I've had a really aggressive oil leak for the last couple of months. I diagnosed it a while back, but just dealt with it cause I never felt like taking on the job. It got progressively worse and started to require 3 quarts of oil per week with my commutes. I decided now is the time before the weather gets bad.
I figured I would take some pictures along the way and share it with you guys. Let me just say this was one of the easiest transmissions I've ever had to drop.
I will list the tools that I can remember off the top of my head now. I'll update later with the exact tools.
2 12 point bits. What is pictured below looks like the autocraft brand of what I have. You will only be using the two largest sizes. I use this with a deep well 1/2 socket, or a 1/2 open end wrench depending on clearance. Simply slide it into your socket/wrench.
10mm socket for various lines/linkage bolted to transmission.
13mm socket
18mm socket for your transmission bolts.
16mm socket for the 3 bolts holding the torque converter to the flexplate/crank.
Size 6 allen head.
T45 Torx head to remove heat shield over rear driveshaft where it connects to transmission.
T30 Torx head.
Hammer and chisel.
Crow bar.
Breaker bar.
Socket to fit crank pulley bolt - I don't remember the exact size but it's big. You'll need this to spin the crank to get the tq converter bolts out.
I also have a large air compressor and a pneumatic tool set. These aren't necessary for the job, but they will it much easier to turn out bolts. I also have a 19v Craftsman lithium ion impact. It has an immense amount of force and can take my lug nuts off with ease. I use this wherever I can fit it. Lug nuts, flex plate, driveshaft, etc. FWIW, I have had it for about 5 years and I use the hell out of it. It works as it did the day I got it despite the abuse it's taken over the years.
Step 1:
Get your vehicle into position. Do not get it up into the air just yet. There are several bolts you can easily reach from the top and this is easiest to do while the vehicle is on the ground. See below how easily the ratchet fits into position.
Once I had loosened each bolt up top with the ratchet, I used the pneumatic where it fit to finish the job.
Step 2:
Now you can get the car up off the ground. Get it as high as you can. See my pic below for a reference as to how high I got mine off the ground. This provided more than enough clearance for me to do the job.
Step: 3:
Next, remove the wheels on each side. Now you can access your front driveshaft bolts. Simply spin the rotor to get to each bolt. This is a place where I used my impact. You'll need the impact and one of your 12 point bits.
Once all the bolts are out, I gave it a smack with my deadblow and a small crowbar. It should come apart easily.
Step 4:
Next, remove the heat shield surrounding the rear driveshaft bolts. This is a torx bit, I think T45. There are two of them. They're the black torx bolts in the pic below. Once you remove these, the 12 point bolts holding the shaft to the trans are easily accessible. Put on the e-brake to keep it from spinning as you remove the bolts. This took a little time, as I had to release the e-brake, spin the shaft, then engage it again, take out bolts, and repeat.
Step 5:
Now that the driveshafts are unbolted from the car, you can disconnect the battery.
There is a small cover that is bolted to the transmission that goes over the passenger side driveshaft. There are 3 allen head bolts holding it down. I believe the size was 6. Remove them so that when you are lowering the transmission it does not catch on the driveshaft.
Step 6:
Now, remove the black plastic splash shield and the steel cross member. The plastic was held in by 3 small torx head bits and 2 push-in clips, and the crossmember was held in by 4 18mm bolts I believe. I used my impact on those.
Step 7:
Next, remove the electrical connection from the transmission by simply twisting it off, and then remove the 1 13mm bolt that is holding the exhaust to the transmission on the passenger side, and the 2 10mm bolts on the drivers side of the transmission that hold down the linkage. Remove the 13mm bolt that is holding the transmission lines to the transmission. Once the bolt is out, you can pry the lines out of the trans. Have a pan handy as you will lose about an ounce of fluid. Once the two bolts that hold the linkage on are out, you can pry the linkage off of the transmission. You will also need to take out the 2 12 point bolts that are holding the power steering lines in the steering rack. Once you take those two out, you should be able to swing it out of the way so that you can drop the trans without it interfering. In the picture below, the linkage is already disconnected and I threaded the bolts back in for housekeeping purposes.
Now is also a good time to remove the one bolt holding the steering linkage in. This has to move out of the way to allow the transmission to drop. Its the piece with orange color grease in the middle of the picture below. Once you take the bolt out, you can pull it up and push it out of the way, as shown below.
Step 8:
Now you can remove the small access panel on the transmission. There are 3 16mm bolts that need to be removed. Removing these will allow you to easily remove the transmission and tq converter together. The only trick here is keeping the motor from spinning, but don't worry, it's very easy. Spin the engine so that a bolt is visible. Put a large socket on the crank pulley bolt and put a breaker bar on it. I used a 2' piece of my jack handle. Next, put your 16mm socket on the bolt in the transmission. Put another breaker bar on there, and pull both bars in sequence and they will loosen right up with ease.
Step 9:
Remove the remaining bolts that are holding the transmission to the engine. There should be like 4-6 of them, I don't remember exactly. Also remember to pull the bolt that is holding the starter in from underneath. Once these bolts are out, there should be nothing holding the transmission to the engine.
Step 10:
The only thing keeping this transmission in place is the transmission mounting bracket. So get your transmission jack in place and take out those 4 bolts. I think they used the large 12 point bit as well. I positioned my transmission jack near the mount. Keep in mind that with the height of my vehicle, I cannot get the transmission out from underneath the car. I can only get it down and out of the way to do the seal. If you need to get the transmission out, your car will need to be higher. Remove the 4 bolts and get ready to drop the transmission.
Step 11:
You are now ready to get the transmission separated from the engine. Ensure that nothing is connected or in the way and that all bolts are removed. You should be good to go. Simply put a pry bar between the engine and transmission on one side and gently pull, then go to the other side and gently pull. Keep going side to side and gently pry them apart. If it is very difficult, you left a bolt out and you need to stop and check your work. Mine came apart very easily. Once it's out, get it out of the way.
Step 12:
Remove the 8 bolts holding the flexplate to the crank. I used my impact here. If you're using a ratchet, you may need to hold the crank again. I would not try this without an impact, as they are very tough to get off even with the impact. They're installed with loc-tite so do not expect them to come off easily with your ratchet. Here is the setup I used with my impact gun.
Step 13:
Now gently pry the flex plate from the crank. Do it like the transmission, a little on each side until it comes off. Mine came off rather easy. Now our rear main seal is exposed and ready for removal.
Step 14:
Unbolt the rear main seal by removing the 8 torx head bolts. I don't remember the exact size but I think it was a T30 or T35. Here is my rear main seal. Look closely at where it has separated from its housing. From what I've seen in the past, this looks to be a fairly common failure point.
Step 15:
Using a gasket scraper, get as much of the old RTV off as you can. Clean the area well. Wipe down the crank where the seal will sit and do not lubricate it. It should be dry for the new seal installation.
Step 16:
Apply RTV to your new rear main seal.
Step 17:
Reinstall the new rear main seal.
Edit: Below added 10/25.
I figured it might be helpful to show some pictures and give some tips for getting this transmission back in. She's a big one, and she's heavy.
Just to give you some perspective, this is what it looked like getting this back in. 1 floor jack, 1 trans jack, and I got desperate and broke out the jack from the trunk of the car just to keep the rear stable.
The hardest and most time consuming part of the job (assuming you're alone like I was), is constantly getting up off your back to check that everything is lined up and nothing is getting caught, as well as shifting the trans around from side to side and pushing it toward the engine when you can.
Be sure that you're not hitting anything. If it doesn't go up when you apply the jack, then don't keep trying. Something must be in the way. Ensure that when the transmission is making its way up toward the underbody that the input shaft from the transmission does not catch and that it is lined up with the snout on the flex plate. It needs to slide in smoothly. You might need to continue making adjustments, sliding the trans side to side and forward. Here are some pics I snapped as I got it lined up and inched it closer and closer until it was close enough to thread in some bolts.
In this shot, I had finally gotten it lined up, but it wasn't going in smoothly.
Some adjustments later, raising and lowering the trans, sliding it side to side and pushing it forward trying to find the perfect spot, and it went in enough for me to start threading bolts.
Some more maneuvering later, it actually got closer and I bolted it in. Just keep in mind that when you're threading it in, do not just thread in one bolt. Thread one on the bottom, then put one in up top to pull it in evenly. This is also time consuming, but short cuts are not worth it here. I literally got up and down sliding out from under this car 500 times, but nothing broke and everything went in smoothly. That's what you want.
You will probably need to get some mineral oil power steering fluid to compensate for what you have lost. Trans fluid loss is minimal and goes undetected by the car.
Good luck on your project.
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Originally Posted by Project Quattro
yes sir...
audi bug --------------------------------------------------------------------------- audi bug 
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