anyone rebuild their own automatic transmission ?

[Mike Arman]

>

>Date: Sat, 12 Oct 2002 15:44:58 -0400

>From: "Ice Cat     ^. .^   ~" <iceisit at earthlink.net>
>Subject: anyone rebuild their own automatic transmission ?
>
>Anyone on this list rebuild their own automatic transmission ?
>I hope it was an '89 200 Turbo NoQ like mine  :-)
>
>Fay



Don't even try it. Many of the parts are going to be expensive and some may
be unobtanium.

The three speed automatic transmission was always marginal in these cars -
and in a turbo, it is definitely overworked.

There are two failure modes - the first one has been the subject of a
recall. It seems the seal between the tranny and the final drive leaks, and
they swap fluids. This isn't obvious from the outside, since nothing
appears on the ground. The transmission gets indigestion from the gear oil,
and the differential gets indigestion from the ATF. Audi won't honor that
recall any more - it is too old, and the cars are WAY out of warranty
(which I have heard is nothing to write home about anyway).

The second failure mode is simply that the car is too heavy and powerful
for this transmission. By 1989, the car was heavier than when it was
introduced, and had more HP as well.

In either case, the cure is the same. Start calling around to wrecking
yards. Get a used tranny/final drive - and here's what you look for: Latest
model non-turbo you can find, and it HAS to be wrecked. Non-turbo because
the tranny has had a slightly easier life than in turbo cars, and wrecked
because that way you know the tranny works - the car had to be running to
get wrecked! There are a LOT of automatic transmission type 44s in
junkyards because the transmission is bad - and that is all. You do NOT
want to go through all this trouble just to replace your bad tranny with
another bad one.

The non-turbo final drive ratio may be different than yours, so check that
before it gets put together.

I've done this on a 4000, and the 5000 shouldn't be that different. The
actual transmission swap isn't too difficult, just a few bolts and it is on
the ground, leaving the final drive, torque converter, etc. still in the
car. If you do pull the final drive, remember that the halfshafts are
different lengths right and left, so don't mix them, and don't EVER roll
the car with the halfshafts removed. This is a much easier job if you just
swap the tranny, but if you want to do it really right, pull the final
drive, change the seals, while you're there renew the halfshaft boots, this
is getting to be a BIG job . . . flush the torque converter in any event.

Only real trick is the torque converter shaft. It has to be seated
correctly when you assemble the transmission to the final drive - there's a
specification in the Bentley - it should stick out 10 mm or so (I think).
If it isn't seated correctly (sticks out too far), you can still assemble
the car, but when you tighten the bolts, it pushes some internal seal or
other out of place and then you'll be doing this again real soon now, so be
careful with this item.

Used transmissions are available for under $100 at most you-pull-its, and
SOMEONE is going to get dirty and properly mosquito-bitten removing it.
Nice thing about getting parts from the you-pull-it is you don't have to be
super-careful not to break anything else as you work, and you get to see
how it comes apart before you try this on your very own car.

Keep your fingers crossed - maybe the new fluids will solve the problem - I
hope so - but if not, the junkyard tranny is the fastest, probably most
cost effective way to go to get back on the road again. If you feel like
it, you can then buy the rebuild kit, and if you have a LOT of spare time,
rebuild your old tranny.

By the way, it is possible to convert the car to standard transmission (see
the archives), but you need a LOT of parts, so the way to do this is to buy
a beat-up donor car and get everything you need from it. Standard
transmission 2 WD type 44s are getting really cheap (we are talking $200
here for the whole car!), especially if the rack leaks, the windows don't
work, and the door handles are broken.


Best Regards,

Mike Arman