[A8] New Lister, Trans. Question

[Jon Archibald]

Thanks for the reply, Jack. At least it sounds like you got out okay on your
'98.  

I got a chuckle out of "permanent limper", so thanks for that :-)

Good luck with the "L", I'm sure the backseat space is heavenly.

-Jon

-----Original Message-----
From: Rich, Jack [mailto:JRich at Kronos.com] 
Sent: Friday, August 11, 2006 8:11 PM
To: urquattro at comcast.net; a8 at audifans.com
Subject: RE: [A8] New Lister, Trans. Question

My 98 tranny went into limp mode without ever having experienced the
thumping.  It thumped only as it entered limp mode.  I eventually sold
it as a permanent limper (for an astonishinly high sum on eBay.)  I
can't answer you questions.  I consider it a crap shoot, and I'm rolling
the dice on my current replacement (a 2001 A8L.)

Jack

-----Original Message-----
From: a8-bounces at audifans.com [mailto:a8-bounces at audifans.com] On Behalf
Of urquattro at comcast.net
Sent: Friday, August 11, 2006 21:02
To: a8 at audifans.com
Subject: [A8] New Lister, Trans. Question

Hi out there,
I know this list is pretty quiet and the Audiworld is the more active
choice for A8 fodder, but I really much prefer the simple functionality
of the audifans lists (urq lister since its inception) so I'll try this.


Last winter, with a few extra bucks in hand, I purchased a (gasp) 163k
mile '97 4.2q, very clean with exten$ive maintenance records and a few
nice little upgrades. Car drove fabulously on the test drive; did not
exhibit any suspicious tranny behavior. It has more or less been stored
the last 7 months until I had some time to spend getting familiar with
it. 

Today is the 3rd time I've driven it a longish distance and on the
freeway I noticed the notorious torque converter "thump" for the first
time. It seems to be even worse when the car is driven in "4". The
tranny fluid/filter -were- changed some time back, but the more I read
about these, the more I'm beginning to feel a bit nauseous about what
I've gotten myself into. 

I would love some clarification on:

-how long between the beginnings of the "thump" and the complete demise
of the tranny

-whether and how the "thump" itself actually leads to the aforementioned
demise

-whether there is any warning before the transmission fails to the point
the car is undriveable (ie could I limp a few hundred miles home or be
completely stranded)

-has anyone bought a ZF-rebuilt trans, and if so, what kind of luck have
they had with it; how much did it cost

I absolutely love driving the car; it's everything I've loved about my
various 5kq's but SO much better. Considering the small money I paid for
it; I might be able to live with a big hit up front to get a decent
trans in it, but the picture on what that costs / whether that solves
the problem in the long term is a bit fuzzy still.

Any discussion, annecdotal information greatly appreciated!
TIA,
Jon
'97 a8 4.2q
'95 90
'85 urq 20vt
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