Auto box - 1st and 2nd only???

[Mike79 0]

Just got back from holiday and the car has sat for 2 weeks - started 1st turn of the key 8)

 

On the way to work this morning the car ran perfectly fine, same when I came home at lunch.

 

On the way back to work after lunch however, I only appear to have 1st and 2nd gears :oops: Even changing between D-3-2-1 I get no difference - just stays in 2nd, even when sitting at a steady 40mph (not accelerating)

 

Ive maybe not given this much of a chance as it was only 4 miles back to work, but it concerned be a fair bit!

 

The car is a 95 Corrado VR6, which received a new auto box in Dec 03 (£1900)

 

Any idea what is causing this?

 

Cheers

[chris g 0]

sounds like its low on oil to me mate

[Supercharged 2]

That new box should still be under warranty I think, was it bought and fitted by VW?? - if so take it back...

[chris g 0]

I had an Auto VR MK3 last year and it was doing exactly the same when the gearbox had an oil leak. Whent eh oil was low it wouldn't change up out of 2nd

[fla 9]

Be careful with tranny fluid levels as too much fluid will create too much pressure in the box causing strange changes. The level can be a bit fiddly to check though as the min/max space is very narrow. Have a look at the colour too. Having said that, if it was replaced only recently it should still be under warranty.

[Mike79 0]

car is not leaking oil, although I will check the trans. fluid level.

 

As stated, box was fitted in Dec 2003 so prob only covered by 1 year warranty. It was fitted by Bavaria Auto Werke in Aberdeen

 

thanks for help :)

[Mike79 0]

had a look at lunch and the handbook does not give a good description of where to check the flud level - says there is a 2nd dip stick but I can't see one... where about is the fluid kept so I can check? There were 4 fluid containers in the engine bay - assumed 1 was coolant, 1 was screen wash and 1 was power steering. Is the other transmission? All seemed to have the fluid level above min and checked oil too which was perfect.

 

Sorry, but I am an amateur and don't know where to look !!

 

Can I just go to Halfords for fluid if I need to top up, or should I stick it to VW or a specialist (such as where did the replacement box?)

[Henny 0]

ONLY use VAG fluid in a VAG auto box... It's not worth the possible hassles that putting in the wrong oil can cause for the sake of a couple of quid... ;)

[fla 9]

As HEnny says use proper VAG stuff - having said that its not too pricey but the alternative from GSF is also OK.

Now the dipstick is deeper in the engine bay. Looking from the front of the car, look to the right of the engine block and below the coilpack. You'll see a red looped plastic dipstick thre and its almost near the base of the chassis. The dipstick itself is quite short too.

 

If you can see the tranny gear selection arm that is the gearbox, bolted to the side of the engine block. Check the fluid level when the car has warmed up slightly and on a flat surface of course.

 

You canonly fill through the dipstick hole so get yourself a funnel and tube that fits and only add a small amount at a time. The whole 'box takes about 3 litres iirc, including the torque converter.

 

Dont forget that gear changes will be a bit rough (dont know why) until the oil temp is up to normal, so dont go thrashing the b**ls off of it until then.

 

HTH

[Mike79 0]

cheers Fla - that's the info I needed :)

[Mike79 0]

ok, checked the dip stick last night (nice and easy to get to - not!) and it seems to be ok. However, and inspection of my garage floor and then the underside of the gearbox indicates a leak.... the fluid seems clean enough, both on the floor and the dip stick. Even though the oil seems to be ok (for quality and quantity), it is likely that the leak is the problem?

 

Am I looking at a hefty bill on the horizon??

[Solitaire 0]

Did you check the warranty issue,

 

even if the gearbox wasnt fitted by VW the VW supplied recon box, which is about £1800 plus Vat, has a 2 year warranty, only know this cause my VR6 Auto has been playing up lately. I get 1st 2nd and 3rd, but only get 4th after the revs have flaired up considerably, so i have looked at changing the gearbox. The best people to see are a specialist auto gearbox place who can plug a laptop into the ecu, and change the gears via the computer, they should then be able to find the problem, mine cost £40 for an hours labour, they have come back with 2 sensor faults on the engine, causing low pressure in the gearbox, will change the two sensors and let you know if it fixes the problem,

 

best of luck

[Mike79 0]

cheers Solitaire

 

let me know how you got on and I will look into this 2 year warranty..... I have the paperwork at home so can check with VW and the specialist who did the work before...

 

Mike

[fla 9]

Solitaire, ? Can I suggest a gearbox swop as per Storms option to a manual. TBH the cost of getting another auto box will be similar to doing a transplant yourself or ewven getting it done if you know a mechanic friend. I'm still looking into alternative autoboxes that can swop in as i do like mine tbh :shock: . BTW, which sensors did they say were faulty?

Mike79, sorry to say mate that the autobox bills can be horrendous, hence the tip about swopping. Mine wheezes slightly from 3rd to 4th as it goes from hydraulic to mechanical, but thats not a problem and it tends to settle down after a while. Having said that I do use the gears manually quite a lot too. Did you check teh fluid level? Another thing, there is a diagnostic port (for pressure testing) on top of the box (the round connector) which can be used by a garage to check the fluid pressures on gear change.

[Mike79 0]

yeah, I checked the fluid levels and they seemed to be ok.

 

this auto to manual conversion.... I read the how to but I can't find any indication of cost associated with the job.... ideally a complete donor car would be best to start with, but how much is one likely to be, and how much labour is assocated with the full job?

 

I'm a non-mechanic so would be putting this to a garage to to the work if I went this route...

[Solitaire 0]

FLA, considered the swap to manual, but like the auto box and dont really want to let it go, changed the TPS and the blue temp sender by the Thermostat, drove fine for 85 miles, then the same fault again, spoke to another auto gearbox guy, who says it is only the pumps that go, and it shouldnt need a full rebuild so gonna look into this next, hoping to take her to the VW show at tatton so crossing my fingers i dont get too many problems before then, if you find any other auto box that will go in let me know, maybe an Audi, or Ford one (from the Galaxy?) the auto gearbox place also told me to change the MAF Sensor, but there was a broken wire on this which i fixed, and the sensors are over £200 so havent done it yet

 

Mike79, have you tried resetting the AUTO ECU c if that helps?