Draining and filling gear oil - transfer box (gearbox with separate oil systems) — AUDI
Draining and filling gear oil - transfer box (gearbox with separate oil systems) on Audi: 12 steps. What to remove, in what order, and what to check after.
Workshop procedure for AUDI — the exact step sequence and torque figures, straight from real workshop data.
🧭 Before you start
Fits: Audi A8 D4 (4H, 2010–2017)
- Opens: gearbox oil
- Special tools named: VAS 6617/6, VAS 6617/2
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- Risk of eye injury.Wear safety goggles. — Remove drain plug (arrow B) and allow gear oil to drain off.
- Risk of damage to gearboxThe engine must not be started when there is no gear oil in the transfer box. — Tighten new drain plug (arrow B).
- Risk of eye injury.Wear safety goggles. — Unscrew plug for inspection and filler hole (arrow A) on centre differential housing.
- The level does not need to be re-checked after this step.
📋 Procedure
- Vehicles with 3.0 ltr. TFSI, 4.0 ltr. TFSI and 3.0 ltr. TDI engine: Remove tunnel cross member .
- Place used oil collection and extraction unitVAS 6622 below gearbox.
- ⚠ Risk of eye injury.Wear safety goggles. — Remove drain plug (arrow B) and allow gear oil to drain off.
- ⚠ Risk of damage to gearboxThe engine must not be started when there is no gear oil in the transfer box. — Tighten new drain plug (arrow B).
- Vehicles with 3.0 ltr. TFSI, 4.0 ltr. TFSI and 3.0 ltr. TDI engine: Install tunnel cross member .
- Place used oil collection and extraction unitVAS 6622 below gearbox.
- ⚠ Risk of eye injury.Wear safety goggles. — Unscrew plug for inspection and filler hole (arrow A) on centre differential housing.
- Screw adapter VAS 6617/6 with adapter VAS 6617/2 hand-tight into inspection and filler hole for transfer box.
- Connect hand pump for filling gearboxVAS 6617 and fill up transfer box with approx. 1.0 ltr. of gear oil.
- Wait for 5 minutes. [Note: The transfer box incorporates a number of internal oil chambers. These must be filled evenly.It is necessary to wait for at least 5 minutes to allow the internal oil level to balance out between the centre differential and the baffle chamber.]
- Then detach VAS 6617/6 from gearbox and allow excess gear oil to drain off.
- Tighten new plug (arrow A) on housing for centre differential. [Note: The level does not need to be re-checked after this step.]
Other AUDI procedures
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- Removing and installing handbrake cable (rear) – Audi TT Mk2
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- Removing and installing alternator - Audi TT and TTS with 2.0 ltr. TFSI engine
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Who makes these pages, and how
TorqFix was built by a mechanic — after a 2,700 km drive with five roadside repairs that no diagnostic tool could explain.
The figures on this page come from manufacturer workshop documentation and are shown as they are. The page is assembled automatically from that data — it is not written by an AI. The AI works in the chat, where it answers for your specific car. It writes nothing here.
Variants of the same model differ. Cross-check torque against the factory manual for your engine before final tightening.
Seen a figure that does not match your manual? Write to us — we correct it and note when. support@torqfix.com
The story behind TorqFix →Workshop data on this page last updated 20 Sep 2026.