Have a 2000 A4 Z28 with the stock transmission in it. Car only has 34,000 miles on it. On the way to work this morning i gave it some gas and got it up to the about 6k rpm and when it went to shift it dropped to about 5k and then didnt fully shift until i gave it a little more gas. I was letting off the gas a little when it started to shift so i am wondering if i just caught it midshift or something. Any ideas? Also on a different occasion i got on it and it just redlined and didnt shift but i think the tires were just free spinning and caused that. I had hardly no traction.

 

Check the fluid condition and fluid level before you hit it again.

What was your MPH when you leaned on it? Do you know if it kicked down or were you manually shifting it?

g

 

The first time when the shift seemed to slip i was going about 40 or 45. I wasnt all over it either which confused me. Just giving it the gas to get going. I wasnt doing any shifting on my own. I know the stock tranny is made to slip in the gear right? just seemed like it missed or something. I had to give it more gas to get it to shift.

 

no joke, the trans will go into a limp mode when the fluid is just barely off. i though i lost 4th and 2nd and i put maybe 1/5 a quart of fluid in and its back to normal. i didnt put enough fluid in when i put the trans cooler on and i think it got the pan a little low when it started to circulate

 

Thanks for all the info guys. I really appreciate the help on this. I will be sure to check the fluid first thing.

 

Yep, fluid level is critical in these units.

Do check that and get back to us with what you find!

g

 

Fluid level looked to be fine. Level was in the cross hatch area on the dip stick.

 

Ok thanks... I am going to suggest bringing the level up to the top of the crosshatch area. It will not take much. Don't be afraid to go just a bit over. But, don't get carried away either.

How did it drive this evening? Did you try to duplicate the condition?

g

 

took it easy on the way home. everything shifts fine. no problems at all. wondering if it may have just been a crazy one time thing. I will pick up some fluid and add to it a little.

 

Well, usually transmissions do not present intermittant symptoms. But, driving conditions can and will present different results. Meaning, if you lean on it a given clutch pack or sprag may not hold well. And by diriving it "normally" so to speak, it will not exhibit the symptom.

So, obviuosly you know the vehicle, obviously you know something happened. Keep an eye on it and let us know in this thread how it does over the next few days.

I could offer some suggestions as to what may have occured, but it would be pure speculation at this point. And I don't want to put a "bug" in your head as it easily could have been a one time event.

When was it serviced last?

g

 

Not really sure when it was last serviced. I bought it last fall and havent serviced it myself. Would it be smart to change out the fluid or have anything specific done to it?

 

Well it sure couldn't hurt to have it serviced. When it is done, take a good look at the debris in the pan. that will tell you alot about the condition of the Soft Parts.. clutches, band etc...

It's just now getting to the mileage when I would like to see it serviced anyhow.

g

 

Would it be worth it to go with a shift kit when its serviced? Assuming i can find someone i trust to do it. LOL. I dont have huge power plans for the car. Not going to race it either but i want it dependable. Only other power adding in the works would be an LS6 intake, LT headers, and a tune.

 

Hi'ya, I have a '98 T/A & a '91 Formula in the family & I was looking for any fellow A4 equipped Stock LS1 owners who may have had a strange occurance like just mentioned in this thread with the l460 automatic.
My friend has a 98 T/A with a somewhat similar problem-almost. Here it is:
Had first Fluid change at a *Chevy Dealer@ 88K miles (pumped out approx 90-95% thru tube) & it was a reddish brown at the time) Filter changed as well. around 90k+ while driving on the interstate around 65-70, car suddenly decided to act like it was a stick car, & someone stepped on the clutch just a bit to get it to slip. (It acts like it's slipping for a 'lil bit, and the tach revs up, but car hardly responds (it's like a slipping clutch under a load just before it goes). This happened intermittantly & every once in awhile. Playing on & off the gas a bit & it goes away with no lockup jolt or anything. It just stops revving up like a slipping stick car clutch & works fine. I finally experienced this while a passenger in the car at around 100K mile one day on the interstate with him. He now has almost 110K on it, and says every once in awhile it still does this.
What's up with that?
Btw, fluid changed twice again at the dealer between 97k & 105K miles. The last one with a filter too. (* a friend is a B-tech there. Says he/anyone there never heard of this issue?)
Crazy right? any ideas? Car shifts normal & lazy around town like my '98 T/A does, and hard & proper at wot. What gives? Any ideas?
Thanks for your ideas / acknowledgment in advance.

 

Alright, i was able to reproduce the situation on the way to work this morning unfortunately. I was rolling at about 20mph and then got on it. The back end kind of kicked out a little and then when it got ot redline it would shift so i backed off it. Accelerated normally and it shifted fine. So im thinking there is a problem for sure. Could it be the cold weather and not being warmed up yet? Got down to about 20 last night and it stays outside. This happened right as i pulled out of the driveway this morning. Also the next time i got on it, it did shift to the next gear but seemed to slip a little then went hard into the next gear. Any ideas? Thanks again for all your help!!

 

To the OP.... I am not at all surprised to see the symptoms occur on such a cold day under hard acceleration right out of the driveway. The rubber seals in the transmission can easily be bypassing fluid. Think of it like this... tkae a rubber band and put it in a freezer for an hour or so. Take it out and notice how stiff it is. Then allow it to come to room temperature. It will become soft and pliable... right?

Now, think of all the rubbers seals in an automatic tranny that are frozen stiff! Then hit them with somehwere near 175 - 200 psi of cold fluid! They can easily allow fluid pressure to bypass and not apply the clutches. Now, compund that by the distance the piston must travel because of clutch pack wear and tear. You get the point.

So, it is important to know that you should not take a frozen autmoatic transmission to WOT... not only can it bypass pressure, it can also crack platic accumulator and aluminum clutch pistons! If I had to speak to the reason why your are experienceing this set of symptoms, based on todays example of a test drive, I would say cold rubber, cold fluid and excessive clutch pack clearance are the culprits here. Continuing to lean on it when it is not warmed up will definately cause the soft parts to fail prematurely as they are slipping the whole time it is not upshifting! And it only takes a handful of these "mis shifts" to burn the clutches severely.

Hope that helps!

g

 

To Rapid Rick.... I suspect this unit has an issue with the converter clutch slipping, poor Line Pressure or the simple fact that the unit is just plum worn out.

I would bet that it is the latter of the 3. Meaning, if the 3/4 clutches and the Band are worn significantly and there is poor Line pressure due to a tired pump then indeed you can get this set of symptoms.

Were you traveling on flat pavement or a slight incline?

g

 

To Rapid Rick, did you have the problem before the fluid change? Was the atf dark? When the fluid is changed when the fluid is dark, this could damage the trans as the new detergent in the fluid when at operating temperature will "wash away" varnish, bits and pieces, etc. The detergents are designed to keep the trans clean. This could have damaged clutches, etc. Unfortunately, as with so many of my customers, they are uninformed of the true maintanance schedule of an automatic trans. It should be done approx. every 15,000-30,000 miles. Depending on the use of the vehicle. I'll give you an example: My plow truck gets a service, (fluid, filter, and gasket), every spring and fall. My 02 SS gets checked every month as I'm testing for durability and have lots of money tied up in it. My wife's burb gets changed once a year. She puts on 9-12,000 miles a year. I'm a little ****, but it could be changed every 20,000. We don't tow anything with it. You get the jist. At 100,000 miles we tell our customers we would like to see and smell the fluid and give them this knowledge as not to damage the trans in the future before changing the fluid. Also, no power flushing. Volvo, GM, etc. have tests on this. The manufacturer wants some of the old fluid left in the trans, if it is in good shape. Think of it as an anti-biotic. There are good and bad antibodies in your body. If you take an anti-biotic, they are both wiped out. A powerflush is the same way. As the clutches wear at the micron level, it acts as a friction modifier and keeps the trans from slipping. Sorry for the lengthy discussion, hope this helps.

 

IVE HAD THIS. Low fluid just makes it slip hard on shifts and it wont goto the next gear. done it. MY tranny went nuts before too man, it was the freakin TPS sensor!! the tranny was getting whacko signals from it, threw everything off and it drovel ike my trnany was gonna fall out.

 

dude also, while tuning mine i realized, you must put the car in gear, move it, then check fluid. After swapping a converter I checked it running after it had set a few min in park. It was full. We went full throttle runs tuning it and it wouldnt shift. Checked throttle after reving it with brakes locked ni drive and it was super low. Does this make sense?