1996 Audi A4 2.8 Automatic 180k miles - my baby

I have owned my Audi since 1996 and have had no real issues. Last fall I began to have the best I can describe it a 'transmission bang' @ 30-35 mph when shifting. I took the car in and nothing was found and it could not be replicated, they said they checked the computer and its settings were ok as well, transmission fluid levels fine. My husband has a Vagcom which didn't find anything either. The place that worked on my car defaulted to say that I need a new transmission :-( Very pricey. I am not ready to just try this solution and see if it works and not ready to part w/ it either. The bang is intermittent and I have found only occurs when I floor it and the engine is warmed up and it is a niceto hot day! If it is warmed up and cold, all is well, if it is not warmed up all is well. ??Any ideas??

 

Manual or Auto. Or is it just when you are Driving not even shifting it bangs?

 

Where does the bang come from? Motor and tranny mounts all checked?

 

I was hearing, and feeling, something similar to what you described. After looking into replacing a motor or transmission mount, I ended up figuring out it was the center torque mount, or what some refer to as a "snub" mount. I would only hear it on hard shifts or when I floor'd it, too.

the torque mount is at the very front and center of the engine and isn't really even a true "mount." It's a hard rubber dampner about the size of your fist located at the bottom of the engine, behind the radiator. the snub mount, I gather, is just an upgraded version of the stock mount.

9 bucks and a couple hours of wrenching will do the trick (that is, if this is the problem you're having).

check it out.

 

sorry for the delay I was out of town. It is an automatic and it only bangs when auto-shifting @ 30-35 miles per hour when it is warm when I am being aggressive :-)Say I floor it I can almost tell by the feeling and speed when it is going to do it or not. It goes to shift @ 3200 RPM...and you hear a bang and feel the lull it tachs up to over 4800 RPMS the hard shifts and then it kicks in again. Seems to be from 2nd to3rd and kind of if it over revs? prior to theshift into the next gear.First time it happened it scared the crap out of me.

 

Check / replace tranny mounts, motor mounts, or snub as stated above. These are all things that your mechanic SHOULD have checked but at this point in my lifeI never assume a mechanic will do what he SHOULD. Motor mounts are bad if they are leaking purple fluid. If not, leave them alone (they are pricey). Tranny mounts for a manual are like $20 each. Can't be much different for auto, change em. Snub is cheap but hard to install. If your man's got VAGCOM, I will assume he is a wrencher too, so send him out there to replace that snub.Bring him beers the entire time since he is awesome enough to change that PITA snub for you. These are the cheap and 'easy' things to try first. If they don't work, it could be something else simple, but I will tend to start thinking its an internal mechanical problem of the tranny that you won't be able to fix yourself (aka expensive), or something software related ie sensors etc.