ATF Level, Checking and Filling

• The ATF level is specified by a permanently installed overflow tube in the oil pan.

• The ATF level is checked when fluid is a specific temperature and with engine running. The ATF temperature is read out by the Vehicle Diagnosis, Testing and Information System VAS 5051B . If the test temperature has been reached, the sealing plug in the oil pan is removed to check the ATF. Marty

Test temp is 30 C

 

Also double check your harness to tranny pan connection for leaks. There have been a few reported the last few weeks on here, including mine as well. Age related, material becoming brittle seems to be the cause. If not corrected, over time, the oil will slowly travel th path of the harness wiring, right into the brain, then you are looking at $$$$.

 

So as is with most things touareg related the plot thickens. After another inspection the leak is still there , found some time today to give the bolts another turn or two. Worked my way around the pan all peachy, got to the front left bolt and wasn't getting results until snap broken bolt , mind you I was using a 1/4" driver so I'm blaming it on a fractured or damaged bolt. It seems the gasket must be softened from external oil contact??
Any who long story short , time to either tackle it myself or cough up for my mechanic to sort it.
Any good diys for the change around???

 

After looking at the discolorartion of the fluid and the amount of metal particles on the magnets and pan i highly recomend a fluid change for high k'ed trannies.
Not to mention how effortlessly it shifts now, so smooth it feels awesome.

metal here metal there

clean

oem febi

Even the snapped bolt co operated

New filter and o-ring

Heres the bit that scares off everybody .To refill you need to pump the fluid through the fillhole in the pan,the larger raised hole. Firstly you add around 3 litres of fluid until it overflows,start the motor , shift through the gears and with it running pump a further 3 odd litres in , or until it overflows again, the fluid needs to reach 30degrees which only takes a few seconds. Reseal the fill hole and your good to go.All up i used about 5.5 litres, which seems a little low to the stats i have read ,but trust me theres nothing more going in there.I found you need to have the cars level to fill correctly so its an intersting 15 odd minutes of pumping under a running car, lucky the beast is so high off the ground.

Its essential to have the hook on the end of the fill hose for the fill hole insurtion.

 

That's a great post.

Yes, you are right. The thought of doing that myself would put me right off.

Luckily I had the valve chest go and the warranty company paid for me to have a gearbox drain and ATF refill!

One thing I would add.

The dealer that changed the valve chest asked me to bring it in the night before so they could take the pan off straight away on arrival and leave it to drain overnight.

They didn't have to ask that the car would be really warm when I arrived - they know how I drive!

 

Where did you get your change kit from?

 

I got the parts from Pelican Parts
http://www.pelicanparts.com/euro/catalog/shopcart/W102/POR_W102_TRANSM_pg1.htm
and sourced the fluid locally , Sydney Australia.

 

Great job Alex. You may have said it somewhere, but how many miles are on your Trag? The magnets on the pan don't look too bad.

And you should consider your leak as a blessing in disguise. Half of my posts on this site are in reference to the importance of doing the tranny screen/fluid change every 40k or so. Now that you have done it, keep it up. Your Treg will thank you.

 

Its got 170k km , yer the magnets had a little action but what suprised me was the general sludge that was very heavy in metal in the bottom of the pan. ( you can see the grey tones in the pics)
Would highly recommend it, tranny feels brand new.

 

Hello All,

I read some where in this forum that you should not shift through the gears until the trans is full of new fluid. If you do it will screw up the trans. or is this specific to certain years? I have a 2010.

Thanks

 

They are all the same.....I believe Krak and others posted the answer to this here: http://www.clubtouareg.com/forums/f43/transmission-fluid-change-dealer-quotes-and-dilemma-46506.html . You run the gears at the very end of the process, and top off if you need to.

 

I got the parts from Pelican Parts
http://www.pelicanparts.com/euro/catalog/shopcart/W102/POR_W102_TRANSM_pg1.htm
and sourced the fluid locally , Sydney Australia.

Hi Al, great write up, i think I'll get the dealer to change mine but source the parts myself. Just bought a filter+gasket combo off amazon for $30 and am trying to source fluid that meets the G-055-025-A2 standard. A few are G-052-025-A2 but Castrol import ATF says it meets the proper spec on their website. For those interested, Blauparts do a whole replacement kit including 9L of fluid, filter, gasket and o-rings for $185 US plus $130 delivery to Oz or free to US.

 

Hey Gympie
I changed my fluid and used Nulon synthetic trans fluid.
It meets the G-052-025-A2 Std so they claim.
I also added a tube of nulon transmission treatment.
Transmission same as it was before but i had no issues just changed so i knew it was done and i intend to tow my 2600Kg+ van a bit.

regards
Dragline

 

That's some good prices there Adam, the kits not such a bad price either.I payed trade on my fluid and it was low $20's per liter.
I can send you up the pump if you do want to tackle it yourself, it really is pretty simple. On a side note you do need a good sized Allan head socket to loosen the fill hole, mine needed a breaker bar as persuasion it was super tight.

Here is the pump I used and the curved end suits this application down to a tee.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/UTILITY-...HOP-GARAGE-SHED-/260918658853?pt=AU_Hand_Tools&hash=item3cbff6c725#ht_516wt_689

 

Hi Al, saw that pump at supercheap auto today, though it looked like it could do the job. Still might use the dealer though.
Dragline, the Nulon meets the G-052-025 but in the booklet it says they recommend the G-055-025 for the V8. I rang the dealer regarding the difference between the 2 codes and he had no idea. The only one he knew of was the 055. Amsoil, Nulon and Synforce are all 052? I'm pretty confused. At $44/litre at the dealer, not willing to spend $400 on fluid!

 

The low oil added may point to the torque converter and cooler not draining. I know with my pajero there are specific procedures to pump the old fluid out of the TC and cooler with new fluid.

 

Yer i was fairly sure that was what was going on , i havent heard or read anything in regards to flushing the rest of the system.

 

further to the confusion about the 2 different specs, G-055-025 and G-052-025, even though Nulon recommends using a G-055 spec in their technical guide in the shops and on the bottle it only states G-052, the specification data sheet on their website does indeed state that it meets both specs. I sent them an email to hopefully clarify. Finding a reasonably priced G-055-052 spec fluid in Oz is prooven to be harder than expected.

 

Just had a reply from the Fuchs rep in Brisbane. a 20Lt drum of ATF 4400 is $181.50 which is enough for 2 changes. It has the G-055-025 spec approval. Think this may be the winner.

 

Had a response from Nulon regarding the spec difference and they state that it does meet the G-055-025 spec and they will review the bottle labelling at their next meeting. They state that the G-052-025 was an earlier spec and the G-055-025 is the newer spec, more than likely due to the transition from mineral to syntheitc fluids.

 

Synforce are also going to update their website spec to include the G-055-025 code. Interestingly though, the Fuchs rep has stated to me that the 4400 does NOT meet the 055 code even though the website states that it does? I think I'll go with the Synforce fluid, meets and exceeds almost every spec imaginable and only $10/L. Plus it's Aussie made (Hervey Bay) and owned.

 

Nope. I have re filled it once in the last year.

It's on the list to check the levels again , it seems to have stopped now but I'm just a bit worried its due to there nor being enough fluid.

It still is very quiet and shifts great.

It part of my bi annual top up routine , motor oil and tranny fluid.

 

Nope. I have re filled it once in the last year.

It's on the list to check the levels again , it seems to have stopped now but I'm just a bit worried its due to there nor being enough fluid.

It still is very quiet and shifts great.

It part of my bi annual top up routine , motor oil and tranny fluid.

Mine is leaking so booked in for an engine drop, hopefully its just a seal. Will them to change the alternator ac coupling and freewheel as well

 

Checked mine last week and it still full. Seems I may have beaten the leak after all.

 

Did a top up today. Finally did it the rite way with vagcom. You can see the temp number , mine was at group 06.
It's amazing how much difference 8 degrees made.
I'm positive I under filled it at the first change.
Put in 600ml which is not bad as it has a leak that drips very rarely.

 

A new symptom has reared it's head. Noticed a while ago the transmission , while at a stop trying to creep forward much more than usual, so much so you really need to firmly have the foot planted on the brake. Then while away I noticed a massive loss in torque. While on the beach in the soft stuff reverse couldn't produce enough torque to get the car moving. It revved up to 2500rpm but then bogged down and wouldn't move the wheels. Forward was a little better but very weak.
Seems to drive ok on the road.
Did a lot of reading re torque converters and thought I may be low in atf.
Had a litre of fluid spare so started thinking about doing a top up. With the weather so hot it was proving hard to get the temp low enough. Then I noticed something while looking around club touareg. I noticed on nikoloz post how large the fill tube was on his pan.

The a prefix pan

And my pan.

notice the difference in tube length. So I started hatching a plan of how to fill it another way. I found a write up mentioning a fill hole on the left hand side of the transmission. But I could get near it from the exhaust in the way. Then I remembered almstsobur post about his t3 fill/change.
So I followed his lead. Except I didn't want to drop any of my fluid so I tackled it with a tee intersection.

Worked really well and in no time had another litre of fluid in the transmission.

Tee piece and 2 short lengths to join the factory hoses together.

gravity fed. I didn't run the pump at all.

unfortunately the additional fluid didn't make a difference.
It's not throwing any faults via vagcom the transmission is scanning clean.

Not sure where to go next.

Any ideas??????