Replace the Manual Transmission Fluid of an Audi B5 A4/S4

Replacing the transmission fluid of any vehicle is an important part of regular maintenance and is often overlooked or forgotten about. The recommended change intervals of the manufacturer usually assume light use and do not take into account performance driving and its effect on the transmission oil. You can avoid costly repair bills with this simple and inexpensive preventative action. The purpose of this article is to outline the basic procedure of changing the fluid safely and quickly. This covers only the five-speed and six-speed manual transmissions found in the B5 chassis Audi A4 (1996-2001) and S4 (1997-2002). General knowledge of how to jack up a car safely, and use simple hand tools is assumed. Be sure check the tips section for information regarding capturing and testing your used oil for signs of wear or damage. This is also an excellent way to determine if your change interval is too frequent, or not frequent enough.

Steps

  1. Park the car in a well lit, dry, and level place. A garage with a concrete floor is preferred.
  2. Set the parking brake, and leave car in neutral.
  3. Chock both rear wheels
  4. Jack up car at drivers side front. Secure with jack stand.
  5. Remove front drivers side wheel (front left)
  6. Remove belly pan
  7. Place drain pan directly below drain plug located on underside of transmission.
  8. Remove drain plug with 12point socket or transmission service specialty tool.
  9. Allow fluid to fully drain, you may want to capture some of the fluid in a clean container for inspection or testing at this point but this is optional.
  10. Replace the drain plug. Torque at 26ft/lbs.
  11. At this point go ahead and transfer the used fluid to a container for future disposal.
  12. Remove fill plug located on the side of the transmission just behind the drivers side front wheel using a 17mm hex socket or specialty tool.
  13. Feed plastic tubing down to fill plug from top of engine bay, and insert the tube a few inches into the transmission, enough so that the new fluid goes into the hole, not your floor.
  14. Measure the correct amount of transmission fluid for your application. You can refer to your owners manual for fluid capacity or the Bentley Publishing's technical manual[1]. For instance in the case of the six speed manual found on the 2000-2002 Audi S4, it is {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}}.
  15. Using a clean funnel, pour the pre measured amount of fluid into the fill hose.
  16. Remove the hose and funnel and set aside for cleaning later.
  17. Replace the fill plug, torque at 18ft/lbs.
  18. Replace front drivers side wheel, torque wheel lugs at 90ft/lbs
  19. Remove jack stand, jack, and wheel chocks
  20. Start and drive car normally, allow engine and transmission to come up to operating temperature (a 10 minute drive will suffice).
  21. Inspect drain plug for leaks and re-torque if needed. Replace belly pan if everything is fine. You will not need to jack up the car for this last step unless you have difficulty reaching all the mounting clips for the belly pan.
  22. Enjoy a job well done. You just saved yourself about 100 bucks from the mechanic or lube place.

Tips

  • When draining and filling your transmission, bear in mind that transmission fluid tends to flow slowly. So be sure to give it some time to completely drain, and completely fill. This is why it is suggested using a clear fill hose so you can be sure that all the fluid has made it down into the transmission.
  • Here is the location of a white paper test of various transmission oils of the same type used in Audi and VW manual transmissions
  • Sending a sample of your used oil to be analyzed is a great way to ensure that you were using the correct oil for the application and that you have changed it at an appropriate time. These companies that specialize in this will not only give you a breakdown of what's in the oil, but interpret the data for you in simple terms.

Warnings

  • Ensure that you follow proper procedures when jacking up and securing your car with jack-stands/wheel chocks. Failure to do so can result in severe injury and in some cases, death. Consult your owners manual for approved jacking points to avoid damage to the undercarriage and do not depend on the jack to bear the weight of the car during the oil change.
  • Always wear gloves and safety glasses when working with fluids. Oil in the eyes is not fun.

Things You'll Need

  • Appropriate quantity of approved synthetic 75W90 transmission fluid [1]
  • Transmission service specialty tool (available at any Audi dealership or here: http://www.germanautoparts.com/Audi/S4/Transmission/251/2 )
  • Metric socket set with deep sockets sizes 17-19mm
  • May require 17mm hex socket depending on what type of specialty tool you acquire, some only are for the tamper proof drain plug, some are reversible for both.
  • Torque wrench
  • Breaker bar, or other appropriate tool to remove wheel lugs (impact gun etc)
  • approximately {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} of half inch clear plastic tubing
  • clean funnel that can be inserted into tubing snugly
  • CLEAN Measuring container appropriate for measuring and pouring at least one liter of fluid and measuring at a minimum in 100 ml units.
  • Standard drain pan with a minimum capacity of {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} (most are 8 or more)
  • Storage container capable of storing a minimum of {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} of used transmission oil
  • Rags for cleanup/spills
  • Floor jack, jack stand, two wheel chocks.

References

  • [1] Audi of America Inc., Repair Manual: Audi A4 S4 1996-2002. Cambridge MA, Bentley Publishing, 2003.
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