Crayzkirk

Ok,

After a struggle, the transmission and differential are out of my wagon. I've got a kit to rebuild the transmission, the Bentley, ATSG manuals and a cooler full of cold "beverages".

I've read that these have a bad habit of transfering fluid between the AT and final drive, what sort of things should I look for when going thru it? What sort of cleaning fluid do I use to soak the valve body in? The p/s pump has been leaking and everything is coated with a nice black ooze. Should I invest in a parts washer?

Won a battle and losing the war... In my 20s, this was fun, in my 50s, this is WORK... At least all the nuts and bolts came loose.

Kirk S.

Mister Bally

I 've said it before and I'll say it agin, when a car is no longer fun to maintain and repair, get rid of it.

I hear you about fun vs WORK. I was 26 when I bought my 5000CS q (manual tranny only back then) and when I was 44 and it had 286k miles but was breaking down all the time, that was the end. Heck, I had the clutch diaphram springs fail and had to pull the transmission probably eight years earlier. What a pain with quattro-I needed two floor jacks! Last major repair was the heater blower motor (2nd time during the life of the car). I said that was about it. Six months later, I donated the car.

Crayzkirk

Yeah, I just spent $1200 getting the brakes redone, new tires, etc. and then the transmission decides to screw up. I've got three of them now; an 86 Avant, an 86 Sedan and an 89 Avant.

Done the heater core bit; part was cheap, getting the sucker out wasn't fun. It would be easy if the body would rust out, instead these cars kill you with p/s pumps, bombs, rack boots, fuel pumps, A/C programmers, etc. They just keep on running, handle great, get decent (not great) mileage and look good even after 20 years.

I can't imagine what a 10V or 20V Turbo or Quattro must do to the pocket book.

After being under the car, I need to inform Goodyear to watch where they put the lifts...

Thanks!

Kirk S.

onfir3

But I can tell you, use brake cleaner or something of the sorts to clean the internal parts. If you open up the Valve body have some vasoline on hand, you can stick the valve body "beads" in with vasoline to defy gravity. Other than that, be careful, take your time, and go slow. It helps to take pictures as you take the bands/clutches out so you can see how it goes back together.
With your manuals and such, you should be able to get this done. Good luck.

A8CT

I've got a brand new parts washer in the A8 classifieds if you're looking ($50)