2001 Allroad Rehab

[MikeWire]

Picked up another project vehicle! This one is a 2001 Allroad, with a bad transmission and/or torque converter. 2.7 twin turbo, 250 BHP, Quattro.

This one appears to be maintained really well, so if anyone recognizes it, please let me know.

Being that it has 143k, the TC has probably already been replaced, maybe, so I may have rolled the dice on this one. Either way, it's worth the price I paid for it. I'll get it up and driveable again and enjoy being in an Audi once again :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Exterior is clean, but of tow truck damage to the front and rear bumpers and diffusers, boo



















This is about where I started to tear into it. I have my mind set to pull the motor and trans all in one unit, and separate and fix whatever is wrong.



Air suspension had been replaced with Arnott's air solution of using Bilstein struts and shocks





This is where it kicked my ass. I couldn't get the motor out, most likely because the cats were hanging up on the subframe, so the down pipes were removed



Got it out finally



You can see the leak coming from the TC seal, I have a replacement.



Looks like an original TC, so I have PM'd with Scott @ AA and will have one coming soon

[MikeWire]

This Allroad is a tough one, I eventually won the battle, but it was a drag out fight to get that transmission out.

I was hit with a PO shop repair where the shop had put in an extra bolt and nut where they should not have, specifically this was an engine/trans bolt. Since it was not coming out with socket or impact, and there was no way to get to it from the back side, I ended up having to Dremel, air chisel, and finally angle grinder with a cutting wheel the nut and bolt. Then I was able to separate the two.



It appears this transmission has already been replaced. However, the torque converter probably has not. So, it needs a new TC seal, and a new TC, which should show up later this week



Here you can see where it's leaking from the TC input shaft



Thought I could use my A4 TC, but it's a different model. So I'll be getting one from somewhere.



I also found some repair bills from Mountain Imports in Missoula. So, it made it's way from a dealership in Van Nuys (LA), CA all the way up here to Missoula where it had a few things done like timing belt etc. and new steering rack. It's nice to have some sort of maintenance history! Although I would like to smack the tech who added that extra trans bolt

Replaced the TC seal and installed the TC. Finally got the trans under the car and ready to bolt up. Ran out of time tonight so it will have to wait until later this week.




Old seal, out...



New seal installed



1L of OEM fluid installed...





TC installed and ready to be mated back to the motor

[Hobartian]

Great presentation and photography in your post.

I don't know how you do it as I never want to touch my camera when my hands are covered with dirt and grease.

[MikeWire]

Great presentation and photography in your post.

I don't know how you do it as I never want to touch my camera when my hands are covered with dirt and grease.

Ha, thanks - I just use my iPhone with a nice case I can wipe off easily.

When i turned 33 or so I started to get smart and work with gloves...they are easy to clean off and keeps my hands clean of nasty chemicals and oils. Plus, since I am an IT office dweller and meet with customers often, it's much nicer for them to shake a strong clean hand :)

I've done quite a few DIY's here on AZ and for my local VAG group - I like to document my work for others reference and my own.

Because I forgot to update this thread, I'll append it to this post...Update from August 1st:

So, I got everything back in place and trans filled with fluid per Bentley etc. this weekend:



Seems to want to go forward, but no reverse...so I didn't drive it off the ramps :thumbsdown:

And, there'a some strange things going on...

• Selector in P, it's in gear 1
• Selector in R, reverse does not work, seems to just slip (busted, or?)
• Selector in N, it's in gear 1
• Selector in D, it's in gear 1
• Selector in 4, it's in gear 1
• Selector in 3, it's in gear 1
• Selector in 2, it's in gear 1

I have no TCU codes. Not in limp mode. Thought it could be the range sensor, but I am not getting any codes saying it's out of range.

Pictures of VCDS in various gears:
















Just to test things out with the trans I got it off the ramps and tried to drive it. Yeah, this transmission is not good.

It would go forward but as soon as it tried to shift gears it would almost downshift and power would drop. I also don't have reverse at all.

So it's swap time.

I ended up ordering the full swap kit with driveshaft and the reverse harness from Advanced Automotion.

Next year I want to head to Colorado for Camp Allroad: https://www.campallroad.com/

[MikeWire]

A few updates.

Stuff finally showed up yesterday. Got it unloaded and went through it:





Did order the used clutch kit, but I think it's too worn out, so I'll have to repalce it. I also ordered used axles and driveshaft, but I think due to lack of parts I received the new axles and the driveshaft spacer, to adapt my existing driveshaft to the manual transmission. Not a huge deal, should work OK.

I did not receive the clutch master -> slave line, or the fluid supply line, so I have asked for those. And the extra little mini harness they make was also not shipped or included in the boxes.



Few pictures of the spacer - pretty nice little machined part!





Moved the AR into the garage and it's ready for another round of teardown.

More to come soon!

Got it off the ground and pulled the front core, then dropped the rear diff:







Threw a sticker on the driveshaft just for fun :thumbsup:



Pulled the TCU module and attempted to recode the modules. All went fine, except for the engine module, which will not take the recode. I'm understanding there's a specific flash that needs to be loaded, and I'll have to handle that later. For now it will drive and go, but I want to get the hardware swap done.





I appreciate Scott @ AA getting the parts rounded up, and I realize getting used parts can sometimes be hard to get due to supply and demand. However, looking at the used clutch setup that came with the swap I decided that it's not going to work for me. The disc is too worn and the pressure plate looks like it sat outside for a couple of years. I'll store this on the shelf for another day and another car.

So, I had to order a new clutch kit, which I got from ECS Tuning - Valeo has been my pick for clutch kits and SMFW conversions lately, but I picked up a LUK this time. I'll run the DMFW for now, and most likely will be replacing it when it fails.





From here, I need to raise the motor up and drop the trans. Then I can start to get it back together.

Waiting on some clutch parts, the fluid supply line to the master, and the hardline from the master to the slave. Also need the wiring harness for the neutral safety switch and the reverse lights.

[4rings2turbos]

Nice work here, looks like you're having fun.

[Terry.Reese]

Brought my Allroad over on Saturday, almost identical looking, I took a picture and sent it to my wife and said hey look what we did! She wanted to kill me...

[LakeTahoeQuattr]

Well it is a little too late now but did you try adjusting the slide adjustment on the side of the tip transmission where the gear selecting switch cable mounts to the trans? That could have accounted for your weird gear selection issue. None the less congrats on owning a 6mt to be allroad. You will enjoy it so much more.

Which modules are not taking the recode?

[MikeWire]

Well it is a little too late now but did you try adjusting the slide adjustment on the side of the tip transmission where the gear selecting switch cable mounts to the trans? That could have accounted for your weird gear selection issue. None the less congrats on owning a 6mt to be allroad. You will enjoy it so much more.

Which modules are not taking the recode?

Yes, I verified what you are talking about, which is the range sensor on the side of the trans. In my VCDS screenshots, you'll see that when I select the gear, the TCU does know what gear it's in. From that I deducted the range sensor was good, but the trans had a mechanical issue causing it not shift into gear, even after a fluid/filter flush and fill. Good thoughts for sure, and thank you!

I have some progress updates on my swap, I'll post up soon.

[MikeWire]

Pulled the shift assembly and trim out:



Old junk :)



View from underneath is kind of fun!



Removed the flex plate and this spacer:



Installed new pilot bearing in the DMFW:



Installed clutch!



Now onto the pedal assembly.

I broke the plastic 90 part on the fluid supply line, so I ended up buying some brass replacement parts and made my own:



I chose to pull the pedal assembly and swap pedals from the A6 assembly to my existing Allroad assembly:







From outside, I scored the paint around the body plug, this is where the master -> slave line will connect:



An inside view, give the plug a push and bam, it's gone:





From two pedals...



To three pedals!



Prepped all the misc. parts and reassembled the slave, mounts, throwout and arm, and mounted the shift assembly. I'll remove the shift asdsembly (and mounts) and install it separately, just wanted to mock up the parts and make sure I had everything:





I did purchase the USP metal slave and braided stainless steel line, which I will replace before installing the transmission. It just showed up after I installed the plastic one. From here, it's time to bolt up the shift assembly, and then install the transmission and bolt everything else up.

[MidDee]

Fantastic Thread,

Thanks for the pictures. I too will be on that same route to convert mine to a Manual over the next year or two.

I did not realize a spacer was needed on the end of the Manual Transmission when installing it, Was it due the the type of transmission you had selected?

[MikeWire]

Fantastic Thread,

Thanks for the pictures. I too will be on that same route to convert mine to a Manual over the next year or two.

I did not realize a spacer was needed on the end of the Manual Transmission when installing it, Was it due the the type of transmission you had selected?

Thanks! To clarify, that spacer needs to be removed - both the flex plate and the spacer needed for a tip trans are removed and the flywheel is installed for the manual trans.

[ExDementia]

Thanks! To clarify, that spacer needs to be removed - both the flex plate and the spacer needed for a tip trans are removed and the flywheel is installed for the manual trans.

Could be wrong, but I think he meant the spacer for the driveshaft.

Looks good, man! I too am learning the joys of stripping these things down, although I'm in the middle of swapping in a new 2.7 instead of a trans swap.

[MikeWire]

Fantastic Thread,

Thanks for the pictures. I too will be on that same route to convert mine to a Manual over the next year or two.

I did not realize a spacer was needed on the end of the Manual Transmission when installing it, Was it due the the type of transmission you had selected?

This guy right here?

Could be wrong, but I think he meant the spacer for the driveshaft.

Looks good, man! I too am learning the joys of stripping these things down, although I'm in the middle of swapping in a new 2.7 instead of a trans swap.

Oh my bad, for sure! Yeah so I can reuse the tip driveshaft by using the spacer. I had selected the 01E driveshaft with the kit, but received the spacer, which I'm totally OK with for this swap.

I have the USP metal slave and line ready to go, just need to install and get motivated to work out in my 0 degrees temp garage...brrr

[MikeWire]

Over the last couple of evenings the axles have been installed and I've gotten the trans back in the car, all bolts torqued. Then was able to get the shift linkage and all other bits attached.

I ran into the starter bolts, which do need to be longer. Also the left axle bolts are too long for the flange and hit the trans. I went picked up some 8.8 metric bolts at my local Ace.

Just for reference the here's info on the starter bolts, and this page in the Bentley manual came in handy to reference the needed length. Number 5 and 6, respectively - M10x150 and M12x130




Even though I selected and purchased it from kit, the I never did get the mini harness for the reverse lights, but I emailed Scott @ AA. I'll probably end up just making my own because he is not communicating very well with me. I have to wire in the clutch switch as well.

Last night I got the no start problem squared away. There's a rely under the dash that controls the neutral start, and I had to remove and jump the relay. Took me a while to find some documentation, so I'll add here that it's relay #53, which is a 4 pin type. I removed the relay and jumped pins 87 -> 30.

It's good to see this in the DIS:



I bled the clutch and brakes with some new Pentosin Dot4 fluid the evening before last:



Rerouted the power wire for the amp through a different spot in the firewall, Alpine V12:



Also filled the diff/trans with 2.5 quarts of Redline MT-90 fluid, and filled up the coolant with some G12. Still need to fill the rear diff, put the wheels on and drop it off the stands and take it for a spin.

[MikeWire]

Swap mostly complete. Filled up the rear diff with some LiquiMoly and bolted up the front wheels. Then took it for a quick spin around the block. I need the knob, boot, center console trim and the shift assembly plate to complete the interior...but haven't found anyone willing to part out. Shokan came back with a quote for $165 :screwy:

Might end up having to pay up for those :\

[MikeWire]

I'll begin to wrap up this thread. Swap is about 98% done, and I put about 60 miles driving around town yesterday.

Here's a quick recap on what I've been doing with it over the last couple of weeks:

With the manual swap, the AR ECU engine module cannot be recoded, and it's necessary to flash with a manual .bin file. There's a lot of info out on Nefmoto on how to do this, but basically I had to get a 551L file, and flash it to the ECU, which overwrites the 551K tiptronic file. Took me a few hours of messing with my test ECU and bench flash setup, and then I had to get the correct AR file. Then I was able to do a full flash on my ECU in the car.



Onto the interior bits, you'll see an earlier post with the following pic:



Which was solved with a call to Shokan for some used Audi parts:



The stock sound system was horrendous, so I picked up a new head unit from Crutchfield and installed it:



Then I was getting an oil sensor error, and I have been there and done that before, so a new sensor and Metalnerd magnetic drain plug was installed:







Got the bumper repaired and all back on and secured, and replaced the front right fog light that was busted up. Also began to plastic weld some of the broken bumper bits including the front grill inserts. A replacement right side is on it's way:



The tires were pretty much worn down to nothing, so I went to Lisac's tires yesterday and had some Kumho 4X's installed. In the process a wheel cover was mashed back in place and broken, so I have a replacement also on it's way.



I had to make a few small adjustments to the shift linkage, and I wired in the reverse lights and clutch switch last night.



If you also want to continue to follow this build on other social media platforms, you should follow the BSE Instagram feed https://www.instagram.com/bigskyeuro/ as most projects and updates will probably be coming from there, as well as my personal social media.

[PetrolBear]

Finally a well depicted, excellent writeup, thank you and big thumbs up!
You have such a nice AR.

I am also considering a complete swap, I have the same engine, MY2000.


My #1 question - flange, gearbox:
- Is it a gearbox from an Allroad or from an A6? Seems to be an A6 (due to circle-like flanges) Did you have buy an Allroad specific flange (to the tripod type Allroad axle) or .. ? I mean this option: http://advancedautomotion.com/shop/p...roducts_id/367

Since I purchased a complete drivetrain from a C5 A6 Avant, 2,7T MY2003, code: FRQ.
1st 3,5
2nd 1,889
3rd 1,231
4th 0,967
5th 0,806
6th 0,684
with 4,11 ratio

It means with the larger Allroad wheels and longer end ratio approx 3000rpm @ 146km/h or so. That would be awesome. The weaker theoretical acceleration is already handled with the 1 bar boost.

BUT: according to some writeups, it is important to swap tripod type front axles for a proper longevity with the levelling option. That requires changing the OEM A6 flanges to the Allroad type, too.
BTW, Allroad's front MT axle is approx 2 cm longer than of the A6, so they have a bit wider stance.

So I will have to swap to the Allroad specific tripod type axles with the front axles with the matching flanges. Eventually from Advanced Auto..? In Europe it seems to be possible to buy only with a transmission together. A real challenge.

and the #2 bonus question - subframe

The guy on the junk yard where I searched MT axles offered me also the subframe of the 2,5TDI MT Allroad referring to the fact that Tiptronic and 01E's do need different subframes. On the Tip subframe the manual gearbox does not have a proper positon to mount on. How do you deem - is it true or did you have any issue with this?

[MikeWire]

Finally a well depicted, excellent writeup, thank you and big thumbs up!
You have such a nice AR.

I am also considering a complete swap, I have the same engine, MY2000.


My #1 question - flange, gearbox:
- Is it a gearbox from an Allroad or from an A6? Seems to be an A6 (due to circle-like flanges) Did you have buy an Allroad specific flange (to the tripod type Allroad axle) or .. ? I mean this option: http://advancedautomotion.com/shop/p...roducts_id/367

Thanks for reading and the reply!

All my drivetrain including the transmission is from an A6, purchased from Scott at Advanced Automation.

Since I purchased a complete drivetrain from a C5 A6 Avant, 2,7T MY2003, code: FRQ.
1st 3,5
2nd 1,889
3rd 1,231
4th 0,967
5th 0,806
6th 0,684
with 4,11 ratio

It means with the larger Allroad wheels and longer end ratio approx 3000rpm @ 146km/h or so. That would be awesome. The weaker theoretical acceleration is already handled with the 1 bar boost.

BUT: according to some writeups, it is important to swap tripod type front axles for a proper longevity with the levelling option. That requires changing the OEM A6 flanges to the Allroad type, too.
BTW, Allroad's front MT axle is approx 2 cm longer than of the A6, so they have a bit wider stance.

So I will have to swap to the Allroad specific tripod type axles with the front axles with the matching flanges. Eventually from Advanced Auto..? In Europe it seems to be possible to buy only with a transmission together. A real challenge.

and the #2 bonus question - subframe

The guy on the junk yard where I searched MT axles offered me also the subframe of the 2,5TDI MT Allroad referring to the fact that Tiptronic and 01E's do need different subframes. On the Tip subframe the manual gearbox does not have a proper positon to mount on. How do you deem - is it true or did you have any issue with this?

Subframe, at least here in the States is the same, or at least it is for me. I used the manual trans mounts and it bolted right up to the same location the tip trans did. So I guess be sure you get all the parts you need, including the manual trans mounts.

As far as axles, my AR is setup with static Arnott coils, so I didn't research the A6/AR axles differences, although I know the AR axles are longer. Someone else could chime in or there's probably more info out in different threads or the swap wiki.

[PetrolBear]

Thanks for the quick response, Mike!

Great news regarding the subframe. For me it was also a bit strange because I have not seen this in any of previous writeups.

I think I will have to pull out my flanges to examine the compatibility, prior to any kind of purchase.
Seemingly, all drivetrain offers include A6 gearbox (FRQ, EDU) not the AR type (e.g. EHS or FGY) They should be mega rare.

[PetrolBear]

An update
http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...-Flange-Advice

The TDI flanges should match! I found here some sort of TDI Allroad gearboxed with and without low range, either. None of the sellers would sell the flange separetely so if I find complete TDI gearbox @ reasonable price I will buy it. With a longer (ENX or similar) differential I would also have a "spare" TDI gearbox - 2,7TT option, too. That setup result approx 2400 revolutions @ 130km/h, meaning ~1,5 liter minus / 100km -> 30 mpg @ 82mph. However, the acceleration value and the city mpg would decline, too.