Tiptronic trans going out?

[akielb]

I've started to have this clicking sound come from under the car when I drive(no its not just when I'm turning right or left and no it doesn't get worse). It sounds like its directly below me. Usually it will go away once I've reached 15-20 mph. Other times it doesn't happen at all. I got under the car tonight and had the wife spin the wheel as fast as she could. The sound appears to be coming from the transmission area directly behind the axles. I had originally thought it was the drive shaft hitting the exhaust heat shield, but I almost took that off and it didn't make any difference.

On a second note, how far should I be able to spin one tire before the opposite side starts to spin? I can spin one wheel maybe 30 degrees before the other will start to spin. and if I go back and forth quickly the transmission will cluck.

I don't have time to get it into the shop for a couple of weeks so hopefully this isn't that bad.
HELP

[akielb]

Bumpzilla

[loustylez]

i have some slop in my drive line as well (2.8 tip). can't tell if it's in the tranny or in some mounts or something, not real sure on where to start looking but you talking about moving the wheels sounds like something to try.

i mainly just get clunks when, e.g, going 30mph in 5th gear - letting off then accelerating again will clunk a little. i get clunks when slowing down from 3rd to 2nd. seems to get worse after it's warm as it doesn't do it hardly at all when i first start off to work in the morning.

anyway, hoping someone replies with some stuff for us to try as i'd love to solve this issue.

[JaVa]

the wheel movement is completely normal. as long as you cant completely spin one. the audi drivelines move around a bit hence the clunk when down shifting.
im not honestly sure but check all the joints on the driveshaft. if its a two piece check the pillow block. sorry i cant be more help

[loustylez]

the more i play around with my tranny, it seems like engine mounts or something (from what i know of how stuff works anyway). i can be any almost any gear and let off slightly than tap the gas again and i get a knock from either under me (tranny) or further up front, hard to tell. the tranny doesn't feel like it's slipping at all though, so i dunno...

[JaVa]

its most lieky the mounts especially if you are getting on anf off the gas and get a clunk.

[akielb]

Took the car to my mechanic on Friday. All his hoists were full so he couldn't get it up in there air. He best guess that that is was the tranny mounts causing the drive shaft to hit the exhaust. I'm calling on Tuesday to get an appointment (after I find a ride to work)

Keep ya updated

[akielb]

Shop found a broken transmission bracket. ordered a new one and are charging me $80 for the part. hopefully be here tomorrow

Edit - part ended up being $36

[akielb]

Got the car back - still has the same clicking sound. He thinks it might be the CV starting to go but didn't have any more time to look at it that day. I'll post picks of the bracket tonight.

on a good note, he did install my Borla exhaust and it does sound amazing. He was bitching about how the hangers were bent from shipping and he had to bend them around to work. He also said the top bolt on the cat was really horrible, he said "I had to resort to violence!". So, I'm now glad that I had him do it, and he threw everything on at the same time and only charged me an hour and a half for everything.

[akielb]

Problem ended up being the Drive shaft CV - Cost was $160 for parts and $160 for labor.

[loustylez]

any way to check that w/o taking it in to a shop? i'd still like to fix this clunk i have in my drive line. shit just feels loose whenever you're coming to a stop and accelarating. in 3rd gear in tip at around 3k just letting on/off the gas you can feel it knock back and forth a hair second after you let off. i know this is somewhat normal, but it wasn't near that bad on any of the other A4's i've driven.

[akielb]

I kind of have that too. It's my control arms - he said they are almost gone. I'm planning to order a whole kit here some day. No idea how to check your mounts - maybe start another thread to bring more attention to that topic.

[loustylez]

if the control arms were bad i'd think you'd notice it more in the steering. my steering seems fine, it's only whether i'm tapping the gas or not. and i get a clunk when slowing down from 3rd to 2nd usually that's really annoying. although i can brake until i know the clunk is gonna happen, let off the brake and it'll downshift fine, then brake again to stop. *shrug*

[LEGO]

Sorry, back from the dead. I'm having the same issue on my wife's car. Sound is coming from where the passenger axle connects to the tip tranny. Only happens when I release the gas pedal. Control arms have no play. Replaced the axle on that side and tie rod. When I grab the axle near the tranny and move it up and down, it has a bit of slop and makes a clicking noise. Also, when I turn the wheel back and forth on that side, it has some play and clicks a bit. Bad new axle? Tranny? I really hope not.

[Zaraeleus]

Having a similiar problem...
Usually when I start off it will feel like it goes into neutral and the RPMs will go up and then it will engage really hard (clunk!) If I keep on the gas steady it will not clunk rarely at all.

if I accelerate at about 1/3-1/2 throttle it will shift just fine. It almost never does it on a downshift (have noticed it going down from 3rd to 2nd) but i can get it to do it all the time when I am either 1/2-full throttle or going uphill it downshifts and then when it upshifts it clunks. Also if I am going and let off the gas a smidge it feels like it goes into neutral Rev up and then will clunk. I can avoid the clunk if when I feel it go into "false neutral" and rev i let off of the gas completely and it will usually shift smoothly into gear.

In Trip-tron mode it will never do it if I let off the gas between shifts, sometimes it catches me off guard because the car will auto shift even in Trip(+/-)-mode.

I have a hard time blaming the transmission itself because it does not feel like it is slipping, it feels more like it stalls before slamming into gear and the engagement is rough. Maybe something electrical???? The clunk sounds more like it is coming from the trunk area of my car if that makes a differance.

I already changed the tranny filter. Ran me about $265 That made the problem less frequent(i think) i dont know that it did as much as I maybe am learning to bypass the issue with my driving

[Zaraeleus]

Nobody has fixed this kind of issue??? ive seen it posted a few times but no replys after the fact..

[walky_talky20]

In Trip-tron mode it will never do it if I let off the gas between shifts, sometimes it catches me off guard because the car will auto shift even in Trip(+/-)-mode.

Firstly I would check the ECU and TCU for codes, then check the fluid level. The way you describe driving in tiptronic mode sounds like you are avoiding giving it any throttle when the torque converter is unlocked. From what I can tell, in Tiptronic mode the transmission locks the torque converter almost all the time while driving to give a more sporty, ratio-locked feel. Basically to make it feel more like a manual. It does, however, unlock the converter during the shifts, locking it as soon as it can after shifting. I'm not an expert, but it sounds like the culprit may be the torque converter, or perhaps the lock-up clutch which is not engaging smoothly causing the clunking. Just some ideas.

Also, B5's are notorious for leaking water into the cabin, under the carpet. The carpet is so nice, thick, and absorbent that you can have quite a flood under there and never know it. This is bad news because the TCU is located in a box on the floor, under the carpet on the passenger side. It is not uncommon for a small water leak to build up, leak into said box, and slowly drown the TCU causing any number of issues. Just another thing to check.

[Zaraeleus]

I had the Tranny filter and fluid serviced.

suppose it turns out as a torque converter... I cannot seem to find one online... any suggestions?

[biketsai]

What year is your car? Wanna buy my transmission out of an 01 A4 1.8t?

[Zaraeleus]

it is a 99 a4 avant.

ill let you know if I need a tranny. supposed to be getting scanned tomorrow. hopefully it turns up some sort of idea as to the issue. Its just wierd that it really only does it on the upshifts and not on the downshifts... last car I had with a bad tranny slipped worse on the downshifts (increase of torque) than on the ups. 1-2 is the worst, 2-3 is noticable but other than that i can usually "trick" the car into shifting smoothly.

it would be a bit anyways because I would have to stash the money away to actually buy it. What kind of price range would I be looking at?

[Zaraeleus]

Friday,18,December,2009,13:01:08:19168
VCDS Version: Release 908.1
Data version: 20091018


Chassis Type: 8D - Audi A4 B5
Scan: 01 02 03 08 15 16 17 25 35 37 45 55 56 57 67 75 76 77

Mileage: 176850km/109889miles
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Address 01: Engine Labels: 058-907-55x-AEBN.lbl
Part No: 8D0 907 559 C
Component: 1.8L R4/5VT MOTR AT D03
Coding: 06251
Shop #: WSC 06325

4 Faults Found:
16716 - Knock Sensor 2 (G66): Signal too Low
P0332 - 35-00 - -
16711 - Knock Sensor 1 (G61): Signal too Low
P0327 - 35-00 - -
17606 - Oxygen (Lambda) Sensor Heater Circuit: B1 S2: Electrical Malfunction
P1198 - 35-00 - -
16524 - Oxygen (Lambda) Sensor B1 S2: No Activity
P0140 - 35-00 - -
Readiness: 0110 0101

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Address 02: Auto Trans Labels: 01V-927-156.lbl
Part No: 8D0 927 156 BN
Component: AG5 01V 1.8l5VT USA 8508
Coding: 00000
Shop #: WSC 00000

No fault code found.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Address 03: ABS Brakes Labels: 8E0-614-111-EDS.lbl
Part No: 8E0 614 111 A
Component: ABS/EDS 5.3 QUATTRO D10
Shop #: BB 24334

No fault code found.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Address 08: Auto HVAC Labels: 8D0-820-043-1D.lbl
Part No: 8D0 820 043 N
Component: A4 KLIMAAUTOMAT D56
Coding: 00140
Shop #: WSC 06325

No fault code found.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Address 15: Airbags Labels: 8D0-959-655-AI8.lbl
Part No: 8D0 959 655 K
Component: Airbag Front+Seite 0002
Coding: 00106
Shop #: WSC 06325

1 Fault Found:
01211 - Belt Tensioner Igniter; Rear Driver Side (N196)
32-10 - Resistance too High - Intermittent

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Address 17: Instruments Labels: 8D0-919-xxx-17.lbl
Part No: 8D0 919 911
Component: B5-KOMBIINSTR. VDO D15
Coding: 03242
Shop #: WSC 00000

No fault code found.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Address 35: Centr. Locks Labels: 8D0-862-257.lbl
Part No: 8L0 862 257 N
Component: CV-Pump D11
Coding: 16140
Shop #: WSC 06325

8 Faults Found:
01371 - Alarm triggered by Door Contact Switch; Driver's Side
35-00 - -
01372 - Alarm triggered by Door Contact Switch; Rear Passenger Side
35-00 - -
01374 - Alarm triggered by Terminal 15
35-00 - -
01370 - Alarm triggered by Interior Monitoring
35-00 - -
01365 - Lock/Unlock Switch; Interior
29-00 - Short to Ground
00991 - Interior Lights
28-00 - Short to Plus
00955 - Key 1
09-00 - Adaptation Limit Surpassed
00956 - Key 2
09-00 - Adaptation Limit Surpassed

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Address 45: Inter. Monitor Labels: 4B0-951-173.lbl
Part No: 4B0 951 173
Component: Innenraumueberw. D03
Coding: 00102
Shop #: WSC 06325

No fault code found.

End ---------------------------------------------------------------------

[Zaraeleus]

O2 #2 is cut by previous owner... it is on order... KS#1n2 sounds like a ground... I dont Imagine BOTH are bad at the same time... but it could very well be. Trying to find schematics for that.

Feels like the bands on the #2 gear may be going out... coming to that conclusion based on a few things, the tranny acted like it was "supposed to" when we were driving it around on the computer. The torque converter acted perfectly and when I changed fluids there were no flakes (metal)

The only thing screwing with me is that the way the RPMs ramp between shifts I would logically deduce that there should be a code thrown for some kind of overspeed RPM thing isnt meshing, but there isnt.. this lead me to believe the TCU may be on the way out instead...

He programmed the tranny computer to think it was german and it felt like it smoothed it out a little. But I could just be imagining things.

[Zaraeleus]

anyone know what the adaptation limit supression is on the central locks thing??? a little off topic but. Just curious.

[walky_talky20]

anyone know what the adaptation limit supression is on the central locks thing??? a little off topic but. Just curious.

I don't think I've scanned an Audi without that code stored, so I don't think its anything to worry about. Though, I'd like to know what it means as well.