Transmission leaking condition - 89 90 w/AT

[Dave C.]

Chris wrote...
"It's an 89 audi 90 automatic. 
... the transmission leaks as the owner says and it shifts fine and such
but I have to keep 
refilling the tranny as advised. Has anyone encountered this situation?? 
Could this just be the transmission pan and or gasket. Are there anything
seals 
wise that can go aswell?? "

Chris,
Assuming you mean to say the owner (You have not purchased the car yet?)
told you you will need to keep adding ATF...Then perhaps you only know what
the owner has told you.  It would be good to know how how fast it's leaking
and exactly where the leak is conming from.  Any leak is potentially
serious because running the tranny with incorrect fluid level may lead to
expensive damage, and perhaps it already has.  The leak itself may not be
terribly difficult to fix, but damage due to incorrect fluid level is
another matter.

The problem is most likely >not< the pan gasket... if that's all it was you
can assume it would have been fixed.  Don't wast your time with stop leak,
etc.  Chances are the current owner already tried that and there's already
an unknown amount of mystery shytte in the ATF which ought to be purged.

I think the most common leak would be around the 3 inch round cover on the
passengers side of the transmission held in with a big circlip.
This is the 2nd gear brake band piston cover.  It is sealed with an O-ring
and the heat of the exhaust hardens the o-ring over time. The piston
assembly can be
removed and the O-ring replaced. It's best to replace the piston seals at
the same time since they are rubber and harden also. If the piston seals
have hardened they can affect the shifting, pressure is lost past the
seals.  This can be done with the trans in the car on the type 44's but I
am unsure
if it can be done on the 80/90 cars.
-------------------------
Dave C.