1996 Audi A6 Quattro AT

[andrez83]

Hi,

My A6 quatro '96 (V6) started Automatic transmission misbehavior. The
car has about 240Kmiles and until recently the AT was rather smooth.
Lately when shifting from second to third gear the RPM goes up to
about 3500+ and then the 3rd gear engages somewhat rapidly causing the
car to jerk.
I brought the car to a "German Car mechanic" to have the fluid checked
and to have the filter replaced. There is more dipstic on the newer
models and I didn't want to do it by myself. I was concerned that the
fluid level might be low. The mechanic changed the AT filter and to
my surprise told me that the fluid level was too high. He refilled the
fluid to proper level after the filter replacement.
I thought that initialy the car behaved a bit better but after one or
two more days I see that the problem hasn't really gone away. It's
not too bad yet but I am concerned that it's the beginning of a more
serious problem.
I'd appreciate any comments about your experiances with Automatic
transmissions on these Audi models.

Thank you,

Andre

[johngdole]

That said, if you really want to keep the car, consider dropping in a
ZF SecondLife rebuilt transmission. Not just a cheap rebuilt from the
lowest bidder.

You can locate such a original factory (ZF) rebuild from www.transtarindustries.com,
an authorized parts dealer with international locations. And if in the
US, find a shop belonging to the Automatic Transmission Rebuilders
Association, www.atra.com. If you're across the pond, then I'm sure
there are similar shops.

On Apr 13, 11:19.am, andre...@...........m wrote:
> I thought that initialy the car behaved a bit better but after one or
> two more days I see that the problem hasn't really gone away. .It's
> not too bad yet but I am concerned that it's the beginning of a more
> serious problem.
> I'd appreciate any comments about your experiances with Automatic
> transmissions on these Audi models.
>
> Thank you,
>
> Andre

[andrez83]

Thank you John.
I crawled under the car the other day and confirmed that the
transmission type is ZF 4HP18.
I wanted to look underneath the car to see If I can spot any reason
why I hear a rattling sound when the car is first warming up. Didn't
see anything of concern. Unfortunately the noise seemed to be coming
from engine/AT body. The noise goes away when engine warms up a bit.
I did notice however that the last two (out of 4) plastic "quick lock
nuts" on the noise shield plastic cover under the engine have been
broken off.
A technician in the "German Car Specialist" shop should know how to
take the cover off an Audi without braking off any of the mounting
clips. I get frustrated with this kind of stuff. Are there any
mechanics left, who can take things apart and put them back together
without leaving anything off or braking anything off.
Maybe I am just too "fussy" for the times we live in...

I have been driving the car to work lately and I've observed that the
problem with the transmission can be described this way. In case of
all the gears except the 4th (highest) gear the clucth seems to
release prematurely at RPM = ~1500. RPM rises quickly and the gear up-
shifts. But now the higher gear is engaged prematurely at about
1000RPM and the car has very difficult time accelerating. Once in 4th
gear, the car runs great, engine has a lot of power.

Thanks,
Andre