auctionjunkie

2002 audi allroad quattro 2.7T with zfhp19 tiptronic auto transmission (green label) with 92k miles.

Bought this from Manheim Auctions ... the seller was some douche junkyard that calls itself an auto parts store (I usually NEVER buy from anyone other than new car dealers or well known remarketers).. I checked the car for trouble codes and it was even smog ready, totally clean with 92k miles... what could go wrong, right? Well, if it's an automatic Audi from this era, the transmission and hard to detect leaks.. HA!

So I drove it for about 100 miles and P0741 came on after a transmission shuddered ... the transmission would shudder intermittently, both on surface streets and on the freeway..

I drained about 6 liters out of it... no metal shavings.. dark black fluid... added about 6.5 liters of synthetic fluid purchased through the stealership at 16.50 per liter (commercial rate) :::rakes face with fingers::: ... also installed oem filter and pan gasket...

So far, the transmission shuddered one time in about 200 miles of driving. Originally, I didn't check the fluid level at the correct temperature, so I rolled the car on ramps again at level 4 (the vehicle was leveled) ... warmed it up to 35C, took it through each gear, letting it sit for 10 seconds... about 1/2 liter of fluid drained out until I got drips at the correct temperature (about 45C) ... Test drove the car again... got CEL after 50 miles or so. Rolled it up on the ramps and checked the fluid again, a little bit more drained out. I reset the CEL and I'm up to 80 miles without a CEL or single shudder. I've noticed that if there's any slippage, it's either first or second gear, and if I let the car warm up for a minute before driving, the shifts are nice and tight. I wish I would've checked the torque on all the valve body bolts while I had the pan off. Also, I followed some instructions that didn't specify lubricating the transmission oil filter's rubber seal before instillation, so that might be an issue ...

Question #1: Can having too much fluid in the trans trip the P0741 code?
Question #2: What is the normal temperature range for this transmission? (I have a decent scanner which tells me that on the highway, the transmission is running at about 179F)... I am in Las Vegas and it's about 50F in the days and 30s at night.
Question #3: Should I keep driving the vehicle for awhile to let the clean fluid dilute the dirty fluid and even out the viscosity before deciding on my next course of action?
Question #4: I'd like to clean the transmission connection harness with crc electrical cleaner.. where is this located? .. and can I get to it without removing any parts?

Thanks for your input .. the Allroad forum is kind of slow, I think it's because not too many people have one ... I want to try everything before taking it back to the auction.. no way in hell I'd drop over $1,000 on a torque converter which MIGHT fix the issue ... I'd sell it for a 1000 dollar loss at the auction and roll that money into another vehicle and make the $1000 back in a week.

georgeb944

#1 No
#2 Sounds about right
#3 It's already happened, if you drove 200 miles.
#4 I dunno.

I had the same trans in my 2001 A6 2.7T quattro, P0741 happened at 140K, drove it until 296K without making the repair.

If you're into flipping cars, flip it now... If you don't mind a piece of electrical tape covering the CEL light, enjoy the drive.... Frankly, I would be more concerned about the suspension airbags than the torque converter.

auctionjunkie

ahaha george.. thanks dude, if only all buyers were willing to live with it

indoor

How much do you want for that allroad and where are you located?

Prospeeder

Sorry but a few cups or even a quart low is not going to cause any noticeable transmission shifting problems. If its acting up, shuddering, and banging. Then its probably on its way out, the allroads especially had very troublesome transmissions for some reason. They have their own specific trans code.