Lost the tranny. :(

goalie40 · May 22, 2013

Well its been a bad couple days. My alternator died the parts store sold me a bad over charging replacement.

Now my car feels like im towing another car 97 auto GST Spyder.

Reverse is fine and feels great. I have no power trying to move forward but once I get going she feels fine...ish.

I did check my tranny fluid. Or should I call it black smelly death juice. Not pretty, burnt to shit. No metal shavings. I drained and put in new fluid just to test. Same results if it was better it was not by much.

I pulled the tranny pan and pulled the valve body, nothing looks bad. But I also dont know what to look for.

At 180k my guess is its toast but feel free to make my day if its something im overlooking.

NewbieT · May 22, 2013

Fleeting thought, is there any difference manually shifting low to drive? With the way you described the fluid it sounds like your clutch packs are toast. Sorry for the shitty luck man.

goalie40 · May 22, 2013

It feels the same in the lower gears too. Its not slipping while driving.

NewbieT · May 22, 2013

Its not like a 5spd with a clutch, the clutch packs transfer power to the planetary gears. A faulty/cracked band would cause some "slipping". Idk how dsm trannys are setup but how's the filter look?

goalie40 · May 22, 2013

I pulled the clutch pack nothing looked cracked but I didnt open it all the way. But who knows how worn they are?

Its worth 60-70 bucks to rebuild the clutch pack.

VTEC_THIS · May 22, 2013

I'm sorry to hear that.

NewbieT · May 22, 2013

Pic of rear clutch discs and piston?

90BLACKAWDTSI · May 22, 2013

Did you check the TCU? Sound like the car was in limp mode.

When it is in Limp mode it will start off in 3rd gear. Reverse will feel normal.

Unplug the TCU and see if it takes off normal.

goalie40 · May 22, 2013

Didnt think about the TCU. I had a overcharging alternator It could of fried it.

CrackedDSM · May 22, 2013

If you want to rule out the TCU entirely, hook up two toggle switches, one for either solenoid. Solenoid A goes to one switch, Solenoid B goes to the other. 12V power source to both, and figure out the shift sequence. If it shifts at all, you know it's the TCU is bad.

If the fluid was burned, but there was zero metal shavings or clutch material on the magnet, then I'd be more inclined to say electronic failure. In my opinion, it sounds like your TCU is bad. That's exactly what happens when you're in limp mode.

Easy test, unhook your battery for 15 minutes. Hook it back up, and take it for a drive. If it shifts then stops shifting, there's a problem in the transmission or TCU. If it just starts in 3rd again and doesn't ever attempt to shift...bad TCU.

Red1991TSI · May 22, 2013

While you're at it, check to see if there is a TCU fuse too.

goalie40 · May 23, 2013

CrackedDSM said:
If the fluid was burned, but there was zero metal shavings or clutch material on the magnet

Zero metal shavings but the fluid was gritty from clutch material. But at 180k, I have no idea when they had been changed last.

Anyone have a diagram for the valve body I have a spring and 2 balls that need to go back in and a small triangle of plastic??

Lost the tranny. :(

goalie40

NewbieT

goalie40

NewbieT

goalie40

VTEC_THIS

NewbieT

90BLACKAWDTSI

goalie40

CrackedDSM

Red1991TSI

goalie40

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