Gearbox Service

[Architex_mA8tey]

I'm not being dramatic guys but like TinTin I have also had a gearbox replaced in my D2 and for a gearbox service even though I am in the south I would not hesitate to drive to either Chester Transmissions or even Mackies to make sure the new gearbox is serviced properly, no where else in the UK would have my trust for properly servicing it using the correct machine. As others have said it has got to be worth it for the peace of mind. I'm planning to do mine at somewhere around 30-40,000 miles on a regular basis if I ever do those mileages!

[ScottD3]

New I should have have bought that M-sport with Manual gearbox lol

Like the rest of the people in the south, we don't have much down here abd Mackies is way to far to go I think.

Ive been on the ZF site but don't het confused between parts, marine servicing and proper car servicing.

I think there is a place in Bath and one in Portishhead near Bristol.
If they are car places and can do it on a Saturday I will pop up.

I spoke to Audi UK yesterday and they confirmed that my box is tiptronic and sealed for life. "Audi does not suggest any form of servicing or maintenance for your box" was his words.
As such most dealers won't do the oil on the box cause they can offer a Audi backed warranty.

So independent it is for us tiptronic brethren.

[snapdragon]

Originally Posted by ScottB5

I spoke to Audi UK yesterday and they confirmed that my box is tiptronic and sealed for life. "Audi does not suggest any form of servicing or maintenance for your box" was his words.

The dealers always say this, not just Audi, VW, and BMW too. I don't know why, it's easy money for them - but that's not what it says on ELSA, their documentation says it is filled with a "lifetime fill" and does not normally need changing, but if the vehicle is used in very hot or very cold conditions, driven in an aggressive manner, used for towing, a taxi, or for at high speeds for long periods it should be changed every 80,000 miles.

That is not word for word, it is my paraphrase from memory.

This is what ZF say, word for word...

ZF 5-, 6- and 8-speed automatic transmissions are filled maintenance-free with specially developed partially synthetic ATF oils. Maintenance-free fills are intended for normal operating conditions. Especially driving at very high operating temperatures can result in accelerated aging or increased wear of ATF oils. It is recommended, in the event of severe operating conditions, such as:
- frequent highway driving in top speed range, - offensive, sporty driving style,
- frequent trailer operation,
being above average, oil purification (oil change) on automatic transmissions is recommended between 80,000 km and 120,000 km, or 8 years, depending on the load.
In each case, only released ATF oil may be used for oil changes. And oil changes must be performed in accordance with the relevant specifications.

[ScottD3]

that fills you full of confidence then I guess.

[M-A8]

Hmm, Chester Transmissions are about 4h drive from me.
Scott, have you contacted guys you located around Bristol as they are closer than CT ???

I've asked this question yesterday but will ask again. Whats the difference between flushing the gearbox and draining with the sucky thing??
Is there a huge difference??
Or we just being a bit an@l about it??

Surely if you drain the old oil fully, even if there is a little/tiny bit left it wont do any harm when you fill gearbox with new fluid ??

I know D2s gearboxes are more likely to fail than D3s so is it really that extremely important ??
I know you said yes, but I'd like to know more about it

Difference between just drain and fill up, drain, flush and fill up, and drain, sucking out and fill up.

[ScottD3]

Chester is past Bristol, about another 2 hours I'd say.

Plus I get free bed and board in Bristol.

The difference as I understand it is that the sucking thingy, sucks all the oil out of the oil ways, oil cooler and pipes. Maybe the TC as well?

Well just draining will only remove the fluid that is able to move from the sump area and pipes that drain in to it.

Someone mentioned about draining the oil, fill it back up, draining and emptying again?
My mate also said this is what he does.

It uses double the fluid but you get most of the crap oil out but I'm not sure on the little particles that won't move by fluid moving under its own weight but I assume they will move when the fluid is being forced out?

I've not contacted anyone yet.
I'm still trying to get my old A4 and the GTI removed, then I can put a bit more focus on the A8.

[sarg]

Originally Posted by ScottB5

I spoke to Audi UK yesterday and they confirmed that my box is tiptronic and sealed for life. "Audi does not suggest any form of servicing or maintenance for your box" was his words.

As already said, their definition of lifetime is 7 years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first.

Cars are only designed to last this long, regardless of what we think, therefore any servicing schedules will only be worked out for this long.

A gearbox should last 7 years/100k without a service, therefore it is deemed to be "sealed for life"

None of that makes the statement right.

I do know that Mercedes have recently reversed this advice and are now doing gearbox fluid services as part of routine maintenance.

My BMW DCT box is also "sealed for life"

[Somerandomguy]

The sucky machine is connected up in the ATF circuit so that it pumps in as much oil as it removes. This means that all the oil is replaced, including from the torque convertor.

The official flush method only removes about half of the ATF per flush, so requires three empty and refill cycles to get most of it out.

The other factor for consideration is which ATF to use as there are 3 specs. The yellow ATF (original fill spec), Blue and now Green. the blue was original fill for the W12 but was then specified for other D3 boxes to resolve a hooting noise, this has now been replaced by the green. The TSB for the hoot made it clear that a software upgrade to the gearbox was required for the blue fluid, but theres no mention of this for the green.

Price wise, the yellow fluid is the cheapest, at about £18 per litre I think,then the blue and finally the green is £34 per litre - three flushes gets very expensive as youll need 12-14 litres. The yellow is Lifeguard 6, the blue is Lifeguard 6+ (Audi part. G055162A2) and the green is Lifeguard 8 (audi pn G060162A2)


I did bite the bullet and changed the ATF myself and it was fairly easy to drop the pan, change the filter and refill three times, but the exhaust on mine doesn't get in the way.i also made a filling tool as you have to fill from below.

I havent updated the software on the ECU as I used the green fluid and ELSA doesnt reference the update. If i was to do it again, i would go for the yellow oil to keep the cost down.

[PsYcHe]

Just dropped the car off at Mackie's this morning to be phoned about 10 minutes later with the joyous news of:

ZF recommend an update for the 6-speed boxes in these, so not only is there a software update (more time), but to go with it, they recommend changing up to the Lifeguard 8 oil which is more expensive.

I did have the option to stick with the Lifeguard 6 and no software update, but there have been a few cases of gearboxes shuddering when coming down the gears as they age which is why ZF recommend the update. He did say it wasn't essential, but it did add just shy of £200 to the price!!

[ScottD3]

how much is Lifeguard 8 per litre then?

I doubt that software update will be sent to Audi.