torque converter issues
 

i have an 02 s4 tip. car threw a code today.
p0741- torque converter clutch solenoid circuit performance stuck off

i was hoping someone on this forum has had some experience with this, before i just go and take it to a shop. any help would be much appreciated! thanks!

Try these...
http://forums.audiworld.com/showthre...ighlight=p0741

http://forums.audiworld.com/showthre...ighlight=p0741

http://forums.audiworld.com/showthre...ighlight=p0741

thanks! those were very helpful. this is going to sound dumb.... but where do i check the fluid levels for my trans? i've poked around a bit, but haven't found a dipstick or anything resembling it.

took the car to the audi dealer, they said it was somewhat of a common occurance for the torque converters to go out on these things. they haven't quoted me a price for the torque converter, components, and labor as of yet. i'm sure its going to be awful. has anyone replaced their own TC? i would like to do it myself to save some green, but if its going to be a major PITA, i may have to have it done by a shop. any thoughts?

I had the same problem on my '01 S4. There's a seal inside the torque converter for the lock-up function that goes out (I believe they put a better seal in the later tips). You have to pull the motor and tranny out, so yes, it's a PITA. It's possible for you to do if you have the right equipment. I replaced the converter myself so I don't know how much it would cost if done by someone else, but I would assume labar and parts to be around $3500 (just a WAG).
As for the level of the fluid: The fluid is drained and filled from the bottom. The correct level must be achieved when the fluid is at the specified temperature.
Before you start fiddling with things, it would be wise to get the Bentley manual.

from what i have gathered from other forums and talking to audi techs and persons familiar with these cars and their problems. when the "stuck off" code it thrown, it's more than just the torque converter. turns out the culprit is the valve body as well. i was told by Pat from levelten, that replacing the torque converter will temperarily fix the problem, but due to the valve body, the same problem will present it's self within 10k after replacing the torque converter. i'm going to do both. might cost a bit more, but from what i've been told, the perfomance gains will be substancial, and the fuel economy will increase as well. unfortunant that this had to happen, but i'll be glad when it's fixed. $4k later, i should be good for awhile i hope. car's going in next week, should have it back the week after!

You don't need to pull the motor to replace the TC. You can get by with just pulling the tranny. But still, pulling the tranny out of these cars is not a trivial task. A buddy of mine has an 02 that was throwing the same code. I believe it ended up costing him ~$2200 (parts+labor).

He went to a third party Audi tuner. The dealer will prolly charge you about $1k more. Good luck!

How'd it go, and what was the final damage ($)?
 

Hi -

My '01 S4 just threw this code, and I was wondering if you would share your experience getting the thing fixed (the good fix, i.e. not just the TC, which will just go out again according to previous post here)?

Thanks!

I had both the tc and valve body rebuilt by level 10. Those guys there really know their stuff. I even had the audi tech compliment on how perfect the tollerances were when they put them back in. I couldn't be happier as to how much of a difference it made to the performance of the car. I don't remember what the cost was off the top of my head. But the tc rebuild and valve body rebuild came out to around $1500. And the dealer charged 16 hours labor for it's removal and install. I went ahead and bought the gasket kits from ecstuning, which saved me $50 from the dealers price. Sorry your car is throwing that code. It really is a PITA. Call the guys at level 10, they were super helpful to me. Good luck!