forum.audiv8.com Foren English Audi V8 Forum Please help me!Automativ gearbox stucked in D and

I am about to buy audi v8 1991 year.Car is in excellent condition except one thing-automatic gearbox is impossible to put in any else position than in D and N.It will not go in R or other gears zhen D and N!!When in D it shifts and drives excellent!Second problem is-after some time engine shut down it self!Please,does anyone knows what could be the problem?I dont know anithing about this great cars...

This most likely is just a mechanical problem with the shifter gate.
Take off the cover around the shifter gate. Around the second gear position, only visible from below the shifter, there should be a hex screw holding some kind of bracket. When this bracket has moved away from its intended position, the gear lever cannot move properly, blocking you from selecting some or all gears. You need to readjust the bracket and retighten the screw.

What does the transmission gear indicator in the dashboard say? In case all segments are lit instead of just the one currently indicating the selected gear, the transmission`s electronics have defaulted to "limp mode". If that is the case, I would pull the fault codes and check the ATF level. For the fault codes, please see the manual available at the SJM auto technik site .
In order to check the fluid level, beware that this has to be done when engine and transmission are warm, plus you´ll most likely need to get a dipstick at an Audi dealer as most V8s don`t have one.

Thank you so much!I dont understand what means "I would pull the fault codes and check "-what are this "fault codes"?I never own Audi or car with Auto Transmission
regards

The transmission in the V8 as well as trhe engine is electronically controlled by an ECU. This ECU (ECU=Electronic Control Unit or "Steuergerät" in German) as well as the engine control computer memorizes and stores any faults (such as malfunctioning sensors) encountered during operation. This procedure and the accompanying fault codes can be retreived and are routinely read out when you have routine maintenance done at Audi. Usually, this is done before anything else when there is transmission or engine trouble to narrow down potential causes of the problem.
Scott Mockry has set up his SJM page in order to enable owners to "read" their computers independently of $$$$ Audi garages. On the page linked in my previous post (just click on the underlined part of my post or paste this address into your browser: http://www.sjmautotechnik.com/trouble_shooting/ecufv8.html ), this "fault code retrieval" process is described in detail.

IMHO, if you have no experience at all with this, I`d suggest to either have somebody with the necessary knowledge have a look at it or bite the bullet and take it to Audi. Retrieving the fault codes is done in a few minutes and does not cost a fortune, if anything.

But in your case, I strongly believe it is a purely little mechanical problem involving this holding bracket below the shifter gate.