Yes...S8 gearbox question...

[bartylash]

Hi there,

As per title .......... I have a D2 S8 1998 with a squillion miles up it which has developed a clunky gearbox. I had the fluid and filter changed but it still clunks in and out of Drive, all the icons on the dash light up etc,etc.

I love the car to bits and will get the gearbox rebuilt/replaced. I probably shan't go down the main dealer route due to the age and value of the car. I am struggling with the search option on here, so bear with me if the question has been asked a zillion times, as I'm sure it has.

I'm based in the Midlands - Stratford on Avon - so does anyone have any recommendations as to where I should take either the car, or just the gearbox? Or where I can get a recon 'box from? I accept it won't be cheap, but I am prepared to do it, and bought the car knowing this might have to be dealt with one day.

Thanks, Callum

[A8_Tony]

Hi Callum,

firstly, welcome to the forum. Tyresmoke holds a wealth of information for the discerning '8 owner, and it can sometimes be difficult to find the answer your looking for.

However, you've asked for a recommendation in the Midlands. Best guy I can recommend is AV Performance. Ben is an astounding mechanic, and would gladly aid you in the resolution of your issues.

If you're a member of the A8OC, you also get a 15% parts & labour discount

Have a look around, you'll enjoy your stay :D

[bartylash]

Thanks for that Tony, I need to find a few hours (!) to have a proper look around in here......... all good stuff by the looks of it.

Let you know how it goes......

[SINGH]

Welcome to the forum, if I can help in any way let me know. I am based in Leamington Spa and had my S8 gearbox refurbished recently. I also have a Vag Com if you would like me to scan your S8? Also, I agree with Tony. I have used all the top Audi specialists in the midlands, and they aren't even half as good as Avperformance. Avp is stupidly underrated at the moment and hasn't been discovered by the masses and even then Ben is always mega busy

Edited July 12, 2010 by SINGH

[bartylash]

Welcome to the forum, if I can help in any way let me know. I am based in Leamington Spa and had my S8 gearbox refurbished recently. I also have a Vag Com if you would like me to scan your S8? Also, I agree with Tony. I have used all the top Audi specialists in the midlands, and they aren't even half as good as Avperformance. Avp is stupidly underrated at the moment and hasn't been discovered by the masses and even then Ben is always mega busy

Thanks for your generous offer there, much appreciated!! When the car can propel itself again, I might be heading your way......

Out of interest, can I ask where you had your gearbox refurbed? Was it AVP? Wherever it was, did you take the whole car there, or did you have the 'box refurbed and refitted by different guys?

Cheers, Callum

[SINGH]

If it helps, I can let you know next time I'm in Stratford. I had the whole car taken there, Ben took the gearbox out and it then went to the guys who refurbished it. I think they took about £1200 and Ben took £250 to remove and refit it, add another £100 for genuine Audi fluid too.

Now the engine has gone on my S8, and it is around 7k for a new one. So I have brought a BMW to drive about now, hope a second hand engine turns up soon! What are the exact symptoms. Does it feel like a slipping clutch?

[bartylash]

Hi again.........the symptoms as I recall were: a few weeks before the 'big' day, I heard a clunk in slow moving traffic. After initially thinking 'ulp!' it never happened again......fast forward a few weeks. Funnily enough, I was returning home from Leamington, and took the road from the Tachbrook area to Wellesbourne, past the crematorium on those windy roads, having a play with the Tiptronic, which I virtually never touch.

When I got back to Stratford, I was stuck in a creeping jam, I opened the windows and got a distinctive 'oil-burning' smell. I say distinctive - as in, different but I couldn't place it, if you know what I mean. I decided to cut through some back roads to get home and (luckily,I s'pose) 500 yards from home, there was a loud clonk and I got the slipping clutch effect you mentioned. I nursed the car, still rolling, to my drive which was all downhill from where the big clonk had happened. I say that because I don't think I would have made it UP any hills, because I could barely get the car up the slight incline of my drive. All the lights on the display PRND4321 were lit up solid. Switched off ignition, restarted, lights went out. Selected D, felt the transmission 'take up.' Started to move (about 10 inches) then clonk, and no drive, all the lights back on again. I left the car where it was for several hours to cool, went back to it that evening and exactly the same.

I decided at that point to leave well alone, just in case it WAS a lack of fluid and I did any more damage. Mechanic I use recovered the car, and checked it out. Reckoned the box was overfull, if anything, but (possibly) with the wrong fluid. Oh, and furry metal everywhere. He cleaned and flushed it all out with Audi fluid and refilled, fitting a new filter also. And it's still the same..............

Thanks for all the helpful info, I'm very grateful - cheers!

Callum

Cheers, Callum