Options to fix my auto gearbox

[icyd]

Few months ago I posted about my box slipping.after doing tons of research,im one foot into buying additive,put it in and hope for the best.

First of all,ill recap what the symptoms are in more detailed fashion

1.slippage-happens from 1st into 2nd and into 3rd.the box is doing a half-assed job of grabbing onto the higher gear.the rpm only goes halfway down where it supposed to be for a few seconds,then only fully engages and with all the power suddenly available to hurl me forward.im not sure which helps,sometimes putting more throttle would force it to lock on quicker but most of the time i back off the power because common sense tells me being gentle always the way to prolong life in anything that do wear.on hills,seems like it takes forever to shift into 2nd and 3rd.no slipping OUT of gear unnecessarily tho.

2.in rush hour crawl,when the tcu decided to pick 1st gear even when the car's still rolling at the speed where i think being in 2nd would still do fine,then at some point there'll be a hard thump,like one u feel when being rear ended.this one gives me heart attack.

3.putting in D,the car starts moving fine.in R however, there's slight delay about 1sec or so before there's one slight thud and consequently back off i go.

4.there's.no CEL

5.scanned no fault code

Car detail: superb 1 1.8t auto 170,000km.did transmission flush with new filter and pennzoil multivehicle atf a month ago and that did nothing to cure the problem.

My mech said refurbishing would be costly and won't guarantee trouble free afterwards.some spent a fortune on refurb only to be in worse off condition. Next option will be a swap with 2nd hand unit at 60% the cost of refurb.

What im interested in at this moment is saving money.so im in need of opinions on additives,the kinds that lucas and lubegard carry.afterall all three options come with equal chance of failure so why not go for the cheapest.90% positive reviews on lucas i gathered everywhere are mostly on american cars but better chance of success for trying it out than finding bad reviews overall.if that fails,i guess ill be fixing 2nd hand box soon

Btw,merry Christmas to all.hope u enjoy your holidays

Edited 24 December, 2014 by icyd

[Gaz]

Presuming the correct fluid was used at the flush and change, I'm surprised you think additives might be an answer.

 

I've heard stories of people removing the valve bodies and physically cleaning them with some degree of success, but I'd think you're at bullet biting time.  If it were me I'd be saving up for a replacement and not throwing good money after bad.

 

Gaz

[icyd]

If not for mostly positive reviews i found scattered throughout the net,i would be highly skeptical.but it only costs a few bucks compared to hundreds even thousands to physically open the box to even do anything to it.i say,why nit give it a go.some people completely lost reverse and had success with lucas.even if it just buys me more time,but an extra 5000 miles before i really need a swap would be worth it.im just concerned whether our zf box would be happy to take additives like those gm boxes.only found a few zf ever done it

[oh_superb]

The symptoms you describe I've had for 5 years… still no problems.  I think it is normal for these transmissions to be a bit slippery in 2d and 3rd, and once in 4th to lock.  In fact, it is not uncommon for many auto trannies to only lock in 4th and 5th (my old man's Rover 820i was like that many years ago, also a ZF box).

So I would not over-react by putting some stuff into the box that has not been approved by ZF.  You also don't know how it will react chemically with the VW auto box oil.

Treat it gently while it's cold, and all is likely to be OK for many more miles.

I also have this thing (when it is really cold, sub 0) that it won't lock into 4th or 5th for a mile.  So I recognise this, and just back off, until it warms up a bit.

It is an old car now so needs treating with respect :-)

But, when we get to 150000 miles, the tranny will be treated to a fresh filter and oil (last change at 75k).

As well as timing belt and all associated stuff….

Edited 29 December, 2014 by oh_superb

[icyd]

Yeah i also read somewhere that zf incorporates deliberate slip into their boxes to minimize stick-slip or something.maybe throwing terminologies here but i can't find more info on that.appreciate if anyone could chime in on this

[jimbof]

Have you downloaded the factory manuals for 01v gearbox from Skoda ERWIN service?  They have a couple of common faults listed for this gearbox, one of which sounds like this: 

 

"4.2 Hard jolt during shift; individual gears

slipping; shifts take too long

 

. Possible fault:

One of the 3 rubber dampers in the valve body cracked -arrow-."

 

I had the hard jolt from 2nd into 1st when my box was first refurbished; took it back to the repairers and they fixed it though (though they weren't specific about exactly what it was, I guess they messed up a little...)

[icyd]

U have the link?

[jimbof]

https://erwin.skoda-auto.cz/

ERWIN is a system for 3rd party garages and bedroom mechanics to access all the factory manuals. I believe some EU regulations mean they have to provide this information. You create an account and buy time in the system, which then allows you to download PDF files. 5euros was enough time for me to download all the manuals for my Superb.

[oh_superb]

Damn, I had a downshift jolt (3rd into 2nd) last night. But I think I did something weird with the accelerator at the time, like I was off throttle then applied it again at the exact time when it was downshifting. So hopefully no problems ...

But useful knowing this.

Out of interest how much is a rebuild on these auto boxes? I assume that's a full teardown not just a torque converter and valve service?

[jimbof]

As these things go I'm not sure exactly what was done to mine; they weren't brilliant communicators and I did have a couple of issues after the initial rebuild. The garage I've taken it to since seems to think I have a "new" gearbox, they also claimed to rebuild the torque converter. It has been good for 35,000 so far (touch wood). Cost was £1500 all in.

[icyd]

Thanks mate.damn i miss stick shift

[oh_superb]

In this cold weather mine feels like there is too much drag for the first mile, like the auto box has lard in it.

The more I think about it to closer I get to changing the tranny oil sooner rather than later. If only I knew of a place to rent a ramp it would be easier (near Northampton) than on the drive.

Edited 7 January, 2015 by oh_superb

[jimbof]

If you google "rent a ramp Northampton" a place comes up in Wellingborough town!

[oh_superb]

If you google "rent a ramp Northampton" a place comes up in Wellingborough town!

Nice one thanks… I better ring them and find the price.  Only problem is that you need a cold or coldish box to work on to set the oil level correctly, but in this weather I suspect within an hour it won't be too far off sitting outside, plus another hour until I've removed the shields, drained it all, removed the sump, swapped the filter and re-fitted the sump and filled to the stand pipe...

[oh_superb]

£20 an hour. I think too much. Considering they do nothing, and I know mechanics who work for £30 an hour actually working.

And considering gearbox cool down time and full up time I reckon I'll spend close to £100 in ramp time.

I'll do it on the drive. We have plenty of oil absorbent pads to put under the car.