Help/advice needed! Transmission
01-09-2015, 12:13 PM
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Help/advice needed! Transmission
I bought this 2002 Allroad (107,000 miles) two months ago unaware of the issues and costs of the car. It has kicked a torque converter code so in doing research I've decided that the transmission needs swapped out but only have about $3,000 to put toward it so going to have to go used unless anyone has a secret I don't know about. So my question is would it be better to get older with less miles or newer but more miles? Also one of the places I talked to said to replace torque converter in the process again due to cost probably going to have to be rebuilt but having a hard time figuring out what torque converter I need and if this is all going to be a good idea. I need the car to last at least 5 years as that is how long the loan is. I am also now having to replace one of the front suspension air bags, and put a new battery in it and do timing/water pump ect. I am hoping I can get the 5 years out of the car without anything else major. Any thoughts advice is welcomed!
01-14-2015, 10:25 AM
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I haven't been around a while I see volume has dropped off in this forum so as payback for all the advice I received here I thought I'd respond to you since I had to change my tranny last year.
It's not so much the mileage that counts as much as manufacture date. TQs were faulty on the first few model years and it was fixed sometime during the 02 model year IIRC. I believe you can find the serial number when it was fixed and you should try to find a newer one. The general recommendation was to replace the TQ as it will kill the tranny down the road.
Having said that, if your tranny works you may get away with just replacing the TQ but stop driving it now as continued use will kill the tranny.
When I had my TQ replaced under warranty I was told to drive the car and I drove it for a week waiting for the part which unfortunately did not kill the tranny at that point but I believe it weakened it causing it to fail last year. But people who ignored the TQ codes had their tranny die within a short period of time. The sequence was that the reverse gear went within 2 weeks shortly followed by a tranny failure.
If you only need the car for 5 years you may be able to get away with replacing only the TQ if you haven't put too many miles on since the code came up. Mine lasted about 9 years after the TQ replacement.
Cheers and good luck
It's not so much the mileage that counts as much as manufacture date. TQs were faulty on the first few model years and it was fixed sometime during the 02 model year IIRC. I believe you can find the serial number when it was fixed and you should try to find a newer one. The general recommendation was to replace the TQ as it will kill the tranny down the road.
Having said that, if your tranny works you may get away with just replacing the TQ but stop driving it now as continued use will kill the tranny.
When I had my TQ replaced under warranty I was told to drive the car and I drove it for a week waiting for the part which unfortunately did not kill the tranny at that point but I believe it weakened it causing it to fail last year. But people who ignored the TQ codes had their tranny die within a short period of time. The sequence was that the reverse gear went within 2 weeks shortly followed by a tranny failure.
If you only need the car for 5 years you may be able to get away with replacing only the TQ if you haven't put too many miles on since the code came up. Mine lasted about 9 years after the TQ replacement.
Cheers and good luck
01-15-2015, 08:56 PM
#3
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aesj80:
I will have a tip trans from my 02 allroad for sale it has 195K on it. But your transmission does not need to be swapped. Dont listen to mechanics. I would however suggest a flush and filter with OEM fluids to keep the tip running well.
More importantly, I will also have for sale the JHM tip chip tune custom and only for the 2002 allroad TCU. It will dramatically improve the life and performance of your transmission and torque converter. It increases line pressure in the transmission so shifts are 3x as fast and there is 10x less stress on the TC when doing this.
I have been running my tip for the last 10 months on this chip and with the dredded TC code and everything has been fine.
With that being said, I have knows countless people who have run their tip cars with the TC code for months to years without problems. The only real problem is that the gas mileage goes down because the TC wont lock properly... You can replace your TC with a new one for $500 and youll be good to go again. If you do replace your TC, do not get one with a modified stall speed. This will screw with everything.
Also, there are always people on AZ selling used air bags for cheap because they did the coil swap. Or get an arnott for 200-300.
Timing water pump service is maintenance. Learn to do it yourself and save the money. Doing the timing service will cost you only $200 if you do it yourself. Owning an audi is an expensive hobby...
I will have a tip trans from my 02 allroad for sale it has 195K on it. But your transmission does not need to be swapped. Dont listen to mechanics. I would however suggest a flush and filter with OEM fluids to keep the tip running well.
More importantly, I will also have for sale the JHM tip chip tune custom and only for the 2002 allroad TCU. It will dramatically improve the life and performance of your transmission and torque converter. It increases line pressure in the transmission so shifts are 3x as fast and there is 10x less stress on the TC when doing this.
I have been running my tip for the last 10 months on this chip and with the dredded TC code and everything has been fine.
With that being said, I have knows countless people who have run their tip cars with the TC code for months to years without problems. The only real problem is that the gas mileage goes down because the TC wont lock properly... You can replace your TC with a new one for $500 and youll be good to go again. If you do replace your TC, do not get one with a modified stall speed. This will screw with everything.
Also, there are always people on AZ selling used air bags for cheap because they did the coil swap. Or get an arnott for 200-300.
Timing water pump service is maintenance. Learn to do it yourself and save the money. Doing the timing service will cost you only $200 if you do it yourself. Owning an audi is an expensive hobby...
01-17-2015, 06:52 AM
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If your trans shifts normally otherwise and the fluid looks OK, I would have the torque converter changed and change the transmission oil and filter. If the fluid smells burned or there is a lot of material suspended in it (clutch or metal), then you will probably need to replace the entire transmission. Keep in mind a little material is normal, even a little metal sludge on the magnets in the transmission pan is OK.
As far as driving with the code, I've seen people go quite a while with the converter lockup working intermittently or not at all, but the clutch material from the lockup clutch can get into the fluid, and it will create more heat which isn't good for the transmission long-term.
The parts and labor might be over $3000 as it is, because removing the transmission on a 2.7T is a big job. Do not buy a used converter as it's probably not the updated ZF design and you will have converter issues later again. Also avoid some of the aftermarket torque converters, I did a lot of research into them and sounds like they are more trouble than they are worth.
As far as driving with the code, I've seen people go quite a while with the converter lockup working intermittently or not at all, but the clutch material from the lockup clutch can get into the fluid, and it will create more heat which isn't good for the transmission long-term.
The parts and labor might be over $3000 as it is, because removing the transmission on a 2.7T is a big job. Do not buy a used converter as it's probably not the updated ZF design and you will have converter issues later again. Also avoid some of the aftermarket torque converters, I did a lot of research into them and sounds like they are more trouble than they are worth.
01-22-2015, 06:26 PM
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I bought the 517transponder tc and valvery body
Upgrade getting installed next week I'll post updates. For my mechanic to install and blauparts transmission service kit it was under 3000
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