ZF Gearbox Service

[Vieussuex*]

My RS6 has just clocked over 100,000km and I thought I'd find out when the ATF fluid would need to be changed.
Now supposedly Audi/ZF (ZF being the actual gearbox manufacturer) claim that our gearboxes do not require a service and are good for life?
From doing a little research there are other manufacturers such as Jaguar, Bentley, BMW, Ford etc that use variations of our ZF gearbox and some of those manufacturers suggest that it should require a service every 75,000km to 125,0000km.
Last thing I want is to have to replace my gearbox if it goes and I would have thought that regular servicing (a flush, new fluid and filter) would prolong the life or prevent any issues occurring......I can only assume a new gearbox or even reconditioned ZF gearbox would cost and an arm and a leg!

So I was able to locate a model number of our gearbox through a friend which he told me was ZF 6hp26a after he had some work done to it.
I was also able to locate a ZF document on google noting the type of ATF fluid required which is ZF Lifeguard Fluid 6.



I rang around a few ZF transmission specialist here in Brisbane, Australia and they are quoting me for a service anywhere from $850 to $1350 AUD which I find quite expensive and they all tell me it comes down to the cost of the ZF ATF fluid.

Now ZF state that you can only use their ZF Lifeguard Fluid 6 and if you flush the gearbox correctly you need around 10-11 litres of it (maybe more if they don't have the equipment) and at $35 per litre it adds up quickly!

I did find out from some more digging that Shell actually manufacturer the Lifeguard Fluid 6 for ZF and their equivalent ATF in the Shell range is Shell M1375.4 ATF.
But then there are other oil manufacturers which guarantee their oils and claim they are identical to ZF/Shells ATF and cost $15-20 per litre instead.

- Mercon SP ATF
- Castrol Transmax ATF
- Valvoline Maxlife ATF
- Elf MVLV ATF
- Total MVLV ATF
- Nulon Synthetic SYNATF-4

The manufacturers for all of the above claim that their product are equivalent or exceeds genuine specification for 5, 6 and 7 speed ZF gearboxes.

So I was wondering if anyone has undertaken a gearbox service and did you stick with genuine ZF ATF fluid or have you tried any of the above or suggest any other ATF fluid?

I should also note that all of the transmission specialist i contacted have all suggested using genuine ZF filters, oil pan and seals and it was up to me which ATF fluid I'd like to go with.

[rs6_sid]

To give you an idea over here yo can get febi atf they bottle it for audi so it's exactly the same. That's about £40 for 5 litres
Or 140 for 20l , the sump gaskget and filter are about £90 from audi and unit 20 quoted me £188 in labour to do it

Or you can get a zf service kit which is 7l of oil and a sump pan gaksget and mecatronic sleeve things that's about £160

Apparently 7l is enough as you will have just over 3l let in the torque converter and mechatrinic body

Or some transmission specialists just look up a machine to flush it out but that's usually only if your not swapping the filter as it replaces old for new fluid as it's being pushed around

[Vieussuex*]

To give you an idea over here yo can get febi atf they bottle it for audi so it's exactly the same. That's about £40 for 5 litres
Or 140 for 20l , the sump gaskget and filter are about £90 from audi and unit 20 quoted me £188 in labour to do it

Or you can get a zf service kit which is 7l of oil and a sump pan gaksget and mecatronic sleeve things that's about £160

Apparently 7l is enough as you will have just over 3l let in the torque converter and mechatrinic body

Or some transmission specialists just look up a machine to flush it out but that's usually only if your not swapping the filter as it replaces old for new fluid as it's being pushed around

So the cheapest price I could find locally for ZF lifeguard 6 was $43 AUD a litre so my initial price of $35 AUD was incorrect as I'd need to purchase at least 20 litres to secure it at that.

The transmission specialist I'll probably go with has the machine to do the flush correctly so will likely need the 10 litres.

[rs6_sid]

Not sure if you can get febi parts in over you neck of the woods. but the part number for 20l is 38936 works out cheapest over here can be had on uk amazon £161 or uk ebay £141, they may ship internationally but it may be expensive. See if you have a local dealer who can do you a good price

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301979069764 This seller does offer world wide shipping, may be worth a look and he's the cheapest price

[Vieussuex*]

Not sure if you can get febi parts in over you neck of the woods. but the part number for 20l is 38936 works out cheapest over here can be had on uk amazon £161 or uk ebay £141, they may ship internationally but it may be expensive. See if you have a local dealer who can do you a good price

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301979069764 This seller does offer world wide shipping, may be worth a look and he's the cheapest price

Off the top of my head I don't believe there are many Febi distributors in Australia. My old mechanic back in Sydney used to source Febi parts but I believe he had a trade account with ECS in the US so I might give him a try, I'll also give this eBay seller a go to but but I'm thinking the weight of 10L of oil might make it uneconomical, thanks for the link!

I also noticed that Febi have another part number for a ZF life guard 6 equivalent that could be used - Febi 34608 Lifeguard 6 Auto Transmission Fluid?

[rs6_sid]

Yeah that is the same stuff just a 1l bottle and 38935 is 5l bottle

[Vieussuex*]

Yeah that is the same stuff just a 1l bottle and 38935 is 5l bottle

I haven't heard back from the eBay seller yet rs6_sid but I did hear back from one of the transmission specialist with a quote of around $700 AUD for the service including a full flush genuine ZF parts but using Totals Elfmatic MVLV ATF.

The Elfmatic is the equivalent to ZF's Lifeguard 6 and also meets Lifeguard 7 requirements too and is used in the latest 7 and 8 speed ZF Mercedes transmissions.

The transmission specialist confirmed that Total Australia will guarantee their product and pay for any damage if it does cause any damage to the gearbox. He also confirmed that the ZF tech did say that the Elfmatic should be fine to use but obviously could only provide a guarantee based on ZF ATF being used only.

The assurances are there... I should be saying insurances in case something does happen so I'll more then likely go with this transmission specialist as he seemed more knowledgeable with ZF gearboxes and a few local BMW guys also highly recommended him.

[rs6_sid]

To be honest if you have faith in him And he's knowledgable go with him , I got quoted £580 all in over here so that's a good price.

I have just ordered some engine oil based on a a long talk with an oil expert over here and we have decided it would be best for me and the engine to move away from audis specification. Based on engine temps and oil useage and mileage.

For anyone interested we have gone for a 5/40 racing triple ester oil, based on the fact it's mapped so making more temps and the fact the v10 in the r8 is designed to run on 10/60 so tells us that the tolarences inside the engine will stand it.

He also did sell aftermarket zf oil but i told him I already had a cheap source. It might be worth asking them what they supply as he said they have sold thousands of litres for zf boxes. called opie oils just pop drop them an email and ask for all the oils that they list for the atf very helpful and very very knowledable of oils . He has told me what most of the oils in my car are grade wise and can now spend less than audi ask and get oil that's far better