Easy $20

[svxfiles]

The big seal behind the torque converter, the one the back slightly raised sholder of the torque converter rides on.
I spoke with the shop forman and he certainly sounds like he knows what he is doing.
He has replaced it twice and it runs fine on the lift, no leaks all the gears work no metal to metal squeels. But when it hits the ground he tells me, the front sead blows out.
He seems to be familier with subarus. He also changed out the teflon ring at the pump input shaft, knows how to line up the lugs inside,
The original problem was a busted ring and pinion.
He took apart no more than he had to to replace it.
No dissassembly of the whole tranny.
The torque converter has been sent back to the shop that rebuilt it, and they say it's perfect.
A local trans expert tells me he thinks someone botched the installation and damaged the front pump...
I have not, nor has the local transmission expert seen the car, so our's are just guesses.
I'm sure Andrew is just frustrated (as anyone would be) and expressing that he is open to any and all sugestions. Tom

[Mr. Pockets]

Originally posted by svxfiles
I'm sure Andrew is just frustrated (as anyone would be) and expressing that he is open to any and all sugestions. Tom

Oh, I have no doubt Andrew is frustrated - but he expressed more than that, in my opinion. I just don't think taking it out on us was necessary.

Also, this is a technical question so I'm moving it to the tech q&a forum.

Anyway, thanks for the specifics. So when you say the car runs fine on the lift, is it just in gear at idle speed, or is the tech making sure it runs on the lift in a wider range of operating conditions?

The reason I ask is this: the only two things I can imagine causing this are:

1. The stresses of operating under load. (I think that's unlikely unless the transmission's case is actually damaged)

2. The higher line pressure.

Either way it sounds to me like a problem with the tranny. How did the ring and pinion break? Was it a sudden failure while driving or were these parts just worn in an odd way and no longer serviceable? Could debris from thse failures have entered the fluid path? I don't even know whether or not that's possible.

I'll look at my FSMs when I go home for lunch to get a better idea of the problem. But if the original problem was a broken ring and pinion, I wonder if the pump is okay or if it was damaged either by the failure or the subsequent repair.

[svxfiles]

The mechanic told me the original problem was "a couple of broken teeth on the ring gear, (that sounds sudden).
He said it worked perfectly on the lift, so I would assume he had to give it enough gas to get it to shift and run thru all the gears. The ring and pinion are housed in a seporate chamber, but in theory, with the (roughly) 3 foot long pinion shaft removed that could allow a contaminate to enter the actual transmission case, but to me this is VERY unlikley (maybe impossable?).

I have a question, someone mentioned to me that unless the torque converter is full of oil when you install it, it will do just that, blow out the seal. Is this true? Tom

[Mr. Pockets]

I'd say that's unlikely. You can't completely fill the TC before you install it - you can only fill it about half-way.

[Earthworm]

Is it possible for the input shaft to be bent? It's too bad there isn't another tranny to borrow in order to confirm the problem is with the tranny.

[thundering02]

you can fill your TC up to the top but you have to get it on fast not to spill much.

[Amazonparrot]

You guys, I am so sorry for what I said the other day. You assumption towards my frustration is of course correct. My car, as you know, has been in the shop since March, and my family is pushing me for closure of the matter that I cannot provide. I am sorry for lashing out, I just vented prematurely. On the upside, the controversy has gotten the threads a lot of hits . Thank you so much for your efforts, I know it has been frustrating without too many details, but unfortunetly, I don't know too many, and I have just been trying to get setup for my first year in college, so its been a stressful time. Im not trying to play the victim here...I'm sorry for lashing the way that I did, you all continue to restore my faith in the glory of the svx network.

-Thanks again, and I'll try and check back more frequently
Andrew R. (hoping to have my sweet SVX tearing up the back roads again soon.)

[Amazonparrot]

BTW, to throw out another little detail about which I know little, my mechanic and I were discussing that perhaps the problem was with the bushing that lies with the seal (that is the best description I know). So now he is going to look into getting a new bushing, even though the previous one "looks" alright, and installing a line pressure gauge once all the stuff is back in the car.

Thanks again!

Rest assured that sooner or later you'll have an answer. SVXes at times, can make anybody testy. It makes one wonder "why the hell did I buy this thing?" Then on the other hand when they do run great one says "I'll never sell this thing!" Hang in there as we all share this japanese paradise and it's complex engineering!

[Mr. Pockets]

Originally posted by Amazonparrot
You guys, I am so sorry for what I said the other day.

Don't mention it.

As for the line pressure gauge, make sure your mechanic knows that there are two pressure test ports o nthe transmission. Offhand, I can't remember exactly where they are, but I think one is for the gearbox itself and one is for the transfer clutch.

[n00b on demand]

Originally posted by Peach
Rest assured that sooner or later you'll have an answer. SVXes at times, can make anybody testy. It makes one wonder "why the hell did I buy this thing?" Then on the other hand when they do run great one says "I'll never sell this thing!" Hang in there as we all share this japanese paradise and it's complex engineering!

Man you have no idea how testy its made me latley . Still love it though. I was just driving on a wide open road and me and a corvette were riding side by side and everyone was staring at the SVX. great stuff.

[Amazonparrot]

Turns out the problem was acutally just the bushing mentioned before. He replaced this little part and BOOM....it worked. Go figure that it would be the smallest replaceable part Anyhow, $999.83 later, my car is back on the road, so thank you everyone for your help and input, it was most appreciated.

[Chiketkd]

That's awesome Andrew. It'll be great to finally get together this weekend for a mini-meet.

I'll guess we'll be seeing each otehr at the track in Sept! I'll have my 'new' mod installed by then!

-Chike

[svxfiles]

Good to hear it's done Andrew. See if you can post the correct name for the offending part to help the rest of us in the future. Tom

[Mr. Pockets]

That's awesome, Andrew. I'm glad your car is back in one piece and on the road again!