37 Oil appears to be leaking from the transmission pan gasket or the transfer case
37 20 01 2039650/2 July 16, 2020. Supersedes Technical Service Bulletin Group 37 number 15-55 dated
February 5, 2015 for reasons listed below.
Model(s)

Year

VIN Range

Vehicle-Specific Equipment

A4

2011 - 2016

All

0BK Transmission

A5, A5
Cabriolet,
and Q5

2011 - 2017

All

0BK Transmission

A6, A7

2012 -2018

All

0BK Transmission

A8

2011 - 2018

All

0BK Transmission

Condition
REVISION HISTORY
Revision

Date

Purpose

2

-

Revised title (Added transfer case to title)
Revised header (Added all Model Years of 0BK Transmission)
Revised Service (Added diagnosis steps and new repair)
Revised Warranty (Updated Claim Types and added Labor Operations)
Revised Required Parts and Tools (Added table)

1

02/05/2015

Initial publication

Customer states:
 There is an oil leak from underneath the vehicle.
Workshop findings:
 The leak may appear to be from the transmission oil pan gasket or the transfer case seam.

Technical Background
Although the leak may appear to be from the transmission oil pan gasket, there are multiple possible sources for
the leak. The leak must be diagnosed to determine the actual location before any repairs are attempted.

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© 2020 Audi of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual property rights of Audi of
America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the
publisher.

Production Solution
Not applicable.

Service
1. Clean and remove all oil residue from the transmission and allow the surface to dry.
2. Confirm the exact location of the leak by applying oil leak tracing powder to the suspected areas of the leak,
including the sides. Do not use oil dyes in any Audi transmissions.
You must check the weep hole of the double seal between the transmission and transfer case, which is
located on the driver’s side of the vehicle (Figure 1). A leak from this location can appear to be from the pan
gasket if the oil is not cleaned off and a proper diagnosis performed using oil leak tracing powder.

Figure 1. Location of the double seal weep hole.
3. If the transmission oil is leaking from the weep hole of the double seal (Figure 1) skip to step 6.
4. If the transmission oil is leaking from a serviceable gasket or external seal, repair per the repair manual and
this TSB does not apply.
5. If the transmission oil is leaking from a non-serviceable part and the vehicle is covered under warranty, open
an Audi Technical Assistance Center (TAC) case with pictures of the oil leak attached and your diagnosis
information. Then contact the Audi Technical Assistance Center (TAC). If the vehicle is no longer covered
under a new vehicle warranty or Certified Pre Owned warranty you may continue with your diagnosis and
repair.

Page 2 of 5
© 2020 Audi of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual property rights of Audi of
America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the
publisher.

6. An oil leak from the weep hole of the double seal is repairable and the instructions are available in the Elsa
Repair Manual at: Drivetrain >> Servicing – 8-Speed Automatic Transmission >> 39 Final Drive, Differential
>> Transfer Case >> Transfer Case, Disassembling and Assembling (Figure 2). There is a repair kit in the
parts catalog containing the double seal, transfer case gasket, and hardware that will be needed for the
repair (Figure 3).

Figure 3. Repair kit.

Figure 2. Location of the repair instructions.
7. To perform this repair you will need 4 special tools that are not currently mandatory minimum required tools.
The tools are not very expensive and should be in stock for you to order. If the vehicle is under any warranty
the tools are required and the repair must be performed per the repair manual.
If the vehicle is not covered by any warranty, Audi of America recommends using the special tools required
for this repair performed as the customer cost is much lower than replacing a complete transmission.
8. After repair recheck for leaks to confirm the repair.

Warranty
Claim Type:

 If the vehicle is outside any warranty, this Technical Service Bulletin is informational
only.

Service Number:

3992

Damage Code:

0050

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© 2020 Audi of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual property rights of Audi of
America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the
publisher.

Labor Operations:

Diagnostic Time:

Claim Comment:

Clean Transmission and apply leak tracing
powder: check for leaks

3992 9999

30 TU

Remove and install prop shaft (See ELSA, labor 3902 XXXX
operation different by model)

See SRT with
associated
operations

Replace seal for the transfer box

3992 5599

250 TU

GFF – Checking and clearing fault codes
included in existing labor operations

No allowance

0 TU

Road test prior to service procedure

0121 0002

10 TU

Road test after service procedure

0121 0004

10 TU

As per TSB #2039650/2

All warranty claims submitted for payment must be in accordance with the Audi Warranty Policies and Procedures
Manual. Claims are subject to review or audit by Audi Warranty.

Required Parts and Tools
Always check with your Parts Department and/or ETKA for the latest information and parts bulletins.
Part Number

Part Description

Quantity

See ETKA

Fasteners, Bolts, Nuts, and Screws as needed per the
Repair Manual

See ETKA/ELSA

G 001900A1

Oil leak locating spray

Shop Supply

Set of gaskets for transfer box (Production date
dependent check ETKA)

01

(or equivalent)
(Order to VIN)
0BK498111K
Or
0BK498111F

Tool Number

Tool Description

T40381

Assembly Device

VW637/2

Puller - Grease Cap

Page 4 of 5
© 2020 Audi of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual property rights of Audi of
America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the
publisher.

VW511

Bearing Installer - Differential Bearing

VAS251411

Splitter

3118

Press Piece - Bushing

VW416B

Press Piece - 37mm

VW447H

Press Piece - Multiple Use

VW447I

Press Piece - Multiple Use

Additional Information
All parts and service references provided in this TSB (2039650) are subject to change and/or removal.
©2020 Audi of America, Inc. All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest
information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual property rights of
Audi of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any
time without notice. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these
materials be modified or reposted to other sites without the prior expressed written permission of the publisher.

Page 5 of 5
© 2020 Audi of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual property rights of Audi of
America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the
publisher.