A8L 4.2TDi gearbox service questions?

[GlynH]

Thanks for the replies steamship...seems the more I research the more confused I get!

Some posts/videos refer to sports diffs on different models and the only references to A8 diffs don't seem to be the sports diff.

I have seen references to the sports diff having two different oils, the need to calibrate it afterwards which was why I was hoping the 'experts' at Mackies would step up to the plate.

Strange then that they did quote me back in 2020 to replace the diff oil but here we are nearly four years later and they are telling me they don't do it and need specialized pressure bleeding equipment to do so.

When I had the factory tour back in 2020 they showed me the dyno-cell where they take out transmissions and run them up under road conditions and emphasized they are able to remanufacture gearboxes/diffs/transfer boxes on site but here we are in 2023 and all of a sudden they don't have the equipment to change the oil in a differential.

This is not a job I would attempt myself but I do have a friend who is confident he can carry out the complete transmission service as he has worked on 8's before and has done the same work on Range Rovers which I also believe are fitted with the ZF8HP90 gearbox although I would think the diffs/transfer boxes would be different to mine.

Why is nothing straightforward these days? Must be the price we pay for 'progress; I suppose...

Thanks & kind regards,
-=Glyn=-

[steamship]

That's a bugger, and on a relatively newish car (compared to a D2). Hope you can get it sorted.

On a lighter note...

Originally Posted by GlynH

...but here we are in 2023 and all of a sudden they don't have the equipment to change the oil in a differential.

Singing from the Don Pettit NASA songbook:

"The problem is we don't have the technology to do that anymore. We used to but we destroyed that technology"