I don't really nurse my trany but I'm not Mario either.

I have always been big on maintenance over the repairs.
I will do what ever it takes to keep my family from sitting on the side of the road.

I have read the reason brake fluid needs to be changed every two years because it looses it's compressive strength due to moisture that mixes with it. If moisture can get into break fluid it can get in the transmission fluid. And if moisture can get in so can dust/dirt. Not to mention evaporation. Slowly it looses it's ability to handle the heat and as time goes on is more prone to thermal breakdown.

My old fluid was dark brown the new was clear what is turning it brown. Old age or dirt? At 100K I have a hard time believing it would pass for having equal properties as new fluid.

If the trans fluid gets dirty because you don't change it for what ever reason. Then you can't because you'll wash all the embedded dirt off the clutches and it will begin to slip. You can do a search on that.

Now you would need to add another to add a zero to the price of a fluid change at Audi and have it rebuilt at an outside company because Audi does not rebuild transmissions for 5K they replace them for 8K.

Fluid and filter anyone?

 

And, the original 'lifetime' fluid was a Dextron IIE synthetic blend, later changed to a Dextron III synthetic... tell me who here believes any DextronII/III is 'lifetime'?

 

If you were experiencing any issues at all reagrding the trans, I would say flush and refresh. Since you aren't I would say, leave it alone, even if the service is done by a pro or even at Audi, there is always a chance of creating an issue.

 

I don't agree with that. Every time I hear somebody say I need to change my transmission fluid it's because they are already slipping(most likely from low burnt fluid). Then they change it and it gets worse. So I think most of the stories are from people who said it died after they changed it but it really was almost gone with burnt fluid and overheated parts before they did it. Really if your experiencing issues with the transmission It's already to late!

I have always changed mine at 30K and I have had transmission last in trucks that plow snow for 250K which is more like 500K when you consider the workout they get.
Clean fluid and a clean filter is the key. The transmission runs cooler and you remove any contaminants when you change it. If the transmission fluid on the inside was really just as good as the stuff on the shelf. What would the harm be to change it. The only thing I don't recommend is putting in additives to a perfectly good running trany.

 

I can't get away from this discussion..which is good, I want the best for this 6 speed. I called a boeing eng friend who works on engine systems and he didn't know about our transmissions but he said a totally sealed system eliminates moisture and contamination and filters any particles...isn't our transmission basically sealed? Reading the heads-up below, it looks to me like you'll need to do a full complete flush using whichever fluid your going to use then fill it...that's allot of fluid..am I reading that right? I'd say 90% of us would be considered *normal service users, anyway I pulled this from Amsoil assuming most of the better synthetic transmission fluids are based on or close to the same specs:

SERVICE LIFE
AMSOIL Synthetic Automatic Transmission Fluid is recommended for use up to 60,000 miles under severe service* and up to 100,000 miles under normal service* or according to the vehicle manufacturer recommended intervals, whichever is longer. AMSOIL recommends thoroughly draining the transmission and flushing with new AMSOIL ATF to achieve a minimum 90% purity of new transmission fluid. Drain intervals may be extended further with oil analysis.

* As defined by the vehicle or transmission manufacturer.

 

You can't really "flush it" you just change it twice and that's almost all of it. The flushing that Firestone and all those guys do is worthless they never change the filters and who knows what is in that machine that they are pumping in.

 

Round and Round

Round and Round

Round and Round


This conversation has gone around numerous times on this forum and the discussion is always the same. Some people say change it and others say leave it alone.

There are numerous reports of people changing their fluid and immediatly having problems and others that did it without having trouble. I have over 225K miles on my A6 and have never flushed the transmission. (I did top it off using the "approved Audi method with Pensotin fluid" when I changed the radiator.)

I suspect that those that had trouble waited a long time before changing the fluid and stirred up some crud while those that do it early (maybe before 75K or so) get away with it.

As for me - at 225k on this Audi and close to 200K on my previous A6 without any trans problems - I'll not crawl under it for a transmission oil change but just continue to enjoy driving the vehicle.

 

Yes it is round and round story. One person says replace it, the other says don't replace it... I personally replaced it and noticed a smoothing our in transmission performance. Anyways, wif you decide to change the filter and the fluid, DON'T FLUSH the transmission. Just replace the fluid. Flushin machines actually loosens big chunks of buildup and can cause blockage. There are numerous documented cases where flushing with a high pressure machine killed the transmissions afterwards. Just drain it, replace the filter, and refill it.

 

It's turning into a tire thread.

Anyone want to discuss TIRES? Anyone?

LOL

 

I like Bridgestone... :P