ideas on huge ATF leak? 99 A6 2.8

a couple weeks ago the trans went in to limp mode during a hard tip shift where I let off. got a heavy clunk followed by PRND lighting up. pulled over, off/on, and got back on the road with no problem. since it seemed to be ok i just paid close attention and stayed on my way, not checking it out.

well it happened again the other night on the highway, going up to about 80-85, but instead of pulling over i kept driving to my exit just a few miles down. well once I pulled over off my exit there was smoke plums engulfing the front end. let it all cool off and since we were close to home we limped the car back home, all gears engaged fine.. but there was a long trail of ATF.

the leak looks to be around the flywheel area, and pours out only when the car is on.

any pointers? sucks that this happened the weekend before a Vegas roadtrip =(

 

Well it is very strange you loose ATF and shifting is still normal. I will highly recommend you should take it to a shop put on the lift and then inspect the leak. Most likely it is from two lines goes to radiator. Good Luck

 

Mine had a leak which turned out to be the output shaft seal. It was leaking right onto the cat and smoking. It was replaced under warranty. Supposedly this is pretty common on these cars and requires the removal of the transmission bcause it's behind the torque converter. Hopefully it's something else that's not as drastic. Good luck.

 

I'm leaning to the less drastic side, being optimistic. car is being hauled to a shop right now

 

trans didn't leak at all on a cold start. guessing it would if the fluid got up to temp

 

well 2 tows and 2 shops later the problem is not figured out yet.

first shop says it's nothing on the outside leaking. second shop says they want to fix my valve cover leak first... guessing they had a hard time making it leak again.

any other possible suggestions? I think the 2 above are ruled out

 

I have a Porsche Boxster MY03 which had same problem, according to en.wikipedia.org (seach for ZF 5HP19FLA transmission and your MY99 Audi A6 is listed)
you have transmissioin 5HP19FLA which is very similar to 5hp19.
From your description of the leak, either the front pump seal is leaking or the front pump
bushing spun out (that is the worst & costly sorry to say).
If you took it to a couple of transmission shops and they did not have any idea, I would not go back to them, IMHO.
If you mechanically inclined, then you have to have a lot of patience to do the job.
one other possibility is that the drain hole on the transmission front pump is blocked and the fluid is have no place to go under pressue but thru the seal.
losing alot of fluid on this tranny have a lot of consequences.

1. Damaging T/C (remanufactuering cost around $300+ or buy rebulid for $400+)
I would go with buying rebuild one.
2. Damaging Front Pump (cost could be $300 shop around you may get it for $190)
3. cost of fluid is about $20.00 per liter and transmission could take upto 9 liters
4. replacing pan gasket and filter could run you $45-$50
5. other o-rings have to be replaced and screws could run over $100.00
the above is what I had to do and purchase.

 

thanks for all that info flyboy.. it is easing me in to the right direction.

unfortunately I don't have space or tools for such a job. it is tough when a repair costs about the value of the car, like in my case. Gonna have some serious thinking to do