RE: final drive lube

[Aleksander Mierzwa <alex@matrix.com.pl>]

Jimbo wrote:

	>> 
	>..... diff is getting noisy and I don't know if the "mysterious
	>evaporating lubricant" has ever been replaced as recommended by
the
	>factory so long ago.
	>> Any help is appreciated!
	>> 
	>Sorry to be the one to tell you this, but it isn't
disappearing. It is
	>leaking past the seals into the automatic transmission.
(assuming yours
	>is auto.)  Likewise, the auto tranny fluid is leaking back into
the
	>final drive.  I refer to this as "swapping spits".  The final
lube
	>doesn't hurt the tranny, just makes it stink when hot.
However, the
	>red, auto tranny fluid is too thin and the resultant thin,
reddish
	>mixture is not good for the bearings.  If you are hearing
noise, it may
	>be time to get out the Bentley and read about rebuilding or
replacing
	>bearings in the final drive.

There was a TSB from Audi ( or even a recall, I don't remember it
exactly ) because differential oil put in factory was actually
_evaporating_ ( my Haynes manual shows there is a 'breather' on the top
of differential housing ). And as far as I know, when the seal between
diff and autobox is defective, the diff oil level _increases_ ( the ATF
flows from the autobox into diff ).

						Alex