ATF fluid question

[euromob]

do i have to use german ATF fluid for my transmission service? or can i use mobile-1 full synthetic ATF fluid or any other cheaper alternatives that will work properly? dont feel like spending $150 on fluid, i know there has to be an alternative.

i still plan on buying the filter and gasket from wherever is suggested also. need to do this asap.

also, i dont have vagcom, so how do i tell when i need to pump more fluid in?

[Scotty@Advanced]

Some people have used different fluid with good results some have not. It's just a matter if your willing to risk a $2400 transmission to Save $100.00.

[2.7taudi]

Some people have used different fluid with good results some have not. It's just a matter if your willing to risk a $2400 transmission to Save $100.00.
I've always wanted to ask this.

What fluid do you recommend? Can I go to pentosin which I believe is zf approved or is it best to just go to the dealer?

Sent from my Nexus Quattro

[Scotty@Advanced]

There are many aftermarket equivalents.. Febi, Pentosin etc, one isn't better than the other necessarily.

[audifirst]

I was nice today and did a google search for you and here are results

here
http://www.blauparts.com/proddetail.asp?prod=F2A1007-B
and here
http://www.myturbodiesel.com/1000q/b5/auto-transmission-ATF-fluid-change.htm

with that information you should able to do it yourself

[euromob]

i consulted with a few diff people, including scott@advanced, he suggested getting extra fluid to do a flush, when i told my audi mechanic about this,he said im crazy and your not supposed to do a flush on the transmission. so im getting mixed opinions and advice.

and i dont have a ZF @2.7Taudi
these cars have a 01V automatic tiptronic.

[pohsib]

The transmission is built by ZF. The Audi transmission code is 01V, ZF code is 5HP19FLA.

[JakAzz425]

Ok, I did alot of searching prior to doing my ATF and this is what i gathered. I used Valvoline High grade ATF because it was on the list of ATF's that met or exceeded OEM Standards. Also the flush is considered a bad idea because from my understanding it will wash out some of the gears inside the transmission and cause slippage. But I would definitely not do this without vcds because it tells you when to stop adding and when to add more through transmission temps. Also if possible grab an extra set of hands, they dont need to be skilled hands just an extra set..... and beer.. Also im at about 5000 after ATF swap and running good.

[Scotty@Advanced]

What happens is as a transmission operates it sloughs off friction material which gets suspended in the fluid over time. As fluid is oxidized and contaminated it gets thicker.

The thicker fluid helps seal up components that start to leak over time due to wear etc. When you replace the fluid with fresh, the fresh fluid is less viscous and more detergent so accumulated crud that helps seal up things gets suspended in the fluid and internal leakage starts to manifest itself as transmission problems.

It's not necessarily that the fluid caused the issue but rather fresh fluid will exacerbate an already existing problem which would have reared up eventually.

[euromob]

my car is hitting 80k any minute. is it a bad idea to change it now? or should i go for it.
my trans doesnt slip or anything, just want to do it so i dont have problems later on.

[lucio_liu]

my car is hitting 80k any minute. is it a bad idea to change it now? or should i go for it.
my trans doesnt slip or anything, just want to do it so i dont have problems later on.

80k is not to bad, I did my@80k.

I suggest you use audi G052162A2 $17/liter

or equivelant http://www.fcpeuro.com/products/automatic-transmission-fluid-1-liters-atf1-5l

it's about $13/liter

you need about 6-7 liters and you need measure ATF temp by vagcom or other obd-ii scanner with live data feature.

That's very critical. I would say do it until you get everything on hand and read the write-up step by step

[lucio_liu]

Some people have used different fluid with good results some have not. It's just a matter if your willing to risk a $2400 transmission to Save $100.00.


very true, also use the geniune audi filter I compare it with aftermarket one and they do have a big difference.

you may want to cheap out some engine oil/filter but for transimission never..

[audifirst]

my car is hitting 80k any minute. is it a bad idea to change it now? or should i go for it.
my trans doesnt slip or anything, just want to do it so i dont have problems later on.

no it's not bad idea to do it now, the sooner you do it the better you keep the transmission running smoother.
and do not cheapout on filter or oil, get OEM filter , when I did first time I order filter and oil the company send me Chinese filter with no audi/vw logo stamp on it, the internal filter membrane was moving inside and I was able to remove it from the filter, then I got OEM filter from dealer it was few bucks more and it the filter membrane was solid not moving inside
as far of going with aftermarket fluid the MAXlife from Valvoline was approved fluid, but if you do decide go with that one you need to flush your existing fluid out completely , it will require more fluid to do it,
when I did mine twice filter and fluid replaced already I flushed 3 times to get max fluid out of the transmission..
my car is 14 years old and I have not one issue with transmission ..

[threeputtpar]

Some good info here, but here is what I did.

Bought the filter kit from Autozone, as it comes with a rubber pan gasket as opposed to paper with the other kits. The first time I serviced my 01V, I went with the Blau kit and the paper gasket developed a leak. No problems with the Autozone pan gasket yet with 20k miles on.

The Blau kit fluid was the Pentosin fluid back then, and for what it is it is very overpriced. G052162A2 spec is basically fluid that is at least semi-synthetic, Dexron III fluid with a operating viscosity of >7.0cSt. For the $15 that the Pentosin ATF1 sells for, they are making a 200% profit. Most multi-vehicle, semi-syn fluids from the big names can attain the specs needed for around $5 a quart.

I ended up using MaxLife Dex/Merc ATF because it is fully synthetic, and it's cheap in the gallon jugs. It is thinner than 7cSt, but I've had no problems with it, and it actually cleared up the 2-3 shudder that the Pentosin didn't fix. If you're concerned about the correct viscosity, Valvoline Import Multi-Vehicle ATF was specifically made to work with ZF transmissions, among others.

Oh, and don't confuse the term "flush" with fluid exchange. You want to do a fluid exchange which means doing it in the most passive way possible. Usually that means a drain, pan and filter removal, and a refill. If you can access the output line to the cooler, you can use the pump inside the trans to pump out the fluid and then refill through the fill plug, which will purge the old stuff out of the torque converter and you can achieve an exchange closer to 100% the first time around.

[A4 Jed]

Has anyone tried Redline ATF D4 in their tranny?

[xdewaynex]

Some good info here, but here is what I did.

Bought the filter kit from Autozone, as it comes with a rubber pan gasket as opposed to paper with the other kits. The first time I serviced my 01V, I went with the Blau kit and the paper gasket developed a leak. No problems with the Autozone pan gasket yet with 20k miles on.

The Blau kit fluid was the Pentosin fluid back then, and for what it is it is very overpriced. G052162A2 spec is basically fluid that is at least semi-synthetic, Dexron III fluid with a operating viscosity of >7.0cSt. For the $15 that the Pentosin ATF1 sells for, they are making a 200% profit. Most multi-vehicle, semi-syn fluids from the big names can attain the specs needed for around $5 a quart.

I ended up using MaxLife Dex/Merc ATF because it is fully synthetic, and it's cheap in the gallon jugs. It is thinner than 7cSt, but I've had no problems with it, and it actually cleared up the 2-3 shudder that the Pentosin didn't fix. If you're concerned about the correct viscosity, Valvoline Import Multi-Vehicle ATF was specifically made to work with ZF transmissions, among others.

Oh, and don't confuse the term "flush" with fluid exchange. You want to do a fluid exchange which means doing it in the most passive way possible. Usually that means a drain, pan and filter removal, and a refill. If you can access the output line to the cooler, you can use the pump inside the trans to pump out the fluid and then refill through the fill plug, which will purge the old stuff out of the torque converter and you can achieve an exchange closer to 100% the first time around.

Im about to put the Valvoline ATF as you mentioned in my A6. A friend of mine works for an oil distribution place, and scored 5gal for me, for free.

[A4 Jed]

Did some researching last night and found that the VAG part number for the ATF fluid in the 2002 S6 is equivalent to the Esso LT71411. I ran Into this issue a few months ago when I was looking for a suitable upgrade in ATF for my BMW wagon which had a ZF tranny that called for the Esso LT71411. More digging got led me to Redline ATF D4, which is what I used in the wagon. Runs and shifts beautifully now.

[C5S6]

2 years ago I used the M1 synthetic ATF and a bottle of lubeguard. No problems what so ever, although I wouldn't mind an 01E swap.

[rollerton]

I used Amsoil on my B5 S4 when I was hoping I wouldn't have to replace the TC. Didn't fix the TC but that car has almost 200,000k on it and it still shifts smooth (better with the new TC). I think the Amsoil was $9'ish per/qt? I think it was the cheapest stuff that has good reputation and meets OEM standards.

[kid-jensen]

Oh, and don't confuse the term "flush" with fluid exchange. You want to do a fluid exchange which means doing it in the most passive way possible. Usually that means a drain, pan and filter removal, and a refill. If you can access the output line to the cooler, you can use the pump inside the trans to pump out the fluid and then refill through the fill plug, which will purge the old stuff out of the torque converter and you can achieve an exchange closer to 100% the first time around.

Looking to do this soon. Is it safe to use the pump inside the trans to pump out most of the old fluid? I'm assuming you did this by running the engine, or is there some clever manual method I'm missing?

I'd be worried about running the engine with the transmission "dry"..

[JonMS]

http://www.audiction.com/audi-maintenance/audi-01v-tipronic-transmission-fluid-change/

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2

[threeputtpar]

I did not use the trans pump on my Audi, because I couldn't access the cooler lines on the radiator without putting it into service position. I have just done 3 drain and fills to dilute the fluid as much as I could, but it is entirely possible to use the cooler line method if you have the time to go service position.

I did use this procedure on our Mountaineer, and it would pump out all of the fluid in the pan through the converter until is just started to spurt bubbles and I shut it down then. Refilled the pan and repeated the procedure until I went throught the total capacity of the trans. No problems to speak of.

[kid-jensen]

Thanks for the replies, looks like I've got my weekend sorted..

I can understand your reluctance to put the front of the car into the servoce position. It's a real pain on an Allroad and takes forever, though refilling 2 or 3 times is no 5-minute job either..

I'll decide at the time which method it the least work and just do that.