Auto box dead/near death?

[Erskine_atom]

Hi all I have a 96 vr4 and had been running with a small atf leak (from the torque converter seal i think) which I had mistaken for a minor oil leak by virtue of a lack of proper investigation. In my defence I did keep an eye on the oil level and all is well in that regard!

On returning from knockhill a couple of weeks ago (after driving a ferrari 360!) I realised my mistake with fluid all down the underside of the car, so much there was smoke coming off the exhaust! Checked the fluid level and found it to be not even registering on the gauge! I had been experiencing some odd jerkiness on a steady throttle at motorway cruising speeds.

Box on it's way out? Or do I get the t/c seal done and flush and fill the system again?

:oops:

Feel free to ridicule me for my stupidity... /duh

[miller]

you should be fine if you get some fluid back in it. If its only been some odd jerkiness!

dont drive it in the meantime!

[Kryton]

I agree, should be ok. Certainly worth replacing the seal + fluids before cpntemplating spending out on gearboxes

[aboo]

Did the N light flash atoll & the car go into limp home mode?

This happened to me last year. PT changed the seal flushed the gearbox & all has been fine since.

[Erskine_atom]

Did the N light flash atoll & the car go into limp home mode?

This happened to me last year. PT changed the seal flushed the gearbox & all has been fine since.

No flashing n light and full power all the way thankfully.

PT is sadly unavailable for the moment, anyone else fancy volunteering their services?

Just wondered as it is such a massive pain in the arse to get it out whether it would be best just to swap it with a definate good one? Get the old one serviced then sell it on to re-coup some of the cost. (Actually mike's idea but I am stealing it for now!)

[Nick Mann]

If the box has been fine up to now, then I wouldn't worry about it. Get the seal changed and get back to driving it! :D

[Erskine_atom]

If the box has been fine up to now, then I wouldn't worry about it. Get the seal changed and get back to driving it! :D

Only thing is it had been jerking for a while beforehand. Not major, but it was. Seemed to cure itself when you give it a little beans or lay off the power completely for a sec or so. Someone suggested that may have been the tps so I didn't worry about it. Thoughts?

[Kryton]

How long ago was it last serviced + what oil was used?

[Erskine_atom]

How long ago was it last serviced + what oil was used?

Not sure, what is the service interval for the gearbox? I will look up the reciepts and find out. I haven't done too many miles in it but have had it almost 2 years, really only driving at weekends and hols.

[Kryton]

I think the recommended interval is 45,000 for a full flush (but don't quote me on that). Depending on what ATF people have used can cause the gearbox to shudder, especially between gear changes. Quite a common cause for this is people not using SPIII grade fluid & instead going for the cheaper Dexton III. It is not the same & will cause issues.

If you take a look at the Opie Oils site, it will bring up a list of suitable fluids but the favoured by far is Amsoil:
http://www.opieoils.co.uk/c-1077-mitsubishi-diamond-spiii.aspx

If you fancy taking on the challenge yourself, all the info you need should be here:
http://www.clubvr4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10475&highlight=gearbox+change

If you do decide to change the box, i'm sure someone on here will have one just laying around & if you want to get it rebuilt, again plenty of people should be able to recommend places.

I personally would just opt for a flush in the first instance but there is no guarantee it will sort it. A good start would be trying to dig out the receipt for the last lot of ATF & seeing if the right stuff was used, if not, there lies the problem.

Good luck with sorting it & let me know if you need any recommendations for a rebuild.

[aboo]

I would just get the seals done & new oilin it. I'm sure it will be fine after that.

[Erskine_atom]

I think the recommended interval is 45,000 for a full flush (but don't quote me on that). Depending on what ATF people have used can cause the gearbox to shudder, especially between gear changes. Quite a common cause for this is people not using SPIII grade fluid & instead going for the cheaper Dexton III. It is not the same & will cause issues.

If you take a look at the Opie Oils site, it will bring up a list of suitable fluids but the favoured by far is Amsoil:
http://www.opieoils.co.uk/c-1077-mitsubishi-diamond-spiii.aspx

If you fancy taking on the challenge yourself, all the info you need should be here:
http://www.clubvr4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10475&highlight=gearbox+change

If you do decide to change the box, i'm sure someone on here will have one just laying around & if you want to get it rebuilt, again plenty of people should be able to recommend places.

I personally would just opt for a flush in the first instance but there is no guarantee it will sort it. A good start would be trying to dig out the receipt for the last lot of ATF & seeing if the right stuff was used, if not, there lies the problem.

Good luck with sorting it & let me know if you need any recommendations for a rebuild.

Cool, I'll get to checking the reciepts this weekend and see what I find. The only thing that bugs me is that it wasn't a problem when I got the car but started a few months after buying it. The previous owner had a mate who worked in a mitsu garage so I think any work would have been done there.

Thanks for all the input guys and I'll let you know the results soon.

[aboo]

I would say your TC seal has gone. I had no probs with my car when I 1st got it in Oct 2008. Put it in for an MOT April 2009 & got an advisory for an oil leak.

PT & I had a look & couldn't see where it was coming from.

I went down to Japfest in May of that year 565 miles 2 track sessions & then on the way home just outside Carlisle we stopped in a cloud of smoke.

Catastrophic failure of the TC seal.

When it go's it will dump all the oil onto the hot downpipes making the smoke.

If your about this weekend I could pop out & have a look for you if you want.

Drop me a pm/yes