's been fine, still clunks a little in reverse. Gear changes are smooth hunting seems to have been reduced but will test more.

Going back In 2 weeks for oil change and rocker cover gasket and spark plugs while it's being done.

The oil that game out was runny but pitch black it had never been changed before the oil filter was not silver in one bit had 1mm or so gunk al, round it.

I suspect the reduce oil flow due to clogged filter causes the hunting.

I report back when rocker cover and other bits done with updates of how things are going.

Overall if I survive the next few hours of the new oil going through the system, I would hope I've added some extra life to the box if nothing else.

How many miles
 

How many miles do people think before I know if the box will live or die, I've only done about 4 so far local with loads of shifts and its been ok.