Sharan Auto Gearbox Problem

[ric220]

Hi all. My '99 1.8t automatic gearbox is playing up! When cold (and more recently reasonably warm) there's a delay between selecting drive and the box engaging. Also, when pulling away from lights etc it'll fail to engage for a few seconds. It also seems to be reluctant to consistently engage at low speeds. When it does go into gear it does so with a bang.

 

Any ideas? I had the atf changed a couple of months ago but my mechanic struggled to get the bottom of the box to seal again and it lost some fluid before sealing properly. Mechanic doesn't think it lost much fluid.

 

Really hope someone can help! Cheers

[ric220]

Any ideas anyone?

[dipsomaniac]

almost certainly caused by wrong atf level. don't understand why mechanic had trouble sealing box.  did he use new washers?  he should have checked level again after the leak. if it is the same as mk1 box you just need to remove auto level screw from drain plug when box is at the correct temp.  if atf flows out it has too much fluid. if it doesn't run out you need to top up until it starts running out of the drain plug

Edited September 6, 2015 by dipsomaniac

[ric220]

Excellent many thanks. Yes I thought it odd he struggled to seal the box. I'll get it changed by a different mechanic. He changed the filter too but I'm guessing that can be reused as it wasn't long ago?

[BrianH]

theres some instructions on changing the fluid in the faq section - basically whats been said already, but its worth having a check of the level and seeing what the fluid looks/smells like - any signs of burning or gloop then you need to sort that out (change fluid). Trouble is when your changing the fluid you won't get it all to come out - the torque converter keeps some in the system so it takes a few attempts to flush out sufficient fluid.

 

Its rare anyone changes the filter - i think its a metal mesh so shouldn't be an issue (if its out would make sense to clean it off) but you should be able to drain the fluid without removing the sump.

 

You can also scan the gearbox using vcds since its a vw box - this may indicate a failure of some sort that you can have a look for on here. Vag-com lead off ebay and vcds lite is enough to do what you require.

[ric220]

Thanks Brian. I'll get the fluid changed as a precaution and see how it responds.

[BrianH]

Probably best - hopefully doing it again will flush out any crud still in there - see if you can get a look at whats drained out when you get it done - new ATF is usually translucent red in colour.

[ric220]

Hi all. Took the car to a local gearbox specialist who said my mechanic hadn't changed the rubber gasket which had gone hard through years of use, hence a bad leak. He replaced the gasket and oil and it's made a huge difference! He said the box was nearly empty so it won't have done it much good but all the symptoms have gone. Thanks for your help.

[dipsomaniac]

glad you got it sorted.  that was a bad decision by your mechanic.  could have cost you £2k for a gearbox refurb or a scrapped car