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Afte less than 50 miles of driving ....look at the fluid collected from the drain plug. Sorry for the big image. But transmission fluid with less than 50 miles vs new fluid. Think I may need another flush lol!
So far nothing is settling out of the fluid, but my outside filter was full of fine particles. Vacation starts tomorrow , so it will be a little while before I can play with it again. Going to drop pan off course. Haven't heard from dealership yet.
Not sure about the different hardware and software versions, but Audi has revised both hardware and software many times since the introduction of this transmission in 2009...I would expect that the DL501 transmissions destined for the Macan production were whatever the latest version that was in production at that time, at the VW transmission factory in Kassel.
Correct we have the latest update which basically consisted of better circuit boards and heat dispensers on the solenoid terminals. Also the transfer case is handled differently.
If my repair pans out and I am able to keep this car...I do plan to monitor the temps. There are more and more owners c/oing of transmission concerns. It is obvious that these concerns are multi factorial. But, due to the possible repair cost it is paramount to have a better understanding of how to maintain this box for longitivity.
Also let's not forget something..... my primary problem of the circuit board melting/desinergration causation has not been identified. It cannot be hot oil?
We also need a breakdown of the the parameters,Porsche is using for this box. Do the temp parameters remain the same, are clutches pressures the same etc. These are important to understand and know.
The spin on filter looks interesting , but unclear as to installation? Does this cut into existing lines? It can't be a replacement for the current filter...there is no bypass in this system?
The price is really good and those lines could be used for an additional cooler.
It installs by just unscrewing the factory hose coupling and screwing in the new adapter hoses in between the factory couplings. These are the screw couplings between the factory metal lines and the factory flexible hoses which connect to the heat exchanger inside the radiator. Nothing needs to be cut, and it is fully reversable.
Ok , dropped the pan again today. It was not as dirty as I thought it would be, but there was a bunch of very small, almost a slime coating the bottom part of the pan. I dropped it cold as I wanted to see if anything did settle out.
The internal filter is a true filter not just a screen as in some cars. It was fairly clean. So I don't think the pump was starving or anything like that. The external filter was much more dirty. Nothing really stands out yet other than the slime.
The mech pack come out tomorrow. Once that is out, I can play with the clutch/ pump a little. I really don't want to take the mechatronic unit apart, but at least I can spec the solenoids with an ohm meter. I may swap the main pressure solenoid with another to see if that changes the code. Here are a few pics
The surface of the filter you see is the clean side . The oil looks ok doesn't it ...until you wipe it with a paper towel. Then the slime is seen. It took a bunch of cleaning to get it all off.
Last edited by Olddragger; 07-25-2022 at 08:19 PM.
My guess would be to change all the solenoids for new ones...a bit of a shotgun approach, but it seems lots of these problems are caused by wear of the pintle valve pin and/or bushing. It could be that you still have some plastic grit floating around in there, perhaps cleaning the little filter screens that are part of the solenoid valve subassemblies might help. I know that these solenoids came from the low mile 2017 doner, but maybe residual grit that remained in your original fluid pump, clutches, oil cooler lines, "done-in" those valves.
Also, wipe off the ends of the 4 shift rods/forks (they are up in the transmission case), which have a magnet as part of the fork, near the square hole-end, which will attract ferrous metal particles (from normal clutch wear). These metal particles, in a sludge (with the fluid), can interfere with the correct operation of the fork position sensors. (The fork position sensors are on the Mechatronic).
Do the pan magnets have any magnetic sludge on them?
What does the other side of the internal suction filter look like?
Also, I find it a little odd about the warning in the Factory Service Manual, that the circuit boards should only be plugged into the solenoid/valves once, and not reused. I can't believe that the spring contacts of the board become unusable after being engaged only once.
Good feedback as usual.
I too question that the circuit boards cannot be reused. The dirty fluid side of the internal filter was slightly darker than the clean side.
The slime, to me, is just further degradation of the oridginal rememets of fiberglass, plastic?
I got the mech unit out today. It is not nearly as dirty as it was before. The fluid that came out of it was darker than it should have been, but much better than the first sample.
Pics
one can see the dark spots. They do wipe dark also. The dirtiest ones were clutch 1 and 2 pressure solenoids.
I got to the clutches and they did not wipe dark...at least what I could reach. The forks were clear and the magnets in the pan did not have any magnetic material on them.
I have to jerry rig a way to flush the cooler lines better and a way to " wash" the mech unit out. Have also to remove the pressor regulators in the body of the unit.
I am hesitate in opening the body itself. The previous one that was super dirty on the outside was not dirty on the inside.
Going slow and steady on this as it is my last chance to make this work.
I have no choice but to remove the circuit boards and solenoids for cleaning.
Well, circuit boards removed, solenoids taken off, tcu taken off and everything flushed with electronic cleaner. There was some inside the channels, but not much. Luckily I had the other mech unit already broken apart so I had a guide of sorts about what opening serves what channel inside. It is a dang maze in there and some are dead ends.
Got it all done with electronic cleaner and a bunch of q tips! Plus a toothbrush and small engine brushes. It is as clean as one can get it.
Tomorrow will checks the ohms before I replace the tcu.
I looked at the clutches....cleaned them as best I could with atf and they were not dirty. Didn't expect them to be but trying to cover everything. The pump was clean also.
Tried blowing air into the transmission lines but that didn't work well. Didn't even get anything back. I will scratch my head about this tomorrow. I do wonder if the external filter, filters before it goes to the cooler or in the return from the cooler? Anyone know?
Wow! Reading this post is a reminder of why I will never purchase another Porsche again. I had a Cayenne Turbo that was an absolute nightmare to own. Every week something new would break. It finally got to the point that I was spending more time repairing it than driving it! I'm pretty mechanically inclined too and have been working on cars (restorations and maintenance) for over 20 years and these newer Porches are nothing short of complete garbage. You don't become the most profitable car company in the world by building quality cars. Porsche uses the cheapest materials available and deigns most of their parts to last for the duration of the warranty period and that's it. Anyone buying an out of warranty Porsche should understand that trying to keep it running could potentially cost you tens of thousands of dollars in repairs. All it takes is one transmission failure ($20k+ job) and you're upside down big time! After my Cayenne experience I now drive a Lexus, and it's nice having a car that works when it's supposed to! I still have my fun cars on the side, but I have learned that owning an out of warranty Porsche is a risk I can no longer take! My recommendation for anyone buying a Macan is to buy one that is backed by a full factory warranty and then sell it before the warranty expires. Never own a modern Porsche out of warranty, especially one with a PDK! I can't stress this enough. No doubt I feel your pain and wish you the best of luck with your Macan! if you do end up getting it repaired, I would trade that thing in as quickly as possible and never look back!
PS: My neighbor has a 2018 911 that doesn't even have 60k miles on it and it's already had it's PDK transmission replaced twice so far. Thankfully it was covered under warranty both times, but man is that nuts for a $126k car that is only 5 years old. His car has already had $50k in warranty repair on just the transmission and he hasn't even hit 60k miles yet. Can you imagine what the next 60k miles of ownership will be like for the next owner when it's out of warranty? I think this speaks volumes about the quality and reliability of a modern Porsche. No thanks!
Last edited by DIYDanCars; 07-28-2022 at 07:44 AM.
07-16-2022, 06:34 PM
