Transmission leaking after replacing the shift solenoids?

JRL10722

MEMBER
2002 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA
1.8L
4 CYL
TURBO
2WD
AUTOMATIC
24,400 MILES

After replacing all the shift solenoids in the 09a Tiptronic transmission and filled it with the proper amount of fluid the transmission began to leak from the breather vent cap. I thought it was because the gasket was damaged. I made a couple of attempts to make a gasket with no luck. The last attempt I took a mirror to get a better look and noticed that it was not leaking from the gasket but from the breather vent cap itself. I will be getting a new cap from the dealership in a few days. I'm hoping that this will resolve the leaking. Will a new cap do the trick or do I have other issues?

3 Replies

KEN L

MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
42,961 POSTS

I think you have other issues because the breather cap is not a sealed unit, it does what it says, breaths. So, when you add fluid goes slow and does not overfill, also do not have the transmission in gear when filling, this will whip the fluid into a foam and leak out of the vent. Also, you may have an internal problem that is causing the fluid to foam due to a leak in the valve body/shift solenoids. Check out the images (below). Let us know what happens and please upload pictures or videos of the problem.

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Saturday, October 29th, 2022 AT 1:49 PM

JRL10722

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4 POSTS

Thank you for the information. I did not pour the fluid in slowly, but I have a feeling that is not the issue. What I have done so I can drive the vehicle is install clear tubing to the breather vent tube and run it back to the firewall. After a couple of design changes, I'm able to drive the vehicle and not lose fluid. Any fluid that does come up the tube drains back into the transmission after turning off the engine. The transmission is shifting fine. I did test all 9 of the solenoids I replaced with an ohm meter and found 7 of the solenoids in the range of 15.5-16.3 ohms and two were at 2.5 ohms. The shifting problems went away. I have driven the vehicle for about 100 miles and I'm still getting fluid in the vent tubing I in. I'll send a video as soon as I can. Any ideas what is going on with this?

Thank you for your time.

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Tuesday, November 1st, 2022 AT 12:57 PM

KEN L

MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
42,961 POSTS

This can be caused by air being sucked into the front pressure pump because of a fluid filter gasket or seal that is leaking, or the filter has fallen off.

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Wednesday, November 2nd, 2022 AT 4:44 PM