B8 A4: DIY Manual Transmission Fluid Change

[new_era_inc]

Bringing back an old thread rather than starting a new one. Any 6MT owners change out their transmission fluid lately? I'm at 95,000 miles and thinking about doing this when I install the short shifter I am requesting for xmas.

I did it couple of months ago. Pretty straight forward. Drain and fill.

Edit: make sure car is leveled when filling.


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[asfastas63]

I'm at 85k and would like to do this probably in the spring as well. Did anyone figure out the proper weight Redline to use? I love redline but those cold weather warm ups don't sound right at all.

[new_era_inc]

I'm at 85k and would like to do this probably in the spring as well. Did anyone figure out the proper weight Redline to use? I love redline but those cold weather warm ups don't sound right at all.

I bought the transmission oil from the dealership. It's a bit pricy but I wanted to use the proper oil.


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[blbroo]

I'm at 85k and would like to do this probably in the spring as well. Did anyone figure out the proper weight Redline to use? I love redline but those cold weather warm ups don't sound right at all.

I've read a lot of regret stories on using anything but the OEM fluid. I searched for alternatives yesterday and the comments I saw have me set on Audi trans fluid vs. trying something different.

I did it couple of months ago. Pretty straight forward. Drain and fill.

Edit: make sure car is leveled when filling.


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Sounds a lot like the diff and transfer case flushes I did on our old Infiniti. How did the old fluid look? Notice any difference in shifting after the service?

[Shaner777]

I'm wanting to do mine as well. I have the OEM fluid bottles in my garage waiting


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[Dub_prime]

Recently did this with motul 300, and its buttery smooth even with the recent cold weather. Did the rear diff as well and the whine under load I was experiencing quieted down a bit as well.

[blbroo]

Recently did this with motul 300, and its buttery smooth even with the recent cold weather. Did the rear diff as well and the whine under load I was experiencing quieted down a bit as well.

What did you use for the diff fluid? I have some unopened bottles of Mobil 1 Synthetic and need to figure out if it would work.

[Dub_prime]

What did you use for the diff fluid? I have some unopened bottles of Mobil 1 Synthetic and need to figure out if it would work.

The same Motul 300 gear oil.

[lifedriver]

A simple way to get car safely off ground to do things like oil trans and diff changes, and to get car level easily adjustable. No jacks required !

[blbroo]

Old transmission fluid.


New

Also, no need to remove the belly pan or x brace to do this. The drain bolt can be loosened with a 10mm allen, as stated above. I used a scrap piece of plastic to divert the draining fluid into my pan.

Now time to refill the diff and trans.

Went with Fuchs.

[Mr.Audi]

Why not use Oem fluid?


Sent from ....

[JeriQo]

when does this fluid need to be changed on a CVT?

[blbroo]

Old transmission fluid.


New

Also, no need to remove the belly pan or x brace to do this. The drain bolt can be loosened with a 10mm allen, as stated above. I used a scrap piece of plastic to divert the draining fluid into my pan.

Now time to refill the diff and trans.

Went with Fuchs.

The Fuchs was 1/2 the price of OEM.

[asfastas63]

The Fuchs was 1/2 the price of OEM.

Where'd you buy it? I took a quick look and couldn't find any obvious US suppliers.

[blbroo]

Where'd you buy it? I took a quick look and couldn't find any obvious US suppliers.

RMEuropean

http://www.rmeuropean.com/Products/G...863-V5040.aspx

[asfastas63]

So I just had this done at 94k while it was at the shop anyways for the stage 2 reflash. I'll probably notice it more in the colder weather, but there was definitely a difference right off the bat. Biggest change is I used to have this weird condition of if the car is in neutral and I pushed the clutch in, the revs would very slightly surge. Didn't make any sense to me since I figured the trans is already disconnected from the engine anyways being in neutral, why would engaging the clutch have any affect at all? Well with the new fluid I noticed this is completely gone. Very happy with the results!

[Mr.Audi]

So I just had this done at 94k while it was at the shop anyways for the stage 2 reflash. I'll probably notice it more in the colder weather, but there was definitely a difference right off the bat. Biggest change is I used to have this weird condition of if the car is in neutral and I pushed the clutch in, the revs would very slightly surge. Didn't make any sense to me since I figured the trans is already disconnected from the engine anyways being in neutral, why would engaging the clutch have any affect at all? Well with the new fluid I noticed this is completely gone. Very happy with the results!

Which fluid did u use?

[asfastas63]

Which fluid did u use?

I used the Fuchs from RMEuropean. Two variants, one for the transmission and one for the rear diff.

[Jacon]

when does this fluid need to be changed on a CVT?

Same thing, they do not recommend changing the fluid on the CVT, PLUS there is an internal filter that should be changed too. It's not an easy or cheap job...

My wife had a B6 CVT and we changed it at 95K. It helped a little but didn't prevent the CVT from eventually cratering. What a POS transmission...

[kpr478]

this maybe a dumb question but i plan on changing the fluid in my a5 this weekend and was woundering if it the same process as the a4? also do the front diff, center diff and transmission share the same fluid or is there a different process to change those?

[wxsgt]

Same thing, they do not recommend changing the fluid on the CVT, PLUS there is an internal filter that should be changed too. It's not an easy or cheap job...

My wife had a B6 CVT and we changed it at 95K. It helped a little but didn't prevent the CVT from eventually cratering. What a POS transmission...

Wrong. It is required to be changed. I can't remember the interval but I believe it's every 60k. You can not do it alone because there is special equipment needed. Automatic is the only b8 that is "lifetime" fluid

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[TDIaholic]

Here in Europe it's 60 000 km, sames the S-tronic / DSG. They both use a specific fluid too. Only the 6, 7 and 8-speed Tiptronics don't have an oil change interval recommended by the factory.

[Jmstrag]

I did the fluid change this week. I had someone look up the torque specs for the drain plug. Its 30 nm or 22 ft/lbs

thanks for the write up.

[feistyfoo]

I followed this DIY 2 years (great write up BTW ), but after 20k miles, the Red Line fluid was not holding up. It was near impossible to get the car in 1st gear when stopped and also difficult to get into reverse or 2nd. On many occasions I had to start from second because I couldn't get it in. I also noticed there was more heat radiating from the transmission area through the shift boot. I tried bleeding the transmission, but it didn't fix it, so I switched back to OEM transmission fluid. Immediately there was a night and day difference. I could shift into 1st gear again without issues and its been going strong for week or so. Since I was under the car, I swapped the rear dif fluid from Red Line, back to OEM too.

One thing that is weird towards the end of the Red Line fluid, is it was becoming so difficult to shift into 1st, that I stopped driving my car for 2 weeks. Then when I drove it again, there were no issues shift for 2-3 days of normal driving. Its like the fluid temporarily rejuvenated itself haha.

[petraman]

Wow, I'm really glad I read the rest of this thread before I blew money on the Redline fluid... Maybe OP should edit his post to reflect what others have experienced, even if he hasn't had any issues..

[Marko S]

When draining the fluid, is it not necessary to pump it out? Wouldn't just draining it leave some old fluid sitting in there?

The dealership told me I would need to replace some gasket as well? I'm assuming they remove the pan when draining, which is more work but would drain it completely.

[wrp]

I also tried the Redline MT90 but in a 1998 2.8 A4 5-speed MT with 140k miles, and shifting was almost impossible below 45 degrees F. I immediately went back to Audi G-052 and shifting has been as good as it gets - I had also done a transmission fluid change with G-052 at 70k, but I had seen many recommendations for MT-90. I suspect these recommendations are from cars that don't see under 50 F. And beware - the differentials are not the same fluid at the MT, and there's also different versions of G-052 like G-052-911.

[LeRox]

This was asked earlier in the thread, but does the Manual Tranny share the same fluid with the Front Differential/Gears on a B8 A4 2.0T? Thanks!

[Articus]

This was asked earlier in the thread, but does the Manual Tranny share the same fluid with the Front Differential/Gears on a B8 A4 2.0T? Thanks!

Yes the OEM 6 speed fluid is: G055532A2

[Zach L]

I've ran full synthetic gear oils from Motul and Redline on other VW/Audi vehicles. When the weather was warm, they were easy to get into gear. But anytime it was cold outside (that's anything less than 50* in Texas lol) they were difficult to get into gear. Also, the transmission would whine anytime while moving in first or second gear, regardless of the ambient temperature. Converting back to OEM gear oil made all the noises go away... the trans was quiet and easily slipped into a gear.

When draining the fluid, is it not necessary to pump it out? Wouldn't just draining it leave some old fluid sitting in there?

The dealership told me I would need to replace some gasket as well? I'm assuming they remove the pan when draining, which is more work but would drain it completely.

Not necessary to pump it out... the drain is at the bottom of the transmission. There will always be a little left (just like when changing oil), but you can minimize that by doing a fluid change when the fluid is warm.

Sounds like your dealership doesn't know what they're talking about.

[jdyeah]

I'm doing this on my S4.

Are the fill and drain plugs 10mm allen/hex wrench bolts, like they are on the A4?

I also have 2 types of bolts on my subframe - I have an 18mm and another type.

Anyone know what this is? A search pulls a spline drive or a triple square. I do not have anything like it in my tool kit. Sorry for the blurry photo - I took 6-7 photos and none came out well.

[Gunnark100]

I'm doing this on my S4.
I have an 18mm and another type.

Anyone know what this is? A search pulls a spline drive or a triple square. I do not have anything like it in my tool kit. Sorry for the blurry photo - I took 6-7 photos and none came out well.

Triple square, not sure of size 8, 10 or 12 could be!

[Tineo]

Triple square, not sure of size 8, 10 or 12 could be!

Yes!
there are many XZN bolts like this in subframe;
M8, M10 & M12 are usual metrics.

[Tineo]

Yes the OEM 6 speed fluid is: G055532A2

for my KMU gear box code, the spec requiered is G 052 911 A2
pleased with Ravenol MTF-2 full synthetic fluid (75W-80) for this 6MT trans. Same ride in every condition like with oem fluid.

[jdyeah]

Triple square, not sure of size 8, 10 or 12 could be!

Yes!
there are many XZN bolts like this in subframe;
M8, M10 & M12 are usual metrics.

thanks guys! It's a rather large triple square, but I am not sure size so I ordered a set with 12-14-16-18 sockets.

Can't wait to get the correct tool, I want to change the oil in the MT and rear diff.

Thanks

[JBAeroEngineer]

Been having some issues with the redline fluid about 2 years and 18,000 miles later. Getting rough shifts from 3>2. Meh.

[svt]

So what's the rough estimate of having a specialist perform this for you, using OEM fluid? (non-dealer)

[kwstantinosk89]

Where are the pictures man?

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[DoItAllGarage]

I followed this DIY 2 years (great write up BTW ), but after 20k miles, the Red Line fluid was not holding up. It was near impossible to get the car in 1st gear when stopped and also difficult to get into reverse or 2nd. On many occasions I had to start from second because I couldn't get it in. I also noticed there was more heat radiating from the transmission area through the shift boot. I tried bleeding the transmission, but it didn't fix it, so I switched back to OEM transmission fluid. Immediately there was a night and day difference. I could shift into 1st gear again without issues and its been going strong for week or so. Since I was under the car, I swapped the rear dif fluid from Red Line, back to OEM too.

One thing that is weird towards the end of the Red Line fluid, is it was becoming so difficult to shift into 1st, that I stopped driving my car for 2 weeks. Then when I drove it again, there were no issues shift for 2-3 days of normal driving. Its like the fluid temporarily rejuvenated itself haha.

Thanks!!! I'm in the same boat with the red line and 1st gear issue with the same mileage. Back to OEM, will change the fluid this weekend!

update: The transmission fluid kit was cheaper with ECS tuning vs Amazon, just FYI.

[Tineo]

10 months with ravenol mtf-2 gear oil on my (6mt) KMU code box.
No issues at all and nice shifting.