RS6 gearbox issues again
Discussion
Good afternoon all, it seems my 03 RS6 may have some of the typical auto gearbox issues, jumping in and out of gear under load, which has only really become manifest since remapping, however, I'm interested in knowing any resolutions people have found. The refurb of the gearbox is probably 2-3k changing auto to manual diesel box is awkward, dont think audi likely to be much use due to age of car. Hoping to keep the car as it is sound otherwise.
Based on my 03 RS6 experience - Refurb is £3k-4k and a new box is over £6k.
I had a refurb done at Unit20 in Ellesmere Port and they use a gearbox refurbed by Chester Auto's. AMD in Essex will also fit a Refurb but MRC will only fit new boxes.
You could try a £7k box from the US (level 10 or 571/ACE transmissions) which is uprated but they take a while to make (2 months average) and they're still not guaranteed if you're car is mapped although they do seem to last longer than stock from the 3 people I know with one fitted.
Hope that helps.
I had a refurb done at Unit20 in Ellesmere Port and they use a gearbox refurbed by Chester Auto's. AMD in Essex will also fit a Refurb but MRC will only fit new boxes.
You could try a £7k box from the US (level 10 or 571/ACE transmissions) which is uprated but they take a while to make (2 months average) and they're still not guaranteed if you're car is mapped although they do seem to last longer than stock from the 3 people I know with one fitted.
Hope that helps.
Just to be clear on the price, the £3-4K price is split as follows -
£2000 for the removal and re-installation of the box/engine from the car.
£1000 for the refurbed gearbox. This is usually as a one for one swap where the garage will already have a spare refurbed box ready to fit into your car and, when they've finished putting your car back together, they'd send your broken box away to be fixed, which takes about a week, ready to become the "spare" for the next customer
£500-1000 for a few other items you'd be highly recommended to change whilst the box is out i.e the plastic coolant pipe in the oil to water cooler which should be replaced, preferably with a metal version called a "bufkin" pipe, turbo oil lines, lambdas/egts etc as all these require the engine/box to be removed once again (another £2k cost) to replace when they fail.
So if someone is charging you £2k-3k "just" for the refurb work I'd walk away rapidly! However, it's about right if he's going to be doing the engine drop/refit too but remember the added cost of those extra bits.
£2000 for the removal and re-installation of the box/engine from the car.
£1000 for the refurbed gearbox. This is usually as a one for one swap where the garage will already have a spare refurbed box ready to fit into your car and, when they've finished putting your car back together, they'd send your broken box away to be fixed, which takes about a week, ready to become the "spare" for the next customer
£500-1000 for a few other items you'd be highly recommended to change whilst the box is out i.e the plastic coolant pipe in the oil to water cooler which should be replaced, preferably with a metal version called a "bufkin" pipe, turbo oil lines, lambdas/egts etc as all these require the engine/box to be removed once again (another £2k cost) to replace when they fail.
So if someone is charging you £2k-3k "just" for the refurb work I'd walk away rapidly! However, it's about right if he's going to be doing the engine drop/refit too but remember the added cost of those extra bits.
Edited by IanH755 on Sunday 25th October 10:27
Have you checked the oil level?
I had a very small leak that never let itself known on my driveway and must have been getting out when warm and driving about.
I had exactly the same symptoms as you with 2nd and 3rd especially slipping and then banging into the next gear when under load. 3 'reputable' companies ALL diagnosed a replacement box at £4K+ rather than suggesting that I brought it in and they check a few things first.
I thought nothing lost in checking the level and found I didn't get as much oil drain out as I expected. I dropped the sump and found the previous monkeys had overtightened the filter screws which is part of the oil pickup. So did the gearbox flush/replaced filter/ and did a refill procedure very similar to this:
http://www.audipages.com/Tech_Articles/auto_transm...
And used this to refill with oil which saves a LOT of hassle/mess: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00RD0KTZQ?psc=...
So far 3000 miles later and seal replaced and all is still well with my gearbox. It makes me wonder how many folk have had gearboxes replaced for simple issues such as oil levels, cracked pickup filter housings or incorrect filters that have the pickup pipe that is too long?
All of them starving the gearbox of oil, which gives symptoms of apparent slip.
To potentially save £4k+ its worth a shot IMO.
I had a very small leak that never let itself known on my driveway and must have been getting out when warm and driving about.
I had exactly the same symptoms as you with 2nd and 3rd especially slipping and then banging into the next gear when under load. 3 'reputable' companies ALL diagnosed a replacement box at £4K+ rather than suggesting that I brought it in and they check a few things first.
I thought nothing lost in checking the level and found I didn't get as much oil drain out as I expected. I dropped the sump and found the previous monkeys had overtightened the filter screws which is part of the oil pickup. So did the gearbox flush/replaced filter/ and did a refill procedure very similar to this:
http://www.audipages.com/Tech_Articles/auto_transm...
And used this to refill with oil which saves a LOT of hassle/mess: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00RD0KTZQ?psc=...
So far 3000 miles later and seal replaced and all is still well with my gearbox. It makes me wonder how many folk have had gearboxes replaced for simple issues such as oil levels, cracked pickup filter housings or incorrect filters that have the pickup pipe that is too long?
All of them starving the gearbox of oil, which gives symptoms of apparent slip.
To potentially save £4k+ its worth a shot IMO.
Edited by Ug_lee on Tuesday 27th October 10:45
To add to the above, lack of oil pressure can result in insufficient pressure on the clutch packs resulting in slippage, slippage which leads to nasty smelling burnt looking oil full of clutch friction material.
If you take a sample (or even better drop the sump to check the magnets) if there is no excessive amounts of swarf then you haven't gone through the clutch pack friction material. I think this was my scenario anyway.
Fingers crossed a proper flush and refill is all you need.
If you take a sample (or even better drop the sump to check the magnets) if there is no excessive amounts of swarf then you haven't gone through the clutch pack friction material. I think this was my scenario anyway.
Fingers crossed a proper flush and refill is all you need.
Edited by Ug_lee on Thursday 29th October 22:30
Good afternoon again, well after a couple of hours under the car yesterday, a few scuffed knuckles and endless specks of crap getting in my eyes, the rs seems to have a new gearbox, the atf and filter change seems to have worked a small miracle, ok I've only done 10 miles since, but I couldn't provoke the gear "hunting" issue again and the box is noticeably smoother. When I had the pan off, there was small to moderate metal dust on the magnets, the oil was dark but no obvious smell, most difficult part was getting the refill plug out, jeez it was tight, needed my longest 2ft wrench to shift it while braced against the axle stands. Got approx 6.5 litres atf out and managed to get 6.5 litres back in, which was 3 litres less than Audi say the box will hold, but no matter what I did with the box/gears etc I could not get more to stay in.
Anyway, it seems to have worked, so thanks to all who offered advice, and hopefully a source of encouragement to those with similar issues.
Cost of pan gasket, oil strainer, two o-rings and 10 litres of ATF from Audi was approx £220. Expensive but cheap compared to box renewal. Tools required above my usual equipment were a 17mm allen key socket, a T27 and a T30 torx.
Anyway, it seems to have worked, so thanks to all who offered advice, and hopefully a source of encouragement to those with similar issues.
Cost of pan gasket, oil strainer, two o-rings and 10 litres of ATF from Audi was approx £220. Expensive but cheap compared to box renewal. Tools required above my usual equipment were a 17mm allen key socket, a T27 and a T30 torx.
Great stuff, be good to hear back in a few months to see how you are getting on long term!
Makes you wonder how many RS6 gearboxes have failed through genuine internal faults. Or are a failure as a result of something simple overlooked until it's too late and your clutch packs are toast.
Makes you wonder how many RS6 gearboxes have failed through genuine internal faults. Or are a failure as a result of something simple overlooked until it's too late and your clutch packs are toast.
Thevet said:
Audi charged me £14/litre plus vat, they ordered it off the page on the computer with the rs6 exploded diagram. The bottles just had Audi ATF on them, I'll check 2n if there's a code on them.
IIRC correctly thats not the correct fluid, whether it actually makes a difference ...Gassing Station | Audi, Seat, Skoda & VW | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff