Well, it has only been 10,000 miles since MJ worked her magic on the 'Barn Find, Lazavus' but I am feeling that a gearbox service is needed. Its because when I did the radiator replacement (and the obligatory top up - 200ml?) I am sure that now hearing a low pitched whine from the torque converter and after a good run when shifting from drive to reverse for low speed manouvreing the shift is a little 'cluncky'. I am thinking / worrying that I did not put back the requisite amount of oil so off to have a gearbox oil service.
Now ZF recommended: bteautomotive.co.uk as my nearest approved service centre. All seems ok. They have provided a quote, seems reasonable and offering - 'COMMA MVATF PLUS Multi vehicle' - as the replacement oil.
Any thoughts on this?
In addition - A funny thing happened when travelling to the Simply Audi event at Beaulieu. Drove to fill up. Went to drive off but could not pull the selector back into drive. It was as if there was a something under the console stopping it from shifting. could shift from park to reverse but not from neutral to drive. In the end shifting in to reverse and moving back slightly and a 'quick shift to Drive seemed to work. The move in to drive seemed a little limp - no real solid feel. This went on for two days - now back to solid lever action again. Maybe a £1 coin fell into the selector mechanism
______________ Paul - Gosport
Audi S8 FE - Red Leather - Barn Find fixed by MJ
The first thing you have to ask yourself is whether you just want a traditional or a dynamic oil replacement.
The latter one is more advisable in my opinion, especially for older cars as the machine will pump fresh oil through the whole gearbox at the correct temperature and pressure including the torque converter.
It even has 2 translucent pipes in it that show the clarity of the fresh ATF going in and old coming out, usually the ATF exchange stops once the incoming ATF matches the outgoing ATF in colour.
Traditional method only drains a few liters our and leaves the oil in TC untouched, half a job in my opinion.
Liqui Moly have a list of garages equipped with their geartronic machines in UK and if you contact the with your postcode they will let you know where the nearest one is
More info here:
One thing to look out for is garages using some universal ATF that's cheap and charging you for the proper stuff that's more expensive.
The quote i received from a Liqui Moly workshop in Gloucester was £500
The main problem with the fluid exchange people is that they always use some multi-vehicle generic crap oil and will refuse to use anything else because thats where all their profit margin is. Given how sensitive these gearboxes are, I can't recommend anyone who won't use proper oil, which IMO is either genuine ZF Lifeguard 5 or Mannol AG52 (which is whats in yours).
The ~200ml that is lost when the radiator is removed usually isn't enough to cause trauma within the gearbox, but a TC whine is generally indicative of low fluid. Are there any signs of leaks from underneath it? Given that it had fluid and filter only 10K ago, I'd be inclined to just check the level and top up if necessary. You could do a drain and refill to see what state the oil is in, but personally I think a full exchange at that mileage is unnecessary.
The shifter behaviour sounds a bit like the lockout solenoid misbehaving, but I'm not sure why it would work fine in R and not in D since its controlled by the brake switch. Given that it seems to have fixed itself, see what happens with that I guess.
I am going to err on the side of caution and cancel the gearbox oil change, for now. Like the idea that Ronin suggested.
Nobody wants to do a check and top up so I guess I am crawling under the car in the next few days to inspect and top up through the 'official' fill up hole. I have my trusty syringe so will have fun with that.
Hopefully that's just the fix.
______________ Paul - Gosport
Audi S8 FE - Red Leather - Barn Find fixed by MJ
So I took a little look online regarding 'topping up' and it has filled me with a small sense of horror over all sorts of procedures. I was just going to remove the bottom plug - as I understand that's where the fill level is anyway - and add more in using my trusty bit syringe and a rubber tube. When it flows back out that's topped up eh?
I have seen all sorts of jargon about turning engine on and running it through the gears and whatnot. That is not for me.
______________ Paul - Gosport
Audi S8 FE - Red Leather - Barn Find fixed by MJ
You must have the engine running before you remove the fill plug otherwise you'll lose 2-3 litres of oil. The fill level is at 35-45C, so start it from cold, with the car level, fill until it dribbles out, then use VCDS to monitor the gearbox temperature. It will keep dripping as it warms up, then put the fill plug back in when it gets to 40C and your level is correct.
Running it through the gears is only important when it has been drained. For a top-up you don't need to do that.
I followed the process advised by MJ. Managed about 125mls oil. Not fun scrabbling around underneath a car with the motor running. Cleaned up. Car back on the ground and went for a spin......... whine still there!
Guess what? Pressing the AC econ switch on and the noise went away!!!! I feel a little silly now at this juncture.
The AC compressor is making this whine.... ho hum. Now wondering if the 125mls I managed to shove in is an 'overfill'
______________ Paul - Gosport
Audi S8 FE - Red Leather - Barn Find fixed by MJ
Ha I've been caught out by the exact same thing. My S8's compressor is also grumbling at the moment too. They are only £200 for NRF units which seem to work pretty well. Should be about an hour's work for a garage with an AC machine to change it.
MikkiJayne wrote: ↑Tue Sep 03, 2024 5:59 pm
Ha I've been caught out by the exact same thing. My S8's compressor is also grumbling at the moment too. They are only £200 for NRF units which seem to work pretty well. Should be about an hour's work for a garage with an AC machine to change it.
Aha! found two VAG.... 'specialists'. Discussed issue. Specialist (say that lightly) 1 stated that the car was too old to work on! Specialeeest 2 hmmmmph and arrrrrghed and said that it would need a full investigation - diagnostic - lah de dah. Enough to say neither filled me with any confidence. Anyway, spoke with a chum that has the MOT workshop and he suggested I just source the pump, fit it and he will refill it. sounds like a plan.
Here is another odd one for MJ and Ronin. Remember the bluetooth picking up the whine through the speakers? well switching the AC to ECON drastically reduced the whine to a 'low whisper'. Nuts...........
______________ Paul - Gosport
Audi S8 FE - Red Leather - Barn Find fixed by MJ
The garage i was going to use is called 'CAR-POL' and looking at their facebook page they have done numerous dynamic oil replacements on luxury vehicles. The only problem is they are in Gloucester. They are a certified liqui moly center and have a geartronic machine.
They quoted me £500 which is a lot. The DIYer in me went on ebay and found a diy machine:
