I have a 96 A4 2.8L with an A/T trans.
it has a little hick-up. it has some flairing every now and then while cruising around town at 25-40mph and the 3-4 shift doesnt happen at all if your heavy on the throttle(like entering the highways) it has 180K on it and im slightly afraid to have the fluid flushed as it may be like throwing a grenade in there...
what should i do?

flush it and hope for the best

leave it go and drive like grandma.

find a M/T and swap it out.

~Goldie

 

Holy **** dont everyone respond at once....

 

Holy **** wtf is "flairing"? Have you checked the fluid level?

 

unless your using grenade oil, i dont see the harm in giving your engine something it needs. sure when they are doing the flush they might find some other problems in there, is that what your afraid of? and yes, if you have the pedal on the floor it wont shift until redline (when it cant possibly go any faster in that gear)

 

I would def. flush it. When was the last time you had it flushed anyways?

 

as far as flairing...I am assuning that you have a slight slip....wich is extremely common with migh mile automatic transmissions

one thing to take note of is that when you are low on transmission fluid you will most definitely have a slipping issue....

I dont like the word flush when talking about transmissions....do not take it to some hokus pokus oil change chain and have them blast the inside of your transmission with their miracle crap....

my suggestion to you would be to take it to a VW/Audi certified mechanic and have the fluid replaced with OEM fluid...It will prolly cost you 100$....but it is well worth it IMO....

furthermore...if your tranny continues to slip after changing your fluid...then you can look into a possible M/T swap...although, if you are not capable of doing the swap yourself it would almost be easier to consider another automobile, because the install/conversion will most likely run you 3k (including a junkyard/refurbished tranny)....gl!

 

the fluid level is fine. and the shifting issue is at 5k. and its like a wall, as in get to 5k and wont go above that(most likely its a stuck valvebody. thats not the main concern tho as there are ways to have it shift before it gets to that point
now heres the thing about flushes....ive rebult 75 a/t trannies and from my experences with them if you have a tranny with high miles and change out the fluid typically the dirt, and debris inside is what keeps the bastard from going south. if I replace it with new freash fluid it would be like throwing a grenade in there and essentially insuring a replacement. guess id just make sure the shop was damn sure it wont go after do it.

a m/t would be what id rather have. i can do it at my house but its finding one that could be a problem and id have to find the needed parts for the swap

~Goldie

 

Flush it and put an additive into it but be prepared to have to replace or rebuild it soon. Putting a good additive should help a bit but it is not a permanent solution.

 

I would recommend Slick50 ATF additive. If you have tip it might be a bitch gettin it in, since the tip tranny has no dipstick, then you'd have to try to put in the side of the tranny pan.

 

i bet if you looked around you could find a junkyard auto tranny for 600-800 with pretty low miles and put it in yourself. that is if you wouldnt mind keeping it auto