Long time reader, first time poster.

I am the owner of a 2001 Audi A4 2.8Q with the 5 speed manual transmission. She just rolled over to 100K miles. Stock everything, no Mods.

On Friday I got the car back after having both front CV Axles replaced as well as the Windshield Wiper Motor, Serpentine belt, and Spark Plugs. I got the oil changed as well. When I got the car back I noticed a bit of 'oil' or 'grease' like substance under the car. I assumed that it was just extra grease from the CV Axles or some oil from the oil change. I cleaned it up and did not notice any further leaking so I didn't worry about it too much, but made a mental note to keep looking.

Today while I was driving down the road I heard a loud "BANG!" and the transmission went out of gear. I pulled over to the side of the road and checked it out. The engine appeared to be running fine, but the transmission wouldn't go into gear. At all. Forward or reverse. I couldn't even feel it trying to catch. I would rev the engine and depress and release the clutch and I felt nothing at all.

I had it towed to a local transmission shop (I am guessing it is transmission related). The funny thing is that up until it went out the transmission felt fine. It was grabbing gears, no real noises, nothing. No indications whatsoever that there was something wrong.

I have 2 questions for the gurus out there:

1. Does anybody have any idea what it might be?

2. Is there any chance that the mechanic could have caused this during my recent repairs? The timing makes me wonder...

Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions that you can provide. I have a feeling that it is going to be expensive, whatever it is, but are there any cheaper things to have them look for that could have caused this?

 

I've heard quite a few stories about mechanics accidentally draining the transmission fluid instead of the oil during an oil change (for some reason). It's possible they did that but realized it and put the drain plug back in before it all drained out. But that wouldn't make sense for it to run fine afterwords.

 

That sounds exactly like a broken shift fork. I've gone thru 2 of them on my 5.0 dragster now (unfortunately not at the same time, so I had to take the trans out and tear it apart twice).
The cost will be about 99% labor.

 

Thanks for the responses so far guys. If it is the shift fork, hopefully the 99.9% labor isn't too much. I'm not terribly excited about the prospect of sinking another few grand into my car right now...

 

I would suspect that labor is similar to a clutch change. 7 hours?

 

Well, I talked to my Mechanic today. Apparently the differential separated from the transmission. They have no idea how it could have happened. I did notice some transmission fluid on my garage floor, so I am guessing that the rest of the fluid leaked out while I was driving and that was all she wrote.

I am waiting on the repair estimate and then I am going to decide if I want to get the repairs done and keep the car, or just junk it.

What is a reasonable price for a transmission rebuild on this car?

Also, if I do decide to junk it, Is there anyone here in the Cincinnati area that wants a 2.8Q for 'parts car'? Wheels are in good shape, tires are pretty new, brand new front CV axles, engine in good shape, very clean black interior, etc.

 

Ryanmal, since I was/am forced to become somewhat of a A4 B5 transmission expert:
- rebuilt? in my case, my trans shop stopped adding up after $1500 in parts was reached (to be save, they considered new clutch packs, new valve body).
- properly rebuilt trans (CJP, DRN) for the A4 B5 start at $1500
- used ones $750 (low, no guarantees), more at $1,000
- labor to CHANGE a trans is in the 7.5 hour range IIRC
- your car: generally interested; PM me for details; I will send my email for photos.

 

Thanks.

Here's what they ended up doing. The transmission doesn't really need to be totally rebuilt, per se, it just needs a new differential put on. He was able to get a used one with 60,000 miles on it. He is going to guarantee parts and labor for a year. The total right now is $1600, including replacement of all seals, etc. The shop is reputable and has worked on plenty of Audis. While he is doing that he is going to take a look at the other parts to see if anything else should be replaced while they already have the tranny out. Based on the fact that the clutch and shifter felt fine prior to this incident I am guessing that everything else is probably going to end up being OK.

The total was not nearly as bad as expected.

 

I forgot you have a manual. $1600 with labor is ok and realistic.

 

Was it the center diff that broke?

The funny thing with the quattro driveline is that if anything in the driveline breaks you end up with this odd feeling that there is no clutch in the car anymore.
This is because the torsen sends all the power to the spot with the least resistance which happens to be the broke part.


The center diff(torsen) can actually be replaced while the transmission is still bolted to the engine.