Oh yeah I forgot about you, uscourt3000. You are correct your car is a FWD, and as far those guys trying to convince you otherwise? Well how can I say this gently....well, those guys are....morons. Nothing makes me lose faith in the future of humanity more than the mis-informed spewing ignorance like its gospel...

 

Im gonna have to make a sticky about B6 A4 transmissions.......I have way too much information to make in one post.

Im not against FWD or anything, because i have owned every car known to man just about, but in no way is a FWD audi ever better than a quattro.........EVER.
Quattros will always have less maintenance, easier to work on, and never has quattro had a TSB or recall issue with the Torsen differential since audi started using it in the 80's. It is literally "bullet proof" meaning it could actually take a bullet and it won't even ding the casing! I actually have a pic of a torsen that my buddy uploaded onto wikipidea when we were at the audi academy.

I really don't mean to rain on your CVT parade but that transmission has more design issues than almost any transmission on the market.
There are 5 TSB's issued by audi for MAJOR repair problems, i have no idea why audi hasn't issued recalls for it but i guess that since every known CVT that audi has ever produced has a different code, so they can dodge the recall. Not to mention you better change the fluid every 40k in your CVT or you are gonna be buying a new one in a short order.

 

Hey auditech79 thank you. I've wanted to pm you with questions that i've had but you being a moderator and a tech i figure you may not want the bother so your response is appreciated. I take no offense to your comments about the CVT, i'm far from ordering ticker-tape for the parade, its just that I could not, through google or any other forums find any solid info on the CVT. The info I was able to acquire has led me to the conclusion that with proper fluid changes and even using a "better" fluid the life as well as the torque threshold of the trannsmission can be significantly increased. I studied the theory of the "traction fluid" (which as i'm sure you are already aware, is a completely different animal than standard ATF) and how it works with the link plate chain. The possibility occurs to me that the failures so many are experiencing is possibly due to the breakdown of the oem CVt fluid. If I can reduce some of the chance that my trans will fail by changing fluid at the least, and possibly upgrading to a better formula i would like to do so.

You've definitely got my vote to make some info on the various trannys a sticky. Would have helped me out greatly.

If you have any suggestions or if you don't think that the fluid failing is cause for at least a fair portion of the tranny failures please respond. I like you have driven/owned a variety of vehicles and although I didn't go to school to work on cars(went to Dunwoody for electrical construction and maintenance) I've been working on cars since I was five and my old man(who is a lifelong mechanic, automotive enthusiast and builder of custom street-rods and motorcycles) made me his grunt. Although him doing that has served me well and saved me tens of thousands of dollars in repairs and upgrades I do envy the specific knowledge of these cars that you must possess. My knowledge is all from experience, research and professionals kind enough to share their knowledge. It's mostly limited to the particular model I own with the exception of common systems and components that all vehicles share i.e drivetrains, brakes and suspension etc etc...
If you have any further info, advice or suggestions on the CVT transmissions I would really appreciate it(I mean it I suck info up like a sponge). Thanks again man.

 

The fluid issue depends on what tranny code you have, some of the early 02-03 CVT's have a problem with the input shaft and clutch pack set, the TSB actually requires taking out the tranny and reversing the input shaft and replacing the entire clutch pack.
Some require replacement of the entire tranny no questions asked, of course audi never gives us a WHY, my guess is to keep it hidden from the public.

You may be on to something on the fluid, you're right, putting a standard ATF would fry the transmission in less than a week. However audi strickly says that thier CVT fluid is the absolute best you can buy (and they charge for it, big time) and any other fluids will destroy the tranny. Ive drained fluid from CVT's at the 50k mark (10k to late) before and found metal shavings in the fluid. I can't tell whether audi is trying to have a monopoly on the CVT fluid market for our cars but so far i haven't found any other manufacture make one for our cars. I do know some of our fluids are un-beaten, like the new BLUE audi ATF fluids for the A8's which costs a freaking insane price of $40 a liter, and i have seen the affects of using another ATF in these transmissions. It hasn't been pretty, so i wouldn't recommend anyone to go other than factory with tiptronic transmissions.
I am curious about your situation however, if you want to give it a shot it may pay off but i still wouldn't wait more than 40k, the fluid looks down right burned at that mileage.
What fluid were you planning on using?

 

This stuffs over $200.00 a gallon. I'll order it if you really think I could have something here.
http://www.santotrac.com/techdata/s3000tdata_05.htm

This is what leads me to believe it's most likely the fluid breaking down. Anyone unfamiliar with the way the CVT fluid is different from other tranny fluids and how the link plate chain accomplishes its job, this will help you to understand.
http://www.machinerylubrication.com/...?articleid=661

Also, is changing the fluid something I could do with a standard fluid transfer pump and a really flexible hose. And where can I get the special tool to remove the drain plug?
I really can't express how highly regarded your input would be. Thanks...alot.

 

Yeah i have heard of that fluid before, Nissan CVT owners use that stuff all the time. Thats what i put in my aunts 07 nissan altima. (just did it last week)It seems to run great in that car, although nissan doesn't have the problems that we do with our CVT's, the fluid will break down just the same though.
To drain the fluid you need the special tool, it looks like a triple square with a hole in the center. If you get under the car and look at it you will see two plugs, one is a fill (the large one) and the other one is the drain which requires a special tool. Some of the fill ports use a monster Allan so you may need to buy one of the those too. Filling the transmission is basically gravity fed from the bottom, what we use is a special tool that threads into the bottom of the tranny (required to change fluid) and has a hopper with fluid in it that we hang on the hood latch of the car far above the tranny. You also have to monitor the temperature of the tranny while filling it, just like the Tip, you have to use a VAG COM and watch the temp of the fluid to know if its full or not, 35*C is the golden ticket for the CVT. If you keep adding fluid past 35*C you could put too much in it. OF course this requires a bunch of tools to do this and you really can't do it without the specific fill tool, (unless you can find something to thread into the bottom of the tranny) the tip guys have it easy because its just a large gaping hole in the bottom.
I would take the fluid to the dealer and have them change it, tell them to keep a sample of the fluid for you to see.

 

Will do. Thanks man if you ever have any questions regarding residential/commercial electrical installs(bout all I have to offer) or troubleshooting pm me. Always more than happy to return a favor.

 

Yeah i get 100 PM's a month, soo the same goes for you too.