I have a 5sp manual with 163k. Don't really know when the last time the tranny fluid has been changed. Should i change it, or would this be the age in which the tranny shreds itself after?

 

Yes, read the entire post. ALL fluids should be changed. Make sure the shop doing the work understands to use the correct fluid. A great source is Blauparts.com, ecstuning.com, etc. While you are under there change the diff fluid as well.

 

ok this is great help for me. can i use a different fluid or should i use audi tranny fluid only?

 

Audi fluid.

 

thanks. how much is it a qt? is it different then normal atf?

 

It's about 15$, and as far as different goes, I've not seen any other atf that is approved for the application. On older cars Mobil 1 is recommended. For the new ones it says audi atf only. The good thing is that for most differentials you can use regular 75W90 synthetic gear oil from your local store.

 

I'm going Redline fluids throughout, using their recommendations. Worked well on all my prior vehicles including the Porsche, I see no reason to stick with factory fluid. To each his own though.

 

I feel the same way, my car is all Redline. So far the Trans has been happy.

 

Just as I figured out later, there are many ATF's approved for ZF transmissions. The cheapest ones will be Valvoline Mercon V, Quakes State Multi Vehicle and Castrol Multi Vehicle.