Ok everyone, the verdict is in. I need a new tranny. The old one is shoot after 265,XXX miles. It served me well, but it is time for a new one. First thing is first, I have to figure out what my tanny code is. Anyone have anyone idea where it is. Might I be lucky enough that it is listed in the trunk with all of the option codes or on the door maybe? The next issue is, do I want to try this on my own, or pay the big money for a pro? Like the post says, I would be intrested in hearing from anyone who has changed thier own Audi tranny before. The local tranny shop said that it is a 18 hour job for thier techs, which should translate into one big headache and 40 hours for me. I have taken the tranny out of a Ford once and it wasn't to bad, but the guy at the shop made it sound like it would be a PITA because of the transfer case. I had the passing thought of maybe swaping to a manual, but after searching and not finding anything but people dreaming of doing it and no real guidance I don't think that it will happen.

In the end the question is, has anyone changed thier tranny? Where'd you get it? And how much of a pain was it?

BTW the car is a `00 A4 1.8t Quattro Tip

 

its expensive, ive done it twice... bad luck i guess

 

Maybe my opinion isn't worth anything because I've never done an automatic, but I'll give it to you anyway...

I had to replace the clutch in my car last year and I did it by myself in a single day. Other than a tranny jack I had no special tools, just metric wrenches and sockets. The "transfer case" is actually inside the tranny so it can't complicate things at all. You just have 3 driveshafts and those just unbolt from the tranny- it's pretty straight forward.A well equiped shop should be able to do this in under 6 hours (my guess) if it's just swaping it out for a new one.

As for changing over to a manual transmission, it would only make sense to try if you had a donor car sitting right there so you could change over all the linkage and electrical items that would be needed. I think it's the only way to be sure you have all the parts, and again my guess is that it would be a bolt in type of thing.

You've got me beat for milage... 265K is getting up there. How's the rest of the car holding up?

 

The rest of the car is sound. It has a new turbo, water pump, and TB. The car had all of the maintiance done perfectly. The guy who owned it before me gave me all of the records of things done, mileage,and cost when I bought it. He drove between Las Vegas and Montana all the time. The interior looks brand new, that is to say the leatherette isn't ripped, torn, or showing the crusty wear spots. The paint can use a little help on the hood. It is chipped pretty bad. If only I can get the tranny fixed I'll be good to go and can stop driving my truck all over. I wonder why the shop is making shuch a big deal about it if it is so easy. I wounder if the tip and manual are different.

 

you cannot swap from a tip tranny to a manual one...the cranks inside the engine are different and they are not interchangeble, in order to do the swap you would need to pull the engine and swap out cranks.

now however on the AEB engine its a whole different story

 

I think they're doing it most likely to be able to present a big bill to you. I've pulled plenty of transmissions, both FWD and RWD, and none of those are difficult, just time-consuming. I can see where an AWD transmission would be a little more work with the extra driveshafts and all, but besides that, it should be pretty straightforward. You can probably do it yourself, and even get info from other DIY procedures on the forums. To get the axles out, find the DIY on replacing CV boots - that'll get the axles out of the car, from there, there isn't much that's different than most other cars.

 

I think that I'll put her up on some jack stands this weekend and take a look under there and decide if I want to even bother. It might be a case where I file a insurance claim and go from there. There is just no way that I can afford 5 grand just for a new tranny ifI don't think that I can do it on my own.

Does anyone live in Ogden, Ut and want to help me out? I can fire up the BBQ, grab some beer, and might find a buck or two.

 

Really, no one is in Utah?

 

A 1.8T quattro tip tranny really isn't that hard to change out, you have plenty of room to work under there, should take you a good weekend to do. I can drop those puppies out of a car in less than 20 minutes on a rack.

 

Wanna take a trip up here to Utah?