Hi All

New to the forums and new to Audi's. Thought I would share my sweet new project and get some advice.

As of last night, I am the proud owner of a 1997 A4 1.8T with only 20,192 miles; but it is gonna need a little work.

Long Back Story:

This car was owned by my wife's bosse's elderly mother (93 yrs old). The family is wealthy, he just bought a new $100K+ audi. Anyways, he sold it to me for $1,000 dollars if I had it towed away.

It sat un-driven between 2000 until ~2011 when they decided to move it out of her garage since she no longer could drive . During this process they tried shifting the automatic tranny and broke the shifter cable. They then had it towed to a friend of a friends mechanic (another old codger) who put in a new shifter cable. This fixed the cable problem but the car would still only move slowly around in limp mode or something and it has sat until now.

The old mechanic thinks the valve body is likely gunked up but nobody has been motivated to fix until now.

Here is my plan to revive her from the coma she has been in; let me know what you think.

Remove plugs and add WD40 to cylinders to soak and free up rings (just in case)

Tomorrow, manually turn the engine over with a wrench to make sure nothing is stuck.

If this is good, then drain and refill every fluid I can think of: Oil, Coolant, Brake, Power steering, Old gas in tank and Tranny.

When I have the tranny pan off, I want to take out the valve body assembly and try to clean it (use brake cleaner?). I would also like to test the assembly, maybe I can wire up 12v to make sure all the solenoids work with out sticking. Worse case is I have to buy a valve body off eBay but I am thinking I can somehow revive this one. Let me know if you know how to test for function.

I should put new tires on it and maybe shocks and struts?

A couple of photos attached. Very dirty from sitting so long but the trunk still has that new car smell!

Thanks for whatever you can share for advice and I will let you know how it goes!

 

Update

Took tyranny valve body off and one of the solenoids (blue-second from end) was stuck. Removed and cleaned and moves freely now. We will see if this was the fix once I get it running.

Today I plan to replace fuel pump. It is seized up after sitting so long in bad gas. It is already out of car so I could drain the gas easily.

Fingers crossed it will run with a new fuel pump.

 

Okay, making progress

New fuel pump and started up and runs well.

Tranny goes into drive fine and seems ok in forward, but no reverse

Also - all gear display indicators are lit up on the dash, not sure if this related to the no reverse issue or something else.

I am thinking another stuck solenoid for the reverse but let me know if you have suggestions. Why all the gear indicators are lit up I have no clue as of yet.

 

Whatever you do, take care of that car, its bound to be worth some bucks due to the unheard-of miles. Maybe Audi would want to buy it! Anyway, what you need is the VAG-COM, aka VCDS software and diagnostic cable. VAG-COM will allow you to cycle those solenoids, and flag malfunctions of the transmission, along with the engine, ABS, airbag system, and so forth. The limp-mode and non-reverse might just be the shift cable not being adjusted correctly. With 20K easy miles, I tend to doubt there is mechanical faults other than the sticky solenoid that you found. Also, be absolutely certain that you know how to refill that trans; it has to be filled while running, otherwise it will be under-filled, and reverse seems to be the gear that suffers from an under-fill that you'll notice first. VAG-COM will also let you watch the ATF temp on your computer, which is important because there is a preferred temp range to achieve before you put the fill plug back in - with the engine still running!

P.S. My preference for this transmission is Valvoline Maxlife Dex/Merc ATF.

 

Thanks for the input Turbo510 and sharing my enthusiasm for the car. I am going to have to fill up the tranny more as I filled it not running: . I am using the Valvoline you suggested.

The day I got the car, I ordered a cheap eBay VAG-COM cable that comes with what looks like open source software. Not sure what it can or can't do but will play with it and see capabilities when it arrives.

While topping off the fluid tranny may solve the reverse, not sure it will solve why all the lights are on the transmission gear indicator display. Maybe a full fill will fix it and easy enough to check. Other things I am planning to look into if this is not the fix is the TCM, or the multifunction switch, or wiring in-between which from some reading may be the culprit.

Would be a surprise to me too that something electronic has failed but it looks like the multifunction switch was removed and re-installed when the shift cable was installed so maybe it was damaged somehow is my initial wild guess.

Will reply back when I make a some progress.

 

The free version of VAG-COM will allow you to see and clear transmission fault codes, which could be what is keeping the trans in limp mode. A problem with the F125 range switch will cause a distinct fault code, but in any event, write down the codes before clearing. The limitation with the free version is that you can't run "output tests", which are very useful. For instance, the output tests can run the electric radiator fan, interior blower, swing the instrument needles, turn on the fuel pump, leak detection pump, and so forth. It's about $100 for the licence but worth it.

 

Finally running! No reverse was fixed by obtaining a vag com and clearing code related to F4 multi function switch. Will see if it error comes back.

Couple things yet to fix and maybe related. Cruise control does not work and I have vacuum leak code

1 Fault Found:
17544 - Fuel Trim: Bank 1 (Add): System too Lean
P1136 - 35-00 - -

Both may be from this vacuum line being disconnect, yellow circle in photo below. Let me know if you know where this line is supposed to connect to.

Many thanks for whatever help you can provide.

 

been following your post. good find! the trans is a fickle basterd, thats for sure. as for the vacuum line, where does the other end go? hard to tell which line that is. i would also run some oil system cleaners to pull all the old acidic oil and gunk out. how did everything look when you drained it?

 

Okay making more progress. That vacuum line was an easy fix. The PO mechanic must have disconnected the proper line and added the long tube so he could start it with fluid. Took off the long rubber hose and noticed the proper line just sitting unconnected nearby. No more lean code!. The cruise control was fixed by either cleaning the switch with electronics spray cleaner or fixing the control module by removing and reflowing the solder with a heat gun. Did both so either could have been the problem.

Thanks for the question about the oil. All I can say is that it looked dirty when I drained it but not unusual in any way. Not sure if I am going to have issues but will drive and see.

Next fix will be the sunroof, plastic guides were are all fragmented and caused it to jam until I cleaned it of debris. The new slides are available to order at $150.

My major concern right now is how it is shifting. Seems like it does not want to engage 1st gear from dead stop until rpm reach 1.5k or so and then jerks when starting to move. All other gears seem to shift normal. I think I have the proper amount of fluid in it so scratching my head before double checking the fluid level.

Let me know if you know why I have trouble getting into first gear.

Thanks for whatever info you can share

 

sounds like you need more fluid in the trans. it is slipping, hence the stutter in first. and for the hard shifting, i havent been in a vw/audi that hasnt shifted hard at some point or another. 3 A4's, couple 3 jettas, all the same.

hows the rest of the car?