ethanh110

I have a new to me B8.5 Allroad with the 8HP ZF, and I am wanting to replace all the driveline fluids. I have no knowledge of fluid changes from previous owners. I figured I would start with the rear differential as its pretty easy, however when draining the fluid I was suprised to see the fluid was a clear amber color, pretty much indistinguishable from the new 75w90 GL5 from redline that I was putting back in. Based on this, I would guess the fluid in this diff was pretty recently changed, and if thats the case, what are the chances the transmission fluid was also changed.

Anyone have any tips on how I can find out if the transmission was serviced? One of my thoughts was going into vcds (i have OBD11) and seeing when the trans adaptation was last reset, but I dont know if you can or how you would do that. Anyone have any other thoughts? Of course if I cant find solid evidence that it was done, I'll go ahead and have it done. Just trying to save ~$1000 if I can.

chris_wt

Trans service from my indie only cost a few hundred earlier this year. They did a drain and fill, not full drop pan and change filter.

findalex

I don't think there is a way to check via VCDS. Also, an adaptation reset may not have been done even if the fluids were changed.

The ZF transmission ATF can be easily changed. There are plenty of DIY videos you can search online. It's one of the most used 8-speed transmissions for transverse engines. From Rolls-Royce to Dodge.

I've used Valvoline Maxlife ATF bought from Walmart for around $30 for the last 100K or so miles. The transmission still shifts like a dream.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Valvoline...-1-GA/15125768

You probably don't need to drop the pan and change out the filter. When I changed out the filter at 100K, the filter media still looked new.