Valve Body or Clutch problem?

The transmission was rebuilt (according to the carfax) around 123k miles. I don't have any documentation, but the stall torque is around 2200 so I think there was some upgrading done? Anyways, the car now has 153k on it and there was some weeping from the transmission pan gasket so I replaced it along with the filter. It was driving fine for the first 500 miles or so after I did that, but I don't get on the highway much and my commute is just 5 miles across town. I took a longer drive and discovered that once the fluid got warm it would rev freely/slip and then slam into gear. On the way back it seems like the problem would pop up when I was pointed uphill so I thought it was a fill issue.

I took it to a local euro shop to have them do a drain and fill so that I could rule that problem out, but it didn't help. The thing that doesn't seem to line up with other things I've read is that I'm not getting any "slipping" while it's in gear, it's more like I'm getting a false neutral between gears. Going into 3rd gear from 4th gear (both under and not under load) is when the problem is really showing itself. If I shift up from 2nd to 3rd the car pulls fine and will continue pulling as it goes into 4th and 5th.

I'm not getting any codes, except for a 17115 that popped up as I was troubleshooting and the transmission went into 5th gear. After the transmission cooled it was fine and hasn't come up since.

So does this sound like something that removing and cleaning the valve body will fix, or am I in bigger trouble?

So I've been logging my commute and now the 4-3 downshift seems to be OK, but when I accelerate out of a turn onto a side street the transmission takes a second to engage 2nd from 3rd then slams into gear. This happens only once the fluid has had a chance to warm up a bit.
https://www.rs6.com/attachment.php?a...id=19364&stc=1

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Originally Posted by NerdyDeeds

once the fluid got warm it would rev freely/slip and then slam into gear

The thing that doesn't seem to line up with other things I've read is that I'm not getting any "slipping" while it's in gear, it's more like I'm getting a false neutral between gears. Going into 3rd gear from 4th gear (both under and not under load) is when the problem is really showing itself. If I shift up from 2nd to 3rd the car pulls fine and will continue pulling as it goes into 4th and 5th.

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I'm no expert, but I've been through a few transmissions, and it sounds like your clutch plates are shot, they don't have any friction left on them to hold. What was the fluid like when you drained and replaced it, metal shavings sparkling? It's possible you got low on fluid and ruined the clutch plates. Always a chance the valve body is not applying enough pressure to hold the clutch plates together though.

It sounds like many stories where an owner changed the fluid on a trans that had never had the fluid changed. They removed the old viscous fluid that was actually helping the clutch plates stick together better. With the new smoother fluid you get slipping as you describe.

Unless you have papers on the $6-10k trans replacement, I'd question what kind of rebuild was done, maybe just the valve body. Find the shop that did the work, usually on Carfax.

I think, and not sure, but gears 1-3 are on one set, and gears 4-5 on another, could explain why you notice the issue more on the 3-4 shift.

And you're sure the shop filled it correctly with the VAG software and temp settings? Papers are on my website in my signature.

Also consider if the trans pan is dented up it can be close to the filter pickup pipe and starve fluid, some people trim the filter pickup tube 1/8" or so...

There was some sparkling in the fluid, so it's probably on its way out.

With 155k on the car is it worth doing a manual swap? I just did the front brakes and timing belt, all the control arms were done two years ago. No rust on the body.

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Originally Posted by NerdyDeeds

There was some sparkling in the fluid, so it's probably on its way out.

With 155k on the car is it worth doing a manual swap? I just did the front brakes and timing belt, all the control arms were done two years ago. No rust on the body.

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If you feel that the car was worth doing the brakes and TB, then yes, I'd say that it's worth a 6 speed. Working on mine now, and really not that hard, but it does take some time and $$$. If you go with a swap, would you feel confident doing it yourself, or would you need to outsource? If you need to have someone do it for you, then SteveKen would be my first contact...he posted on my thread that he'd do the swap for $8k I believe??? If so, that's worth every penny to be done by the guy that not only designed the parts for the swap, but has done more than a handful himself.

Yep, with parts and labor by a skilled indy mechanic figure to be in the $10k ballpark, tune also.

I'm going to do the swap myself, looks like it'll be more around $5-6k depending on what else is worn out.

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Originally Posted by NerdyDeeds

I'm going to do the swap myself, looks like it'll be more around $5-6k depending on what else is worn out.

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Sounds about right....I'll probably have about $8-$9k in mine, but I started with turbo rebuilds and diverted to the 6 speed conversion. It also depends on what you plan to re-use...just the turbo studs are $29 each and the nuts are about $9 each...adds up fast when you need 14 of each, and that's just one of the many small parts that you may want to change. That said, I was able to get all of mine out without issues, so an unsuspecting eye wouldn't know the difference if I changed or not. I also did all of the timing parts, valve cover gaskets, rear main seal plate, all mounts, tons of seals/gaskets/o-rings/crush washers, etc., etc. Plus of course the Quick Jacks so I could do the project safely!