Thank you, the car is only worth about 10K and the repair is 3K so I need to think about it. The care is driving fine and I have not had a check engine light in a week but I still feel the "bump" when the tc disengages. Is there any truth to the oil on the air filter causing the issue? I have the K & N filter?

Johniec,

I may be wrong, BUT, I was under the impression, at least from years ago, that there ARE no clutches, per se, in a TC. There is a stator and a rotor, with clearance, and the rotor drags the stator around with it.

Lock up clutch? That may be, but site-admin says he got a rebuilt for about 100 bucks, for his car.

Unless you do the work yourself it will still be expensive. Engine has to be lifted to pull the starter to loose the TC so it can be pulled with the tranny.

Lots of work. If you are up to it, not undoable. Many here are not.

Personally, I think that any of you, be you cook or accountant, who put their mind to it, COULD, with a manual, do almost ALL your repair work. Whether you WILL or not, I don't know.

Cheers,

George

I brought my 03 A6 3.0 to AMMCO who has done work on these transmissions. I wanted them to confirm my findings. They verified the electronics were working. They indicated that there is a mechanical failure inside the TC however he also indicated this could be a leaky valve or an internal pressure issue.

I'm going to pull the trans. and replace the torque converter. I will also change fluid and filter. Depending on the color of the fluid and whats on the filter, I will determine if I will go to the next step.

Regarding the comments from GMATOV, you may be right. I have NO experience with automatic transmissions. Everything I have shared is what I have recently learned from my research. Just a note, the DTC (P0741) does use the word 'clutch'.

I'll keep you posted on my findings as I get into this job.

One last note, AMMCO quoted about $3K for the job. About $700 to pull the trans. and the remainder (14 hours on the bench) to split the case and complete the rebuild.

The light has gone out but I found a way to get the TC at cpst and the
dealer has suddenly reduced the labor fee when I told him I had somebody
else to fix it.
SEAB

(Martin posted this mis-directed response)

Message was edited by: MartinS

I've had the 17125 code for almost one year now. Of course, I kept putting it off because it's such an expensive repair ($1,800 - $2,350 quotes). Can't get a sticker now. It does slip a bit and down shifts hard sometimes.

I see mentions of the mass air flow sensor. I can't believe for one second that this could cause the problem. Having said that, I'd sure like to!

1. Where is this thing? If it works for me, I'd be the poster child, no doubt.

2. Has anyone replaced the TC themself? I'd love to hear feedback on the scope of the project.:

a. How long did it take?
b. Did you find a rebuilt upfront to eliminate down time?
c. Any unexpected roadblocks?
d. Specialty tools?

Thank you!

I thought I would give an update to my Torque Converter project on my 03 3.0L. I purchased a rebuilt torque converter on line; paid about $300. I'm sure I could get one for less, but was more concerned about the shop and the quality of the rebuild. It seemed worth it given the hours invested in this project. Before starting the job, I checked the fluid. It had a coffee color and a burnt odor. I inspected the old filter which was clean with no solids or noticeable contamination.

By far, the worst part of the job is the exhaust system. The Bentley Manual was extremely helpful (couldn't have done the job without it) however I found one area confusing. There's no discussion about removing the air guide in the transmission section however this is highlighted in the exhaust section. If you don't remove the air guide, it will crush once you begin lowering the transmission.

If anyone has any easy solutions to removing the upper nut on the right exhaust manifold, let me know. I was never able to access it from the 'top' however was successful once I lowered the transmission from the right wheel well. This was also an issue when I did the engine rebuild.

Once you get past the exhaust system, there are no real hangups or barriers. I bought a transmission jack at Harbor Freight for about $80, which worked with some modification. The old torque converter came out very ease, and the new one went in as easy. I decided to replace the seal as well. I never really fully removed the transmission. I lowered it and pulled it away enough to remove the TC and the seal. I took my time and cranked it up this weekend. So far, the code is gone. It historically would reappear after about 15 minutes of driving. Job cost: TC - $319, fluid- $72, filter - $29, seal - $25, misc tools - $10, Jack $80; hours: too many.

I went with Rev Max Performance Converters in Phoenix. They will sell you the converter outright with a $150 core deposit. I forgot to mention you pay shipping both ways @$35. When you remove yours, you send it back in a prelabeled package to get your deposit back. They had the TC in stock. They indicated they do a lot of Audis and use all the latest updated parts.

I rigged a 2x4 with steel bolt hooks to support the engine. I set this up with wood shims on each side with the 3.5" part of the 2x4 in the vertical position for additional strength. I also kept my floor jack under the engine for extra insurance. Be careful here; I'm not recommending you do it this way.

You will need some torx head sockets but I did not buy any special Audi tools for this job (unlike the engine rebuild).

I had the car down for 3 weeks but worked on it sporadically. I probably invested about 40 hrs. It takes me a bit longer because I read things at least twice and look everything over before dismantling it.

I had the front of the car up on jack stands as high as I could get it and was able to maneuver and also remove the exhaust pipes.

The job is definately doable...just take your time.

I drove the car again today, still no transmission DTCs. I do have two on my engine that have me temporarily stumped.

Good luck.