Shifting the automatic - A6/100

[Xudong <xudong@prismsolutions.com>]

Group,

Saw some scary post regarding Audi automatics. Are these things designed
to be shifted
manually? Does doing so reduce their life?

On my A6, if the car is moving, and I shift from 2 to 1, it shifts with
a loud clank. It doesn't happen when
the car is stopped. Not that I need to do this shift often, but I am
wondering if this is normal.
Can someone with the same car/transmission please tell me if yours do
the same?


Thanks

Xudong Yan

95 A6 non-Q


PS. All this talk about putting Chevy V8s into an Audi got me thinking.
I heard in Japan
you have to replace your car in only a few years. So some of the used
engines end up here in the
US for sale. I found quite a few ads on "used Japanese engines for
cheap". I wonder 
what they do with the Nissan Skyline GTR drivetrain when it reached this
stage (if ever) ?