Could Tranny Issues be with the Fluid

[GEN XER]

As some of you may know I don't use off the shelf or dealer Oil, Coolants, or Fuel treatments. I use custom blended materials from BND Auto. Brian the owner takes the time to reverse engineer the recommended materials and takes out all the fillers used by the industry to save money and adds more of the materials that protect metals under the intense pressure and heat of an engine. Well I asked him to look into our Tranny fluid a few months ago and after a few months of looking at what the oil is made of, he came to the conclusion that the oil was not robust enough for the job of lubricating the internals of the RS6 transmission. Brian goes on to explain that the fluid is a Mineral Oil without Synthetic quality. He then went into the lab and produced a more robust oil for the tranny's in our RS6's. He also told me that the OE fluid costs $24 a liter and is manufactured in Germany. It also takes 9 liters (2.4gals) to fill our tranny's so $216 for fluid to fill the tranny's with inferior oil at the dealer. Brian is going to give me a complete right up on the contrasts of the two tranny lubes later and I will post them here. Someone here already has some of the tranny oil on order. Oh yeah the cost is $13 and some change per quart, so thats 10 quarts for $130 for the fluids. I just feel with all these tranny issues that we may be looking at the wrong culprits, after all it is the lubricant that protects the parts and if that lubricant isn't up to the job then the parts will fail after time regardless of what they are made of. I mean if you have all titanium internals and just use vegetable oil as the lubricant how long are those titanium parts going to hold up?

[hahnmgh63]

Good point on lubricants. That is why I use Redline oil exclusively. If you search all of the independent tests out there you will usually come up with Redline being the number 1 oil if it was in the tests. And there oil isn't a buttered up conventional Dino oil like Mobil 1 that a lot of users use. For most manufacturers there are specs on their websites they are required to post on testing so you can see much of the differences right there such as Mobil 1 0W-40 with a HTHS (High temp high Shear) rating of 3.6 and Redline has a 4.0, better yet, Redline 5W-40 for our cars has a 4.6 HTHS. Some oil companies won't list the HTHS as it is a European oil requirement, so if they don't meet Euro requirements (many versions out there), they won't list high temp, high shear. European oil requirements are stricter than SAE.

[TozoM8]

I agree. Audi fluid is a major skip for me. It's a mineral oil and it allows build ups. Synthetic will flush the system clean all the time. I only use Mobil 1 Mercon V synthetic ATF with LubeGuard.

[GEN XER]

Well I guess the reason can't be the lube, that's to simple right? It has to be a poorly built tranny that just fails on its own.

[AudiRS4ever]

Good point on lubricants. That is why I use Redline oil exclusively. If you search all of the independent tests out there you will usually come up with Redline being the number 1 oil if it was in the tests. And there oil isn't a buttered up conventional Dino oil like Mobil 1 that a lot of users use. For most manufacturers there are specs on their websites they are required to post on testing so you can see much of the differences right there such as Mobil 1 0W-40 with a HTHS (High temp high Shear) rating of 3.6 and Redline has a 4.0, better yet, Redline 5W-40 for our cars has a 4.6 HTHS. Some oil companies won't list the HTHS as it is a European oil requirement, so if they don't meet Euro requirements (many versions out there), they won't list high temp, high shear. European oil requirements are stricter than SAE.

Wow, you just made me feel even better about my decision to switch the RS6 to Redline earlier this year. I went with 5w40 per Audi's recommendation, but almost went with 0w40, as the way I see it would just do a better job on the engine cold. Anyway, I stuck with factory weight just because I wasn't 100% positive about 0w40. Anyway, didn't mean to start an oil thread, but wanted to thank you for making me feel all warm and fuzzy. :incar:

[s42ski]

Gen Xer, that would be me - I have the tranny fluid on order. Of course my car has spent the last week at the dealer waiting for parts so they can finsish the timing belt. They finally agreed that there was a problem with the thermostat after I showed that the radiator was cold to the touch after driving the car twenty miles:vgrumpy:

So I figured to have the belt and all of the other parts redone while they went in for the thermostat. Parts are expensive!!

Sorry for the rant - I have tried Brian's oil in my SRX and noticed that it quieted down some lifter noise at startup.

Next up is tranny fluids for the SRX and beast as well as an engine oil change since my engine oil has been toasted with the thermostat issues!

[RS6-4dr911]

Gen Xer, that would be me - I have the tranny fluid on order. Of course my car has spent the last week at the dealer waiting for parts so they can finsish the timing belt. They finally agreed that there was a problem with the thermostat after I showed that the radiator was cold to the touch after driving the car twenty miles:vgrumpy:




Don't you just love how the average service individual has no ability to analyze? If the corporate manual doesn't say do "xyz", they don't have a clue. Just had to teach the DirectTV tech to aim the friggn dish. I call and tell them the dish is not aimed right and they tell me no must be a bad connection and they'll have to charge to come out. So I sign up for the protection money, I mean plan, wait 30days, make the appointment, he looks at the menu, says "dish must not be aimed right". No shit, Sherlock? Then he sees a lone pine tree in the line of sight, says the tree's the problem. Proceeds to adjust it anyway at my direction, looking for strength above 80%. We get to 90% he says he's done. Keep going, we get to 95%, he says "can't go higher than 95%, good as it gets", keep going I say, we get to 98%.

Cripes. Talk about sorry for the rant. . . .

[DHall1]

^^

Life would be so easy if we all had pea brains.

You should hear me on the phone with Direct TV every time we take the motorhome out of state and I cant get the Sat dish to lock into signal. I typically hang up on 3 idiots before I get someone who understands the problem and flips some switches.

:eye:

[Hy Octane]

The RS6 tranny comes with ZF lifeguardFluid 5 which is what Audi uses to refill.
In a post by Qisha recently, he stressed that it was more the frequency of fluid changing which would extend the life of the tranny more than the type of fluid. Be warned that switching to another fluid might require a software change as different fluids react differently internally.
I will now be changing fluid every 25-30k miles.

[GEN XER]

The RS6 tranny comes with ZF lifeguardFluid 5 which is what Audi uses to refill.
In a post by Qisha recently, he stressed that it was more the frequency of fluid changing which would extend the life of the tranny more than the type of fluid. Be warned that switching to another fluid might require a software change as different fluids react differently internally.
I will now be changing fluid every 25-30k miles.

Well I have heard of software that reads metal wear levels in an engine. As a matter of fact our cars have it. It will send a code if the wear levels get to high before the 10K mark. The Tranny may have this software as well, if it does I dont think it will read the differences between fluids, it will most likely read the metal wear levels like in the engine.

[Jani]

The answer to the question in the topic is "yes". But not for the quality of the oil, but the quantity.

Changing the oil is not in the service program AFAIK, so why change oil? It is more likely that you will run into immediate tranny problems if you change oil -be it aftermarket or OEM. This is because RS6 tranny is very very sensitive to oil level. If you underfill even by little, the tranny starts to act up, slip etc, which may cause a total failure very quickly.

In the very long run, not changing oil will lead to more wear.

I would stick with OEM oil and changing at a dealership, and only changing every 100 kkm or so. At least then you have some leverage for a warranty, and you're not risking the tranny by too frequent oil change and the possible under fill.

[p3u]

The answer to the question in the topic is "yes". But not for the quality of the oil, but the quantity.

Changing the oil is not in the service program AFAIK, so why change oil? It is more likely that you will run into immediate tranny problems if you change oil -be it aftermarket or OEM. This is because RS6 tranny is very very sensitive to oil level. If you underfill even by little, the tranny starts to act up, slip etc, which may cause a total failure very quickly.

In the very long run, not changing oil will lead to more wear.

I would stick with OEM oil and changing at a dealership, and only changing every 100 kkm or so. At least then you have some leverage for a warranty, and you're not risking the tranny by too frequent oil change and the possible under fill.

If you wait that long to change then you risk ruining your tranny by changing it at such an interval

[Jani]

I disagree, and have some experience as well. I changed my tranny fluid first time at 90 kkm, with no ill effects, now 120kkm.

The factory has surely tested the cars to more than 200 kkm with the service that they've specified. In Europe they usually have to pay some amount of tranny damage up to 200 - 300 kkm, depending on the country. So there is no point making the service program like it is, if that would fail the tranny in under 300kkm.

When your local guy say's tranny fluid change is needed, it is business for him...

[p3u]

I disagree, and have some experience as well. I changed my tranny fluid first time at 90 kkm, with no ill effects, now 120kkm.

The factory has surely tested the cars to more than 200 kkm with the service that they've specified. In Europe they usually have to pay some amount of tranny damage up to 200 - 300 kkm, depending on the country. So there is no point making the service program like it is, if that would fail the tranny in under 300kkm.

When your local guy say's tranny fluid change is needed, it is business for him...

Our local guy insists its life time and doesn't want to change! BOOM!

[DHall1]

What is lost in this would be the TC clutch wear. Audi has redesigned the TC for this problem. When the TC clutch material has entered the fluid all bets are off. If it were not for the TC failure and debris in the fluid....you could leave the fluid in for longer intervals.

The jury is still out on when/if to change and when/if/what fluid to put in there. But if the TC clutch goes south....all bets off.

There is an exact procedure to refill this transmission. If followed properly you have no problems.

[p3u]

What is lost in this would be the TC clutch wear. Audi has redesigned the TC for this problem. When the TC clutch material has entered the fluid all bets are off. If it were not for the TC failure and debris in the fluid....you could leave the fluid in for longer intervals.

The jury is still out on when/if to change and when/if/what fluid to put in there. But if the TC clutch goes south....all bets off.

There is an exact procedure to refill this transmission. If followed properly you have no problems.

Also keep in mind once the clutch packs start slipping ( not the torque converter clutch) the intense heat causes the fluid to burn up, effectively rendering its abilities to protect the transmission as useless.

There are too many variables on what makes the transmission fail, as I have learned with my own going out.

TC simply failing

TC clutch wearing, causing slipping

TC clutch wearing, causing clutch material to enter valve bodies and blocking the check ball holes preventing pressure to be applied to the clutch packs and cause them to degrade the fluid and destroy clutches due to slipping

Gums and Varnish build up in transmission coming loose, finding way into valve bodies and causing blockage and clutch packs to slip and burnt fluid

Internal leaks causing lack of pressure on clutch packs, causing degraded fluid and burnt clutches

Failing mechanicals in the transmission

Etc

So while there are quite a few ways the TC can cause a failure, there are just as many ways that can cause failure as well.

Mine for instance had nothing to do with a failing TC. It just seems the tranny was never meant to be in these cars. Anyone got a ZF 8HP26 ready for transplant, I hear they take 1000nm :hahahehe:

Back to point of changing the fluid, if the fluid is already burnt, then changing it will cause little good. Biggest reason to change IMHO is to prevent gums and varnish to build up and causing them to clog the valve bodies, causing the clutch packs to slip, and destroying the transmission.

Now that I have a fresh build I'll be changing mine every 30k miles

[GEN XER]

There isn't an oil made regardless of weight that can survive a lifetime in a vehicle. None. What did the manufacture mean by lifetime. The life of the car, the life of the owner, or life until the end of time? There isn't any product made that can survive doing lifetime duty inside an engine or tranny. Not the oil, coolant, gear oil nothing. Most of the time when you hear lifetime it usually means about 50-100K miles you need to change it, by which time the Warranty is gone along with whatever the lifetime product was suppose to be protecting. Leaving the end user with footing the bill. Metal parts wear and if the fluid is never changed then eventually the metal in the oil causes even more wear until it eventually wears out. The industry is designed to create downline business and this lifetime marketing thing just ensures the parts downline stays strong.

[s42ski]

Chime in with another opinion here

I always like the term "life time" fluid. Whose life time ? I tend to think that the life time Audi is referring to is the life of the transmission which is of course going to vary a lot. There are cost benefit trades done at most car manufacturers regarding the service interval requirements and the type of car. I worked at GM a long time ago as an engineer ( Flame on!).


So changing the fluid more often incurs some risk if done improperly, but potentially longer life of the transmission. When I had my flush done at the dealer at 35K I had the oil sent in for wear analysis. The lab indicated it was not a "life time" oil and recommended changes at regular intervals.

My vote is change at a regular interval

[p3u]

I made a post about the "life time" fluid almost a year ago after doing some research. The SAME fluid that Audi uses for the transmission is the SAME fluid ZF recomends and sell. ZF states that the fluid be changed every 60k km....

[TozoM8]

I recommend 30K or never if it passed 70-80K, however i don't do fluid change as a service. Is warranty covers fluid change? I don't think so. TC failure is caused by dirty fluid. If you change it regularly the tranny and TC will last way longer. Insurance is about making $ for them. It would cost too much for everyone's fluid change. They rather just pay a couple TC replacement. This is the flaw of any warranty. Frequently replaced fluid with LubeGuard will save the TC, but if the TC is gone already it is a big mistake not to rebuild the tranny when it is out. It would save $ on the long run. If the TC is gone the valve body and the tranny is full of dirt anyway.

[DHall1]

I can deal with most of what you said. Only differ where it comes to insurance.

Fidelity/Audi do not act as most insurance companies do. I do think you can get them to pop off the pan during a TC repair and inspect for debris.

Other than that....I like the 30k change interval. I will do mine at 35k along with the major service.

Lastly, I will change/refill with Audi mineral oil. For many reasons but mostly do not want to mix oils.




I recommend 30K or never if it passed 70-80K, however i don't do fluid change as a service. Is warranty covers fluid change? I don't think so. TC failure is caused by dirty fluid. If you change it regularly the tranny and TC will last way longer. Insurance is about making $ for them. It would cost too much for everyone's fluid change. They rather just pay a couple TC replacement. This is the flaw of any warranty. Frequently replaced fluid with LubeGuard will save the TC, but if the TC is gone already it is a big mistake not to rebuild the tranny when it is out. It would save $ on the long run. If the TC is gone the valve body and the tranny is full of dirt anyway.

[GEN XER]

What I try to do here is bring what I think are superior products to what we currently use. I know full well some are going to go with what they know and trust. I know most of us use synthetic oil in most of our vehicles, even those that don't require synthetic, why, because we know synthetic is superior to conventional oil. It only stands to reason that if a synthetic works better in the engine then it will work better in the tranny and in the gear boxes. I prefer to use what I think are superior performing lubricants and coolants, and I know they are better because of Oil Analysis (science) and not because someone told me it works better. Brian the owner of BND is not just some guy mixing chemicals in his backyard, he is a respected Physicist and a Chemist who left the industry because he wanted to make a better product than what was being offered by the current players. Oil analysis prove that I have less engine wear (Alu, Iron, and Brass) using Quantum Blue oils over any off the shelf oil. The analysis also shows that the Zinc and Phosphorus (wear protection) levels are 3 to 4 times higher in the virgin sample and in the samples after 10K miles. I will be replacing my tranny oil with the improved upon oil from BND, because I trust it. I just hope I'm not to late. I got 69,xxx miles on mine right now, and sometimes I feel a harsh thud when it kicks down from 5th gear at WOT. I will have about half a gallon left in the TC, so I will probably have to do another change somewhere around 25-30K miles, or should I do it sooner?

[Spidercat]

FWIW, we had Qisha a while back offer his advice (similar to TozoM8):
http://rs6.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19179&highlight=fluid
"The OE TCU Software is made to assure a lifecycle run of approx. 150.000KM, combined with proper service of course. TCU tuning gives benefits in shift times an earlier converter lock-up, part of transfering higher input torque leading to a higher internal temperature and higher wear with reduced overall lifespan. FYI the oil used in modern automatic transmissions do have a viscosity of 33 mm²/s at 40° celcius, at 100° celsius only 7 mm²/s. The RS6 does have a 2nd oil cooler in addition to a heat sink, to assure the transmission oil temperature stays within the needed range. This works well with OE specs. For tuned cars the only recommendable workflows are a transmission oil change every 15.000KM and 2nd to that a transmission oil filter change every 30.000KM. This does not prevent higher wear but copes with the reduced oil service life.

Ask your dealer for the TCU software status and forward it to me. I doublecheck on it.

Qisha"

Granted, this advice is for modded TCU, but the reasoning is the same.

[DHall1]

Willie,

If your going to change to a different oil then do a complete flush. Run new fluid thru and pull the return oil cooler line and empty the old out as you pump in the new. Keep flushing till new fluid comes out the return drain. Just like bleeding brakes. This is the only way to properly flush out all of the old fluid and out of the TC.


What I try to do here is bring what I think are superior products to what we currently use. I know full well some are going to go with what they know and trust. I know most of us use synthetic oil in most of our vehicles, even those that don't require synthetic, why, because we know synthetic is superior to conventional oil. It only stands to reason that if a synthetic works better in the engine then it will work better in the tranny and in the gear boxes. I prefer to use what I think are superior performing lubricants and coolants, and I know they are better because of Oil Analysis (science) and not because someone told me it works better. Brian the owner of BND is not just some guy mixing chemicals in his backyard, he is a respected Physicist and a Chemist who left the industry because he wanted to make a better product than what was being offered by the current players. Oil analysis prove that I have less engine wear (Alu, Iron, and Brass) using Quantum Blue oils over any off the shelf oil. The analysis also shows that the Zinc and Phosphorus (wear protection) levels are 3 to 4 times higher in the virgin sample and in the samples after 10K miles. I will be replacing my tranny oil with the improved upon oil from BND, because I trust it. I just hope I'm not to late. I got 69,xxx miles on mine right now, and sometimes I feel a harsh thud when it kicks down from 5th gear at WOT. I will have about half a gallon left in the TC, so I will probably have to do another change somewhere around 25-30K miles, or should I do it sooner?

[GEN XER]

Willie,

If your going to change to a different oil then do a complete flush. Run new fluid thru and pull the return oil cooler line and empty the old out as you pump in the new. Keep flushing till new fluid comes out the return drain. Just like bleeding brakes. This is the only way to properly flush out all of the old fluid and out of the TC.

So would you say I needed to order an extra half gallon of fluid to ensure I have enough? It takes 2.4 gals to fill the system, so if I order 3 gals I should have enough to totally flush the system.

[p3u]

It's more then that, from dry Tozo put in just under 12l, so ~3 gallons.

[GEN XER]

See thats why we are here. I was told it takes 9L. That may be because your system was totally empty.

[p3u]

See thats why we are here. I was told it takes 9L.

Well, if you did a drain and filled it 9l sounds about right, as the TC holds about 3l of fluid.

But yeah, rs6.com is a great resource, I love it! :rs6kiss:

[TozoM8]

It takes 12.5L t o fill and empty transmission. The TC takes 4.5L. If you want to flush it through the cooler you will need another 5L to get the old fluid out and fill it properly.

[GEN XER]

17.5L = 4.6gals. Sorry redblooded American here.

[GEN XER]

This is BND's respnse to a question about there tranny oil and software management.

"That is only if you change the composition of the fluids. I made a copy of the fluid but changed some of the characteristics of the fluid that were shortcomings and added ultra high heat durability that will greatly resist the shearing that occurs due to high rpm, high heat, and internal friction. Reduce the friction between the gears and main shaft and you reduce the heat and increase the power transfer etc".

[MaxRS6]

Well- This thread clears up the oil and fluid needs/requirements.

It seems the consensus for the best results is:

1) never change fluid or change routinely and often
2) never change a high mileage or continue changing routinely and often
3) use Audi OEM or don't use Audi OEM or use a "special brewed mix"
4) Consume mind altering substances and don't worry about it

I think that about sums it up

[DHall1]

You forgot one...

5. Always drive down the hwy with your brakes on.

[p3u]

You forgot one too,

6. Always launch by reving motor to 4k and droping into drive. :harass:

[GEN XER]

Well I am getting a replacement trans, and if it comes with fluid in it I will be replacing it.

[s42ski]

Got around to changing the tranny fluid this weekend with BND's oil. Can highly recommend based on first impressions. Car shifts smother and no more "clunking" when cold. Is that the oil or just getting fresh oil into the tranny - hard to say. But so far seems to have helped. I also did the filter and was pleasantly surprised by the small amount of metal on the magnets and the low amount of sludge. Car is at 61k miles.

[GEN XER]

Got around to changing the tranny fluid this weekend with BND's oil. Can highly recommend based on first impressions. Car shifts smother and no more "clunking" when cold. Is that the oil or just getting fresh oil into the tranny - hard to say. But so far seems to have helped. I also did the filter and was pleasantly surprised by the small amount of metal on the magnets and the low amount of sludge. Car is at 61k miles.

Glad to here it. The oil from the bad tranny was black and smelled burnt at 71K. we also drained the new tranny of all the oil it came with. Luckily the tranny does not come with the TC filled so there wont be any of the OE oil left in the tranny. We also drained the oil cooler as directed by the note on the tranny.

BTW did you change your Diff oil? BND has a 75w90 for that as well.

See Pics Here.
http://www.rs6.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19972

[hahnmgh63]

s42ski, did you flush the TC or oil cooler at all or just drain it completely? If you just drained it, I would recommend doing it again in 5~15K to get most of the rest out. Keep us updated on how the tranny feels with the BND fluid. I'm using Redline D4, changed it at 35K and again at 50K by just an oil drain and filter change, but no flush so for not I probably won't do it again till at least 75K or later unless I desire a rebuild before then.

[s42ski]

Just the drain and fill with replacement of the filter -I plan on doing the simple drain and fill in about 10K when I do the next oil change. The procedure was not as much of a pain as I thought it might be.

[GEN XER]

It takes 12.5L t o fill and empty transmission. The TC takes 4.5L. If you want to flush it through the cooler you will need another 5L to get the old fluid out and fill it properly.


17.5L = 4.6gals. Sorry redblooded American here.

I misunderstood Tozo's response here. The trans holds a total of 12.5L(3.3gals)with 4.5L(1.1gal) being in the TC. I had to re-visit this because my tranny would only take 2gals of fluid, well that would me the TC was full.

[hahnmgh63]

That's about right. A drain (from the pan only) and refill is about 8qts. Besides the TQ there are the cooling lines and the cooler than don't get drained unless you undue them and use clean, dry compressed air to blow them out (not really necessary if you do it again in 10K~20K).

[vangelis]

Guys, I want to update you with something i discover today. I used to have an issues while trying to push the accelerator slowly and not kick down. I used to hear like sound coming from the differentional like if there is a gap or crack, it was not smooth. When i dropped my car at the dealer they told me that the oil level in rear differentional is very low. They added more oil and today i feel its veryyyyy different. That kind of sounds is not coming anymore and it is very smooth when you driving around 30-40 and you push the accele. to go little fast to 100-120. I was always thinking that cuz of problem with TC but now i figured out it was not.

[DHall1]

Willie,

Now you have me confused.

How much does the trans hold. Total w/TC and oil cooler. 3.3gals?

How much do we need if we drain the pain and blow out the oil cooler with air?

How much is the BND trans oil per gallon?




I misunderstood Tozo's response here. The trans holds a total of 12.5L(3.3gals)with 4.5L(1.1gal) being in the TC. I had to re-visit this because my tranny would only take 2gals of fluid, well that would me the TC was full.

[s42ski]

Did the rear diff with new fluid from BND, but the center diff required dropping the exhaust and the front diff has no drain plug !? :w:

So the only way to change that is siphon out the old oil and put in new. WTF


Glad to here it. The oil from the bad tranny was black and smelled burnt at 71K. we also drained the new tranny of all the oil it came with. Luckily the tranny does not come with the TC filled so there wont be any of the OE oil left in the tranny. We also drained the oil cooler as directed by the note on the tranny.

BTW did you change your Diff oil? BND has a 75w90 for that as well.

See Pics Here.
http://www.rs6.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19972

[hahnmgh63]

I was able to do the center diff without dropping the exhaust, you just need a wrench to get in there, a socket won't work. A Mighty vac siphon tool works good with the front diff and if you move it around a little I think you get almost all of the fluid out, yea, no drain plug, what was Audi thinking?

[Avus-RS6]

FWIW I opted for the Audi oil for my tranny drain/refill in case my tranny goes while under warranty. Once warranty is done, probably to with Redline or similar.

[GEN XER]

Willie,

Now you have me confused.

How much does the trans hold. Total w/TC and oil cooler. 3.3gals?

How much do we need if we drain the pain and blow out the oil cooler with air?

How much is the BND trans oil per gallon?



1. From my PM to Tozo The Trans/TC and cooler holds 3.3gals. Maybe we should say Trans System to include the oil cooler. 2.1gals in the Trans, 1.1gals in the TC, and .1gals or half a quart in the oil cooler.


2. The pan and cooler would be 2.2gals

3. $52 or so per gallon. He only sells by the gallon or larger on oil. So you would order 3gals.

[GEN XER]

Did the rear diff with new fluid from BND, but the center diff required dropping the exhaust and the front diff has no drain plug !? :w:

So the only way to change that is siphon out the old oil and put in new. WTF

Center Diff and Front diff? WTF there are three diffs? So what I assumed was the end of the tranny is a diff and the front end of the tranny were the axles mount up is another Diff?

[GEN XER]

FWIW I opted for the Audi oil for my tranny drain/refill in case my tranny goes while under warranty. Once warranty is done, probably to with Redline or similar.

My adjuster never checked the oil. A different oil cannot void the warranty in the trans nor the engine, as long as the oil you use meets the minimum requirements for the engine or tranny. This is a point of contention on every forum I am a member of. The link below will explain why not.

http://www.free-lemon-law-guide.com/the-magnusson-moss-act.php

[s42ski]

Yes - on the right side of the tranny/engine is the front diff, and between the exhausts is the center diff.



Center Diff and Front diff? WTF there are three diffs? So what I assumed was the end of the tranny is a diff and the front end of the tranny were the axles mount up is another Diff?

[GEN XER]

The fluid in them is new as it came filled. I wish I had not assumed this was all just part of the trans, i would have changed the fluid. I will get it at 30K. I assume it is 75w90? Well I have 2qts of diff oil left how much does the center diff take?

[TozoM8]

Front dif 1.4qt
center dif 0.9qt
rear dif 1.6qt
75-90 gear lube. Center and rear dif has drain plug.

[GEN XER]

Front dif 1.4qt
center dif 0.9qt
rear dif 1.6qt
75-90 gear lube. Center and rear dif has drain plug.

Well I have enough for the center diff and it has a drain plug.