Follow up on the transmission rebuild just completed

[F4Phantom]

I got my car back today. The guys have had it for 8 days. They rebuilt the whole thing seals nuts bolts the lot. The small foward speed clutch does all 4 foward gears and was close to perfect after 270 k's. The reverse clutch is around twice the size and was metal on metal. There was also a rubber seal on a clutch which was apsolutly stuffed, worn hard brittle. All in all she did need it, one glitch was (as questioned in an earlier post) that they put a ball in the valve body (I dont know what these do or look like) which was 20 thousanths of an inch too small. ( they seem to come in several set sizes so they obviously put the wrong size in) This caused the reverse clutch to bleed and have no pressure and burned out the foward clutch right away. So they ripped it to bits again and put another ball and new clutch in. The total expense was as quoted $2200 + 160 for 2 x bolts they threaded pulling the exhaust off (common apparently). Total $2360. I suppose this is about right. They also said all other aspects of the "hard" parts were perfect.This shows these transmisisons really are good quality. They also told me the new falcon and commonwhore transmissions will last from 150 - 200k's. So there you go guys, another rebuild & another tax return spent on an E34.

[mamilapon]

I got my car back today. The guys have had it for 8 days. They rebuilt the whole thing seals nuts bolts the lot. The small foward speed clutch does all 4 foward gears and was close to perfect after 270 k's. The reverse clutch is around twice the size and was metal on metal. There was also a rubber seal on a clutch which was apsolutly stuffed, worn hard brittle. All in all she did need it, one glitch was (as questioned in an earlier post) that they put a ball in the valve body (I dont know what these do or look like) which was 20 thousanths of an inch too small. ( they seem to come in several set sizes so they obviously put the wrong size in) This caused the reverse clutch to bleed and have no pressure and burned out the foward clutch right away. So they ripped it to bits again and put another ball and new clutch in. The total expense was as quoted $2200 + 160 for 2 x bolts they threaded pulling the exhaust off (common apparently). Total $2360. I suppose this is about right. They also said all other aspects of the "hard" parts were perfect.This shows these transmisisons really are good quality. They also told me the new falcon and commonwhore transmissions will last from 150 - 200k's. So there you go guys, another rebuild & another tax return spent on an E34.
G'day mate , where did you get your tranny done? Mine is still going ok but with 194000ks under the belt i must be prepared for it to die at any moment. By the way, have you ever had to fit a check valve to your fuel supply? If yes where did you get it? Cheers...Leister

[F4Phantom]

http://www.automatictransmission.com.au/

Sorry about the check valve I have not had trouble with it yet. I have not got any parts yet for the car but a lot of people buy from BMA here, I dont know about shipping charges though.

[Evan]

good job on handling a tough situation! good luck with her!

[genphreak]

Great news F4; you're back in the race! Yes those bolts can be a problem- but usually because people don't prelube them, they just go undoing them straight away. Mine are in as new condition (still shiny after 17 years) as I reassemble them with anti-seize and use new copper nuts every time. If you get a leak there you will need the stainless steel springs as well (unless they changed them too, I think they are like 4xAU$40 each) and to ensure that the nuts are NOT overtightened. One can take it right up the shank of the bolt if not careful, which then damages the spring which is overcompressed and prevented from doing its job of providing the right amount of tension to prevent leaks, whilst constantly managing the heat contraction/expansion.

I had a guy break the flexible joint on my engine pipe when doing my exhaust- crumbs- that bozo's work ended up making me buy a new cat and engine pipe (new $2500). There was no way to do a good fix otherwise...

Be sure to change your tranny oil regularly now, indeed if I were you I'd take it back to them each time you need a change so they can make sure their work goes according to plan.

However perhaps doing an early fluid and filter change yourself (within 5,000 km or so) so you can inspect the filter and make sure it is all good first. I'd have a witness when you take it out so they have to believe you should you need to take it in there and show them any bits that have presented inside the filter.

:) Nick

[pundit]

Well that's good.
Glad they got it sorted out okay in the end and didn't add another $2k to the price!

From your original post it sounded like they were 'clutching' at straws!... 'scuse the pun!

Is the trans noticeably quieter and does it shift smoothly up and down through all gears. No clunking, jarring etc.

Mine thumps into top and sometimes clunks as I'm slowing to a stop.
It also seems noisy, especially climbing hills under load.

I'm going to try using Penrite ATF-BMV (http://www.penrite.com.au/pispdf/ATFBMV.pdf) on the next tran service as it's supposed to be developed specifically for ZF auto transmissions.

[F4Phantom]

Going into reverse used to clunk hard, now it is smooth as. Even the actual shift from holding the T bar is silky. Going into D is still gives a little bump, no more than any other car so this must be normal. In driving you can now take your foot off the pedal, and it goes right to 4th gear even at low speeds, put your foot down again and unless you give it heaps it will stay there (thats how i like it). It used to be all over the place, probably the electronics trying to manage all the bypass, slipping and lack of pressure. All is well, I used the crappy DII fluid, next service I will get them to put in the liquid gold with a full flush, cost around $300 all up. BTW These guys came out of the situation well. Showed me all the parts, offered to give them to me. Walked through the complete situation and problems. I felt quite comfortable. Their service for this tranny is only $105. Cheap I thought as the guy I recently got it serviced at was $150. Not only that, at the same service the guy said the tranny was fine and it was electrical, he also serviced it no probs. Whereas these guys said they dont service stuffed tranny's. Then again it's always good to bag out the competition when you can in a nice way. But I am happy now. Turned out ok. As for the grabbing for more money I got worried as they were calling me for more money after a quote when they broke the bolts, I thought what will they be calling about next.

[genphreak]

That's great F4, they sound like top people. Not every job goes according to plan and when it goes off the rails you know how decent they are by how they manage it. Perhaps I was right about the Friday-itis of that first phone call about that bemtroubleuw they were not looking to pulling apart again and were hence regretting quoting... who knows. GLad you came out well and have silky tranny, now I'm very jealous from those descriptions- I hope the differences I am imagining are all in my head!

[pundit]

What is often a test of any business is how they react when things go wrong. This of course also applies to the customer. No one likes it when a job goes wrong. The main thing is how the problem is rectified. Sometimes more goodwill can come from a stuffup that fixed in a genuinely honest way than when the job goes without a hitch. Strange but true!

[Randell]

nice one man, $2300 is a good price... i had mine done about 18 months ago and it was a whisker under $3000... was PERFECT, couldn't feel the thing shift, no clunks or bumps or anything... i was loving it, but 4 months later it was hosed...

took 3 months to get the guys to admit it was the transmission (it was fricken obvious, very infuriating to get the runaround)... after the second rebuild i had numerous fluid leaks which took 3 attempts to fix (apparently the wiring loom? wtf), but it shifts like a dog and i swear it's gonna fall apart again any day.. i hate autos and to be honest i'm starting to hate this car, if it wasn't so DAMN SEXY i would've sold it!

[F4Phantom]

Man Randell that sucks so bad. I cant believe it, either your tranny has some serious issues that only a swap with ZF will fix or the guys didnt have a clue. FIY if you have the money ZF in NSW are the way to go. They charge up front $3400. They send you an reconditioned trans with any new mods that may have been discovered. (none I bet) They use all original parts (unlike every other rebuilder including the guys I went through) and then you ship your old transmission to them. they rip it to bits, rebuild it and find out how stuffed it was. They then shelve it for sale and the sale price - their margin the credit you. They told me you can get away with a total cost of $2600 (meaning they credit $800) but could be more. I was betting on 3k so was going local to save around $800 - good or bad decision I dont know. So if your car is in good condition, and you want the best, just go to ZF.

[F4Phantom]

thats supposed to be FYI