Sigh... Calling those with specifc/detailed knowledge about the ZP tranny's

[Bigglezworth]

It has been stupidly cold here the past 3-4 days making it undesireable to be outside. Still need to go to work and get some erranrds run though, so out and about in the deep freeze. Drove to the hardware store this AM to get some building supplies for a reno I'm working on, and as I left the parking lot to drive home, not less than a block away from the store, the car stranded me! Was driving a nominal 30mph in tip and had just switched from 1st to second gear when shazam! NO forward gears, and no reverse. DAMN! Felt like just shifting from gear in to neutral does. There was NO noise, no clunking, nothing that would suggest I was going to be subject of a catastrphofic failer. I had a passerby assist in towing the car with a tow rope to a parking lot close by and have a buddy pick me up so that I could at least get home and make arrangements to get it towed.

I struggle believing it's something major as it I would have thought there should be some sort of sign that a tranny was failing like occured in my other beast, but alas not the case. Just bam - no worky. Days of hotrodding as a youth long since past, I had a car that lost gears because the shifter linkage broke. Ultimately couldn't put the car in to gear. I initially though this might be the case here, but that would suggest that the car would have remained in gear, vs. having no gear. I can also put the car in park and it doesn't move then. That suggests the linkage is still working IMO. I see on the rebuilt tranny I have sitting hear ready for a swap in to my other car that there is an electronic type of swithing on the side of the gear lever. Is this switch merely a switch that identifies for the ECU what gear you're in, or does it do more? I have NOT VAGCOM's things yet as I need to return to the scene of the crime. With it being so cold, it's simply not practical for the next short bit to jack and get under to see if anything obvious looks out of place. There is no fluid underneath though and the car had been performing just fine. I plan to get back there tomorrow afternoon to at least run scan and see if any codes pop up. In the mean time, would appreciate any input from anyone with tranny knowledge. Please PM me.

Thx in advance.

[RAUDI]

It was over 100 degrees when that happened to me. Same thing almost exactly. That's why I'm doing my conversion.

[MaxRS6]

Bummer- No expertise here- Good luck with a easy resolution. The unknown "What the Heck Is It??" is maddening at times..

[hahnmgh63]

May be a silly question but after it happened, did you shut off the car, wait a few minutes then start it again and try the tranny?

[Bigglezworth]

May be a silly question but after it happened, did you shut off the car, wait a few minutes then start it again and try the tranny?Yep. Nothing. Thinking about the switch that the shifter connects to.

[TozoM8]

Forward and reverse works on different clutch logic. If you don't have limp mode then it could be a broken or disconnected axle or a broken Trans pump. I had one a couple years ago when the owner had a shop change the fluid filer and they forgot to tighten the filter screws. It took 6 months for the screw to walk out and drop the filter. No movement forward or reverse.

[Bigglezworth]

I scanned for codes this aft and had no tranny error codes. Did however have a couple with the ABS which I've never had before. With it being 20+degC warmer today from a couple of days ago, I was able to leave the door open and listen while I moved the shifter between PRNDS and could hear rotation of parts, but only by a whisper. When moving from R back to P, you could hear the tranny trying to engage what I can only describe as the lock pin to keep the car in Park. I sense this possible being electrical, but that is merely a guess. Dealer is open tomorrow so going to talk with the service manager to see if they have any insight before I have it towed either home or to them.

Address 01: Engine Labels: 077-907-558-BCY.lbl
Part No: 4D1 907 558
Component: 4.2l V8/5VT G02 0002
Coding: 0006752
Shop #: WSC 00000 785 00200
VCID: EBDB92CEC9621C46D11-513C
1 Faults Found:
17983 - Right Engine Mount Solenoid Valve (N145)
P1575 - 001 - Short to Plus
Readiness: 0000 0000
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Address 02: Auto Trans Labels: 01L-927-156.lbl
Part No: 4B0 927 156 FL
Component: AG5 01L 4.2l5VT USA 0305
Coding: 0000002
Shop #: WSC 00000 785 00200
VCID: 76ED33BA022051AEBEF-513C
No fault code found.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Address 03: ABS Brakes Labels: 4B0-614-517.lbl
Part No: 4B0 614 517 AD
Component: ESP 5.7 RS 6 2310
Coding: 06697
Shop #: WSC 00000
VCID: 63CB7AEEF1B2D406E91-513C
2 Faults Found:
00526 - Brake Light Switch-F
27-10 - Implausible Signal - Intermittent
18265 - Load Signal
P1857 - 35-10 - Error Message from ECU - Intermittent

[TozoM8]

If you hear a ratcheting sound when go from R to P then you have a broken axle.

[Bigglezworth]

Yowza. Wouldn't you still feel like the transmission is engaging though? Also, the drive shafts look to be in order. Differential? I know I'm guessing as I really need to get it towed and somewhere that can better see/diagnose.

[Bigglezworth]

I've had lots of torque convertors over the years on cars both modified and stock, but have never had one mechanically fail where the input doesn't equal the output. Remember, I was just driving along at 30mph after having just started the car. I wasn't racing or doing anything where high strain would be applied. It was the coldest day on record for the year however which could be entirely coincidence or otherwise. I know we can't keep guessing so once I have it towed home over the next 24 hrs where it will sit and chill while I complete repairs on another vehicle in the garage first. Will keep this thread updated as I know more.

[Bigglezworth]

If you hear a ratcheting sound when go from R to P then you have a broken axle.Bow to the all mighty!! Ding ding ding. Shattered passenger outer CV joint. Thank You! You're insight was greatly appeciated and pointed me in the much needed correct direction. After your post and thinking about things more, I did a lot of Internet reading on things and better understand what the symptoms all meant. Performed repair in parking lot stupidly cold weather finally lifted. Ride back at home where she belongs.

[SteveKen]

Bow to the all mighty!! Ding ding ding. Shattered passenger outer CV joint. Thank You! You're insight was greatly appeciated and pointed me in the much needed correct direction. After your post and thinking about things more, I did a lot of Internet reading on things and better understand what the symptoms all meant. Performed repair in parking lot stupidly cold weather finally lifted. Ride back at home where she belongs.

This is good news. Be sure to check your driver's half shaft, too. Depending on the load at the time the passenger side went, all the shock then went to the good one. Typically they go in pairs depending on the condition.

[nistah]

Bow to the all mighty!! Ding ding ding. Shattered passenger outer CV joint. Thank You! You're insight was greatly appeciated and pointed me in the much needed correct direction. After your post and thinking about things more, I did a lot of Internet reading on things and better understand what the symptoms all meant. Performed repair in parking lot stupidly cold weather finally lifted. Ride back at home where she belongs.

:thumb: Happy to hear it was your CV joint!!

[lswing]

Bow to the all mighty!! Ding ding ding. Shattered passenger outer CV joint. Thank You! You're insight was greatly appeciated and pointed me in the much needed correct direction. After your post and thinking about things more, I did a lot of Internet reading on things and better understand what the symptoms all meant. Performed repair in parking lot stupidly cold weather finally lifted. Ride back at home where she belongs.

Great to hear! So my lack of knowledge question....wouldn't the other three wheels turn?

[JSRS6]

No, for the same reason your wheels won't turn if you put the car on a lift and put the car in drive. His car thought that the wheel without a working cv axle was effectively a wheel with no grip, putting all power to that wheel. But the trans doesn't like that when it tries to give that wheel more power and it goes nowhere. That cv would have spun backward really fast till his trans put its foot down and said no more.

[DHall1]

That is awesome news. Very happy for you

Tozo is the man. I keep his cell on my phone and after we move to Nashville/Franklin area....I will only be a couple hundred miles from him.

You can guess who will be doing my transmissions from there on in time.

Tozo is very kind to offer his time and experience on these matters and hell to just chat with me on the phone as well.




Bow to the all mighty!! Ding ding ding. Shattered passenger outer CV joint. Thank You! You're insight was greatly appeciated and pointed me in the much needed correct direction. After your post and thinking about things more, I did a lot of Internet reading on things and better understand what the symptoms all meant. Performed repair in parking lot stupidly cold weather finally lifted. Ride back at home where she belongs.

[Bigglezworth]

Great to hear! So my lack of knowledge question....wouldn't the other three wheels turn?I grew up on Detroit RWD power and it was only when I puchase my first RS6 that I got in to AWD. The differences in the differentials I grew up with (clutch packs and crown/spider gears) compared to a TorSen differential which are used in numerous FWD and AWD platforms are immense. Once you've learned about the technology involved with them, you will find the question I asked earlier in this thread (and the one you've just recited) seem silly.

First things to understand - the basics
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hv0jYDWp0ZA&list=SP2ir4svMoaYim-RSNWEh-aIfdcM6plSly&index=1


Classic Detroit differential
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HOa0aRZYpw


Torsen differential - animation, understanding, application
http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_51191&feature=iv&src_vid=wiq1Rk5wqds&v=Z9iPqIQ_8iM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiq1Rk5wqds

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDsQAs0Ldes&list=SP2ir4svMoaYim-RSNWEh-aIfdcM6plSly

[TozoM8]

Good to hear it was simple. You can actually guess which side front is broken. If the speedometer spins fast, but the car is not moving then the driver'a side is broken.

[Bigglezworth]

Good to hear it was simple. You can actually guess which side front is broken. If the speedometer spins fast, but the car is not moving then the driver'a side is broken.Circumstances aside, I would have preferred it to be the drivers side with a speedometer showing speed as I wouldn't have been guessing (or as stressed out) anywhere near as much a few days ago. It also wouldn't have been such a bitch to get a stripped bolt out compared to the 'cave' that is created on the passenger side.

What should have taken a nominal hour max from jack-up to drive away ended up taking 4.5. 5 of the 'swell' triple square bolts cracked after some decent effort on each, while the last one stripped! Yep. Worse nightmare. Hadn't accounted for that in the tool department, so had an extra hour in travel time alone to get back to the house to pick up a drill and grinder to remove the damaged bolt. Took 2hrs to extract (drill & Dremel) the head off. Don't own any carbide or cobalt drills and the titanium ones I have just weren't hard enough to ensure bite in to a hardened bolt used to tie axle flanges together. Had a power inverter and used a small grinding wheel on a Dremel to grind away. Not enough amps to ensure torque to grinding effort so it was light grinding which was slow.

Once the head was drilled/ground off, the axle broke loose leaving the remaining shank. Wish the teeth were as strong as the shank. There was no amount of prying or banging on the axle that was going to snap the remaining whispers of the head off until it was gone entirely. Was prying and banging so hard on things in an attempt to break the last whispers of the head off with the axle housing that one of the pads in the caliper I had hanging off to the side popped out when I wasn't looking. My luck with this being what it was, along came the piston behind in short order.... Yep = had to bleed the brake line also. lol

Going to replace all of these fasteners with an Allen-head alternative.

144721447314474144751447614477

Dismantled the casualty on the bench and confirm that it was definately a weather related injury as the plastic shim that usually resides between the c-clip retainer and the joint had shattered permitting excessive play. When I left the parking lot, I turned a sharp right and it would appear the axle pulled entirely out of the joint that remained attached to the wheel bearing thus leaving no torque resistance with which the tranny stopped. CRAPPY little $0.10 plastic spacer and I was stranded....

Anyway, back home is nice for sure as I was not a happy camper with both beasts down for the count.

[RAUDI]

Congratulations on a relatively simple fix. I read this and had to go outside and touch my front driveshafts to see if they were broken. I remembered seeing quite a bit of grease built up on the passenger side during subframe disassembly.

I found both to be in good shape though.

[RAUDI]

Well, relatively simple anyways. Nothing seems to just some out of these things. :) Hopefully it was over -19 for you when you did this.