Sup peeps,

1998 Audi A6 Quattro 2.8 Automatic

So the water pump blew and I was fixing the pump, thermostat, timing belt. Did some plugs, wires, and a valve cover too. As I was putting it all back together (no leaks) I cracked the top part of the radiator where the top hose goes. Got one from a junk yard (don't Shame me, I was on a budget) Ive never changed the radiator before but it seemed pretty straightforward I removed the brackets holing the cooler to the radiator, took the cooler off and laid it to the side then disconnected the top and bottom tranny lines . tranny fluid came out so I raised the hoses and secured them to stop the bleeding, I did forget to flush the new radiator but installed it reverse of disassemble and buttoned up everything nice and tight, the car started to burp from the reservoir and I noticed a thick film accumulating at the top. At first I thought it was leftover residue from the radiator I bought but after a week of driving tranny is slipping ( still shifts smooth) pump is humming and tranny fluid is definitely mixing with coolant so I flushed the system and radiator. I can't see anything noticeable wrong with the radiator , this time around tranny lines have a mix of coolant and tranny fluid , any ideas before I buy a radiator and flush kit?

 

Dude.. Bad news.. The radiator is crap. The cooler for the trans fluid inside the radiator is busted and not keeping the two separated. DO NOT drive it anymore until you get a new radiator. But for the real bad news. It's going to be damn near impossible to get the water out of the transmission system (mainly the torque converter) without some doing. And for the really bad news, I'd say the transmission is on it's way out now. The coolant contamination is almost always and automatic death sentence for the clutches.

 

That's the honesty I need in a forum. I was afraid the water was getting back into the transmission. I have had the car for about 5 years and if she dies at 197k because of this I will kick myself for listening to my friend who told me to go to the junk yard. I am going to order the new radiator. Do you think a transmission service at a specialty shop would salvage what I have or its a sure bet, her gears are gone? :""""""(

 

You could possibly get the water out of the transmission and it be ok but it may require pulling it to get the torque converter out to flush it. The converter will hold a couple or three liters of fluid and the shape of it makes it very hard to get all the fluid out even if it's removed from the vehicle. Honestly, if you're going to pull it out, I'd locate a good used transmission (same option code) and swap it out. The contaminated trans will probably have to be totally rebuilt with a new converter. Unfortunately, that's not cheap. But if the rest of the car is in great condition, it may be worth throwing the money at a trans. She's got at least another 100k miles in her.

 

So I got the transmission taken care of but now that I have the new radiator the oil pressure light is coming on and the pressure is running g just passed 200 degrees but car temp is fine??

 

Could you say that again? What's running 200 degrees? Coolant? That's about normal. Oil pressure light could just a bad or clogged oil pressure sensor (it trips the oil light). You could take it out and clean it buy spraying some brake cleaner up in the little hole in the end to remove any gunk that may be interfering with a correct pressure reading.

 

you're right I meant over the 250 mark. In any event I think you were right about the transmission. As I was bleeding the cooling system car just dies. I put the computer on it and it TCM...Going to try to sell it for what I can get now, It has so many new parts if someone gets that car running it will run for another 100k for sure.

Picked up an 06 A3 Quattro today going to start messing with that

 

Man that sucks. I was hoping you could save it. It also sounds like it may have gotten too hot during initial pump failure. 250 is waaaayyy too hot.