Stobal

First off, apologies for my first post in over 10 years being a question - but I figured this was the place to turn to for advice.

My wife has a 2005 Allroad (2.7T / TIP) with about 100,000 miles on it. Earlier this year, the RPMs started fluctuating - early warning signs of a torque converter failure. To make matters worse, about two months ago, an internal leak happened within the radiator, mixing coolant and transmission fluid. I replaced the radiator and flushed the transmission knowing full well that it would need to be replaced at some point. Unfortunately that some point is now, as the tranny failed last week.

A new tranny plus installation seems to run about $6k - plus while the work is being done there are a few exhaust sensors that have intermittent failures reported on VAG that I might as well get replaced.

A few questions for the Allroad experts:
- Have any of you had luck with rebuilt Allroad transmissions (they seem to be hard to come by, at least from my initial checking in southern california)?
- Is there anything else I should have serviced while the tranny is being ripped out? I've already had the timing belt done at 85,000 miles, and both front air suspension bags were replaced under warranty at about 75,000 miles.
- Is it even worth it to repair it at this point? Resale value for 2005 Allroad with similar mileage seem to range from $6,000 - $9,000. Although selling it to somebody for parts won't net me much either I assume.
- Any other gotchas I should be on the lookout for?

Thanks in advance for the feedback.

awdjunkies

Sorry to hear about the tranny as I thought the newer C5s had the upgraded seal/TC. Either way it happened and there are options..

You can either go with www.517trans.com to repair your transmission with an upgraded TC/VB or... You could upgrade all together(Probably cost a little less too), and go with a 6 speed manual transmission swap. This swap can be done at any tranny shop of course but I would recommend Speaking to Bryan @ Audis4parts.com ... he has done a quite a lot of them and has done a few for a couple of the guys here on this forum.

awdjunkies

^ Yes, that means keeping it, as I truly think is worth keeping. Ask yourself this, "What made you decide on buying an allroad?" Do you think that decision still holds up? To me, I think it's an awesome utilitarian vehicle, which If you don't have payments on, it would be worth keeping/fixing.

By the way, here is just a quick link to show you what Bryan and his company can do : https://www.audiworld.com/forums/sho...hlight=ricam78


Oh yeah, you can purchase your EGT sensors from either www.ecstuning.com ( http://www.ecstuning.com/Audi-All_Ro...Egt/ES2063767/ ) or you could just have them coded out, through J-Fonz tuning http://shop.jfonztuning.com/main.sc ( http://shop.jfonztuning.com/C5-Allro...tm?productId=5 )... So yes, There are options out there...

Stobal

Thanks awdjunkies - I'll give 517trans a call. Unfortunately, while I'd love to do a TIP -> Manual conversion, this is my wife's car and it needs to stay as an automatic.

awdjunkies

No Prob. I figured as soon as you said the wifey's(Comfy) car, it had to stay tip.. Good Luck..

PS: I have had excellent first hand experience with 517, As my Torque Converter went on my first allroad. So yes, they are a great/reputable company.

allroaddave

Nice to know there's an alternative source for transmission rebuilds, I'm going to bookmark this for the future, I imagine it's just a matter of time and miles, although ours has worked perfectly since day 1.

I'm with those who suggest keeping the car, once it's repaired it's still a very usable driveable car, and to replace it will cost 10X what the repairs do. If it still looks nice and drives well, why not keep it?

Our 2004 2.7 Tip is now at only 55k, we bought it with the idea of keeping it for at least 10 years, now we may just keep it, period......

awdjunkies

YOU Sir, are going places... seriously though, that I think is the smartest thing to do. If your vehicle is still "Serving it's purpose" aka, what it was intended to do or what you purchased it for, then why not fix the little bugs(Although some more costly than others) and keep getting pleasure out of it.
Especially when you ONLY have 55k..

ricam78

Good luck. Sam at 517 is a really good guy. Let him know Rich from Houston says hi!

Allroadian

Let me ask you, have you ever dealt with Audis4parts before? Are they reputable? Thanks!

amiram

This is usually a sign of using a tap water instead of cooling fluid (G12 \ 13) Check if there are no signs of erosion in the cooling system.