Car:
1998 A6 2.8Q 5spd tiptronic
146k miles

So I'll make this as quick as possible...

Car is my mother's and has been sitting with a trans problem for months. She recently had a heart attack and we had to sell the itty-bitty sportscar she's been riding around in, so here I am attempting to fix her beloved Audi.

I owned the car for some 2 years before she did, however that was a number of years ago... I tried to get as much info as I could before depositing it via trailer in my driveway.

Car will not move once in gear, significant burning smell, feels like it's stuck 'in between' gears - will not rev in drive (or in tiptronic mode) past 2k'ish. Reverse is no better - doesn't even audibly go into gear there.

So the trans is probably fried... the car is cosmetically challenged, but I know she really does want to fix it. Money is tight right now and I'm trying to figure out a cost effective way to fix the car - if a rebuild is going to cost as much as a new trans, can I throw a manual in there instead? I know there is quite a bit of retrofitting however I want to get the most out of the situation. Any ideas?

Thanks
Jeff

 

If money is tight, you are working on the wrong car. I would suggest, seriously, that you part it out and use the proceeds to buy your Mom a Ford Taurus or Chysler minivan or similar vehicle that is less expensive to own than an Audi. Tell your Mom to reserve her love for you, not her car.

Good luck,

Bob

 

Second that!
But if you'd like to play with the car - drain and fill up the ATF - there might be deficiency of oil there. Maybe not one problem only.
Have you ever read the DTC?

Besides - there is no such thing as a new transmission. Any transmission one can get - from Audi or ZF is a rebuilt one.
Swapping for a manual is a costly activity.

 

I appreciate the responses - I'm aware that this is the wrong car if money is tight, but money has never been quite this tight before either

New info - throwing error p1626. Checked drain plug under the battery and it was indeed stopped up. Also checked ECU... evidently the previous owner had their own issues because it is from a 1998 Passat.

Any new theories that don't involve mini-vans or junking it? I'm on the verge of parting it out.

Thanks!

 

I suggest pulling the trans module out and examinin it for a damaged cover, connector or internal damage. The cover can short the board out if it is loose, so wiggle it around with the car running and see if the light goes out.