Automatic Gearbox question

Big lumps of metals and spanners. Including servicing and fluids.

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Sir Brixalot
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Re: 2nd gear brake band piston cover autobox

Post by Sir Brixalot »

Sadly looks that way. Although excess would just come out of the clear breather or filler
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Re: 2nd gear brake band piston cover autobox

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Took it to a recommended T25 garage to fix the leak. Got a call to pick it up they said it was all done. When I collected it, It felt as if it was braking in reverse gear and wouldn't work in first. Had to get the train back to London. Here we go again, I really hope they haven't damaged anything putting the cover back on as it took two to push it back on. They seemed genuine and as long as they put it right I'll be happy
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Re: 2nd gear brake band piston cover autobox

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Got home OK then no 3rd gear and banging going into reverse. I wish the garage had just said they didn't know enough to do the job, they're very experienced. I've gone from having just a leaky seal to non functioning gearbox and a lot of wasted time on trips there and back and £100 out of pocket and the van is in a worse condition than before they touched it. Fun drive along the M4 at 45mph last night
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Re: 2nd gear brake band piston cover autobox

Post by RogerT »

That's sad news, I feel for you. The ongoing pain of ownership. :roll:
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Sir Brixalot
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Re: 2nd gear brake band piston cover autobox

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Not had a lot of luck with garages really.
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Re: 2nd gear brake band piston cover autobox

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Had an email from the garage today to say that they're really busy and won't be able to look at my van until next week. It's my only vehicle and I think as the gearbox was working properly when they got it they should take responsibility for getting it working again quickly. I don't think I'm being unreasonable.
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Re: 2nd gear brake band piston cover autobox

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Dropped the van down again yesterday. The upshot is that they couldn't get reverse to work.

They are saying it's not their fault. When I first went to collect it, it was braking in reverse and wouldn't go into first. The second time it completely lost reverse and second gear. The garage tested it by driving backwards and forwards you could hear the gear box didn't like it. They are saying it's nothing to do with the work they did on changing the brake band piston cover seal and that reverse gear is not affected by dropping the valve body or pushing the piston back it. They are saying I will need to pay another garage to rebuild it.

It does seem a huge coincidence that the gearbox failed at exactly the same time they were working on it.
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Re: Leaky cover fixed but gearbox broken. What to do now

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trading standards ?

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Re: Leaky cover fixed but gearbox broken. What to do now

Post by muttleypup »

I guess the first step is to get them to admit it was working 'ok' when they first got it! If they dropped/removed the valve body it's possible when it was refitted that it's not sitting 'flush', possibly something was disturbed and it's not allowing it to seal properly internally. This would allow fluid to travel across oil ways and you'd lose gears, given that auto boxes rely on oil pressure to function properly. I'd be surprised if it needed a total rebuild, might be worth persuading them to drop the valve body again, check the mating faces with a straight edge to see if anything is sitting proud and refit it?
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Re: Leaky cover fixed but gearbox broken. What to do now

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This is a reply to my email where I said that the van should be returned in the condition it was in when they had received it. The quote below doesn't include the labour cost of removing the gearbox but the garage who did the seal said they will help out with labour cost of removing it. They aren't accepting any liability whatsoever when I suggessted going 50/50 on the cost. I've asterixed names etc out because they are small business. When I went to pick it up the second time there was no mention of any thick black fluid and I'd specifically asked it everything was OK



Hi, so as regards who pays; if the current fault was due to what I have done, then obviously we would bare all costs. However, after much searching and phoning and emailing, I was able to get an auto gearbox expert from ****** to come and look at the box and test the various valves etc and especially the parts I had touched. He found that it was the internal clutches that have, due to age, deteriorated and just as with a manual engine, if the clutch goes then you have no drive. Apparently the 2nd gear brake part that I changed the seals on, does not affect reverse gear and even if this part was damaged, reverse would still work. The top and bottom of it is that the gearbox needs totally overhauling. This does explain the black thick fluid that came out of the box when I first did the seal changes. If you would like to speak to *****yourself then please do, they are on ******* They have given us a price of £700 plus VAT to carry out the refurbishment. Sorry to have been the bearer of bad news. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have.
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Re: Leaky cover fixed but gearbox broken. What to do now

Post by muttleypup »

It's a difficult situation, Whilst gearboxes do fail and can fail suddenly it does seem a bit odd that it coincides with the seal being changed. I'd have expected them to mention thick black fluid as this would have indicated a (serious) problem with the box and if it was that bad I'd be suprised that you hadn't been having problems with gear selection and performance? Also, assuming the fluid level has been checked recently since you had a leak, it would have appeared dark (brown or black) on the dipstick?
To check the clutches/valves etc the box would have to have been at least partially dismantled otherwise it's just guesswork as to what the problem is based on what the box is/isn't doing. Speak to the person/garage that checked the box and ask what they did to come up with the rebuild diagnosis, £700 for a rebuild certainly doesn't sound unreasonable if it does in fact need one but I'm still erring on the side of it being put back together 'wrong' I'd try and find another auto box specialist (maybe others on here can recommend one near to you) to have a look at it. explain the situation/what's been done/course of events and see if they come up with anything different.
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Re: Leaky cover fixed but gearbox broken. What to do now

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I spoke directly to the Automatic garage. They say that there are big gaps in the "clutches"on my box, a piece of printed gasket was found inside and that the internal seals will all be stiff at 30 years old. They also said reverse gear is further back and wouldn't have been affected by moving the valve when trying to refit the 2nd gear brake band piston. Looks like I'm just going to have to bite the bullet
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Re: Leaky cover fixed but gearbox broken. What to do now

Post by camper »

Not much to say about the problem with your Autobox.But experience two auto boxes with leaks but managed to resolve them my self.I discovered on inquiring about a rebuild or the leaks fixed to the autos different repair estimates cost was £2000 to £700 a lot of money to for a repair.We take our vehicles to get a job done and a price is given some of which are ridiculas.Example Not talking vw T25 of which I have had five vans but modern vehicle example I have a Citroen Berlingo hate the bloody thing it has a whine from one of the auxillary belt deflection pulleys.The main dealer gave a quote of £300 to replace the offending pulley because I am old school wanting fix my self its depressing to here about some prices for repairs.It can end up that repairs exceed the value of the vehicle which is true for the berlingo I own .I would much like to run a T25 with its older mechanics unlike modern vehicles that once a repair is done other issues don't come back to bite you.Oh the pulley whine came about after the main dealer changed the cam belt and auxillary belt and didn't change the water pump tensioners & pulleys

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Re: Leaky cover fixed but gearbox broken. What to do now

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My car until recently was a Renault. It died with less than 80k on the clock but sadly not before I'd replaced the DMF, water pump, entire dashboard, cambelt various window regulators and had loads of electrical problems where the front scuttle drain hole was blocked and the car flooded and quickly moulded.
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Re: Leaky cover fixed but gearbox broken. What to do now

Post by muttleypup »

Well that sucks. It's a pity they didnt advise about the bad fluid when they first had it but what's done is done. Unfortunate coincidence i guess that it chose to fail now. £700 is a lot of money to have to spend, no doubt about that, but it does sound reasonable for a total rebuild and at least you end up with a 'known' good box with some form of warranty on it.
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