Working on my fluid flush/filter right now.. Geez, when I took the drain plug out it spewed the nastiest black burned up crap ive ever seen come out of a car... Oddly and fortunately, when i got the pan and filter out, the magnents on the bottom of the pan had NO filings whatsoever on them! Although a good deal of the surfface area of the pan had sludgy stuff on it. All cleaned up now. Im getting ready to go back out and install the new filter and pan gasket and bolt it back up. Then, the tedious fill process! Wish me luck and buttery shifting!

 

Hey I wanna know how your gonna refill that thing, and what brand oil your using. I thought you needed a special tool???

 

I think it's just filled through the tranny dipstick tube, with a funnel. Might be wrong.

 

ya you are WAY off... Im almost done and ill explain more later.. Here's a link though: http://www.audipages.com/Tech_Articl...servicing.html (for the A8, but same exact procedure.)

check this out too: http://www.taligentx.com/passat/maintenance/atfchange/

I used the Pentosin ATF-1 which is the ONLY recomended fluid to use, regardless of what those links say. ZF trannies are are extremely picky about fluid, even if its a different fluid that meets the ZF specs and is "equivilant" to the good pentosin stuff. Ive done tons of research on ZF tips lately. i know most people prefer manual, but this site really needs more tip talk and references to it. Unfortunately i have to go to audiworld and zine for any useful tip info. Hopefuly this thread will help some people out in the future, even though i didnt document the procedure. Those 2 links above are a wealth of info for any tip owner that wants to take care of their tranny the right way. **** these trannies can cost as much as 8 grand to replace! I'll be back...

 

thank for the links, now i know

 

OK... So... That was 200% worth while! I can't believe its not butter!!! Shifts are noticeably smoother and what i notice most is in tip mode, when it downshifts it isnt as harsh, especially the 4->3 downshift and very especially the 2->1 downshift where it would thump before, now its silky. My old filter looked to be pretty sludged up so im sure circulation has improved which will make life easier for the hydrolic pump inside the tranny, especially on cold start ups. I highly recomend this service to all you tip owners if you dont know if or when its last been done. Definately a messy job though, especially when it comes to filling it. Having a helper is pretty much a must. I had my wife sit in the car monitoring ATF temp through vag com and had her shift through all the gears while i was adding fluid till it got to 45C. Anyway.. Changed my engine oil while I was at it and am going out to clean the interior up-getting ready for a road trip this weekend. Oh ya and if anyone missed my thread about my miss fire from last weekend, i got my coil pack from ECS yesterday and thats taken care of. My car is finally up to date on all maint. and is running tip top. Its been a busy month, I did front pads/rotors, tie rod ends, tranny fluid/filter, oil change, and fixed a miss fire. Total money spent: about $360.... Had I gone to the stealer: probably very close to $1,000!!!!!!
[sm=gears.gif]

 

This is the "special tool" i used to pump the fluid up in it.Mine had an "L" shaped hook on the endthough... Its called an "evacuation pump." Got it at a hardware store for $14. Holds 1 qt.


I got the fluid and filter from purems, they seem to have the best price for it:
http://www.purems.com/products/product.php/II=1436
Again, from all my research, dont skimp on the fluid even though it is pricey compared to other fluids that are "equivilant." You don't want to ever have to replace a tiptronic transmission, trust me.No place like AAMCO or any other tranny shop will touch one. Normaly youll have to buy a used or refurb'd one straight from a ZF dealer which is PRICEY and in most cases costs more than what the car is worth, unless you get real lucky and find a place locally that will rebuild and is very familliar with ZF's.

 

thats great to hear..gonna have to do this..I have a 2000 as well and who knows when its been done!! At any rate the gf will be helping me as well ...hahaha

wonder how much my mechanic would charge instead..I should diy anyway

Im gonna pm you if you can pm me back the details copy and paste them??

thanks happy holidays and happy roadtrip

 

^^ posted 2 links above, check em out. I wouldnt have a mechanic do it unless you are 100% confident they have done the service on an A4/passat before. I have heard mechanics charge $150-$200 (just for drain/fill-not replacing filter and takes less fluid)for it, $300+ at the dealer (just drain/fill), and you could do it for about $120 parts alone for the full service (fluid/filter). You just need a 17mm hex bit/allen wrech for the fill/check plug, T-25 and T-27 torx bits and another hex/allen wrench for the drain plug (forget what size) and a pump. Definately do it, i feel like ive added much life to my tranny by doing it, which i probably have. Im going to do a drain and fill (not drop the pan/replace filter) in 7k miles because not all the fluid comes out because some is in the tq. converter and there is no drain plug for that, that im aware of. I used about 7.5 qts. and i think there is another few qts held in the tq converter.

 

Glad it went well.