Hey all,

New to this forum but hoping someone can help me, if you make it through the long post.

A little back story: bought a 99 Audi a4 quattro last fall for $300. Body was in good condition and the interior was nice (other than split leather seat bottoms in the front). Previous owner sold so cheap because the car had been sitting, wouldn't start and he couldn't even guarantee the engine wasn't seized.

I work on all my cars myself and have done a lot with VWs so the Audi wasn't too much of a stretch. Repaired the starter, then found the alternator was seized. Took care of that and she fired right up. Replaced the timing belt, water pump, and related components. Engine runs great.

Here's the problem: this was a side project done over many months, so the car became snowed in this winter. Not my smartest move, but in the meantime (before ever driving it) I replaced the control arms, struts, wheel bearings, brakes, tires etc while it was still stuck inside.

Went to finally pull it out today annnnnd it won't move. Well, it moves a few feet and then just revs. (Automatic tiptronic). When I bought the car I noticed the transmission pan was dented but didn't appear to be leaking. I replaced the filter, pan, and fluid using the proper fluid and fill procedure with vag-com.

Checked out all the CVs tonight... Seem to be fine. With the car off the ground if I turn either of the back wheels the center driveshaft going from the rear to front does spin. Should this be locked with car in park or only front wheels? Even with the car off the ground the wheels will turn for a while, then all the sudden nothing, like something disengages. Just revs. Bad trans? Was hoping for any insights from more experienced with the awd quattro. Thanks!

 

You might try disconnecting a trans cooler hose at the radiator, and then seeing if ATF pumps out when running the engine. This would just be to check that the pump was working and fluid was being drawn up from the pan. Does the speedometer move when the engine revs in gear? Any transmission fault codes? Watch the gear position in VAG-COM and see what the field shows as you move the shifter. You would want to be sure the shift cable was OK.

 

After all that, it ended up being low on transmission fluid. It would drip out when checking/filling, but ended up taking a decent amount more before it was flowing out at the same rate I was pumping it in. Lesson learned... drives and shifts fine now.

 

Nice that it turned out to be an easy solution. I didn't quiz you about fluid level since you thought the filling was correct.