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Catastrophic Rear Transfer Case Failure A6 4.2L ECF Trans
Bad day driving my newly purchased used AUDI. (Pics below) Only had it going on 3 months now and had catastrophic transmission failure. The rear output transfer case housing is all busted to pieces and being on a budget Im debating two options. One is to order parts and do the repair work myself, or buy a parts car and do a transmission swap. I know it's a few variants of transmission models in these cars and I'll need an ECF model. Parts cars are going cheap, like 700 to 1000. And a used transmission in salvage yards are going for about the same price as buying a whole parts car, so its kinda a no-brainer going that route. If I do consider buying parts, can the repair job be done without removing the transmission. Looking at it, it looks like if I drop the exhaust, I may have plenty of working room, but not certain. Im curious, has anyone had this happen to them, and what route did you take to repair it? Where can I find the rear output housing case and parts?
Here is a pdf on the transmission and parts view diagram http://www.zf.com/media/media/docume...a_4/5HP24A.pdf
The housing is on page 21 part number 1058 336 203
Last edited by A6Quattro2000; 07-10-2015 at 11:13 PM.
Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market, put in your info, If you look, Lons Automotive wrecker shows to have a core trans, they may yank the rear housing off and ship it too you.
Where are you located?
I have a parts car being disassembled right now.
It is a 2002 3.0.
I bet the center diff ran out of fluid looking at how there seems to be none sprayed from the failure.
Seems a lot of these have bad rear seals from age.
Hey N Jay, Im located in Dade City Florida. Its somewhat Mid central Florida. Thing is, my car is the 4.2L V8 with the ECF Transmission (ZF 5HP24A) Im not certian, maybe it is the same transmission thats in your 2002 with the 3.0... If it is then I'd certainly see if we could work out a deal.
Yeah, I have to say I was quite surprised to see the exposed gear is completely dry, The undercarage is somewhat saturated with some type fluid, it has to be from the trans rear output gearbox.
Feel free to call or text for a faster response.
Doug
(407) 710-5766
Last edited by A6Quattro2000; 07-10-2015 at 12:25 PM.
A bit far. I don't know if that section of the 5HP is the same, but bet it is.
If you find out it is, shoot me a price.
Also, if you find out if it can be pulled without dropping the transmission, that would be a big help.
Thanks, N Jay, I'll certainly keep you in mind. The transfer case may look the same, this one has 13 bolts, but could have a different gear ratio tho, idk. I got back in touch with Ron out at Lon's Automotive and they are going to raise up their parts car and see the condition and try accessing it without dropping the transmission. They haven't yet quoted me a price on it. I cant imagine it weighs all that much. Maybe 20, 25lbs, 30 tops, so shipping shouldn't be all that much. Just guessing.
Last edited by A6Quattro2000; 07-10-2015 at 02:27 PM.
I'll tell ya what tho, In the meantime while Im waiting on a return call from Lon's Automotive, I can do the research on the ZF Transmission site and do some part number comparisons between the two models. What's the code on the trans you have?
Confirming, 4.2 trannies are different. 5HP24A's, while the other motors are 5HP19's. And yes, gear ratios also different. The crossover is with D2 A8's, not other motor C5 A6's, but again the ratio's vary so that isn't practical either if you just intend full swap.
As OP was thinking, find the three letter code match up from a C5 A6 4.2. 4.2 five speed trannies are lemons in general, especially the early ones--pardon my French but used to own a 2000 and posted on extensively. Kind of a when, not if, they will blow up. 100K was fairly predictable in my ownership era--which is ridiculous. Your failure is unusual though; typically it is internal tranny with clutches, torn baskets, etc. and/or the torque converter. Both by C4 four speed and C5 4.2 had center (Torsen) diff seal replacements under 4/50 warranty, so they do need to be watched. Burning gear oil smell off the exhaust is often a practical clue.
Be sure to get a parts car where it wasn't a blown tranny to start if you go that route--like a wreck or a cash for clunkers engine meltdown or something.
07-08-2015, 09:27 PM
Catastrophic Rear Transfer Case Failure A6 4.2L ECF Trans
