Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Can Flywheel replacement kills ATX tranny?

Hi all,

I have a 98 SE 2.5 ATX with 128,000 km (up here in the frozen North). I got it 6 weeks ago, and had the dreaded crunching noise of a toothless flywheel ring gear.

I got it replaced under warranty, and seemed okay, but not sure about the calibre of the shop. I had lots of clunks and odd noises.

Less than 400km later, under moderate acceleration (4500 revs), the tranny died. We could coax it in 1, and reverse worked, and thats it.

I read the tranny forum (good technical info, but a bit above me at the moment) but couldnt find a good answer.
Could an improperly repaired (replaced) flywheel ring gear cause a tranny to feel like it's toast?

Its a warranty job, but only to C$1000. Now, I had heard the sensor could cause the same kind of effect as if it looked like a busted tranny, and if so, might be an cheaper fix.

Anyone had any similar experiences? I'm really hoping the tranny isn't shot, cuz I'm looking at $2500 Canadian (less a grand for the warranty.

Its at the tranny shop tomorrow (a trustworthy one) so I get the quote then but I just wodered what anyone thought?
Here's hoping...

T

Not much to go wrong with a flywheel replacement as long as you have the correct one.

Bob

I can think of several things that can go wrong when replacing a flywheel - not from the new flywheel, but from the act of removing and replacing the transmission. Fluid loss from the cooler lines or torque convertor hub seal - and not refilling it. Breaking connectors, not installing/tightening roll restrictors or mounts, having the torque convertor unseated from the transmission and bolting it all back together, etc... Good luck!

Hi
Yeah , thats what I thought - not the flywheel, but improper reassembly. But (sigh) turns out that the ATX was absolutely FUBAR, and I need to get it rebuilt....

Just curious, there's no reason to empty and refill the transmission fluid if you are replacing a flywheel, right? I mean, the tranny comes off as a sealed unit, doesn't it? I presumed that this was the case.

Thanks,

Tim

there is no need to drain it, but it certainly is not a sealed unit. Once the cooler lines are disconnected, some fluid comes out. And if the torque convertor is stuck to the crank or flywheel, then it can become unseated from the transmission, letting fluid (a lot!) come from between the hub seal and the convertor hub. Did they say what the causal failure was?

Something about the filter choking up, no fluid circulating, and killing the gears. Sounded to me like something that had been happening over time.

My query is whether the guy who replaced the flywheel would/should have had any idea how bad the tranny was. If he should have known, I could have saved the 1000 bucks or so which is the cost of removing the tranny (before any work can be done on it, of course).

I don't object to paying to have the tranny rebuilt, which is about 1800 bucks in parts/kits plus a few hours labour. But, it ticks me off if the guy put a faulty tranny back in, and I have to pay to have it taken out again ...

Cheers,
Tim

From a technician's point of view, he's got a vehicle that won't start because of a broken ring gear... push it into the shop, verify, quote repair. He shouldn't be responsible for determining the condition of the transmission unless you also mentioned (hypothetically) that there was a concern with it. Just a luck of the draw kind of thing....

Hi there.

Yeah, that's what I figured. He wouldn't have had any reason to wonder, unless he specifically drained the fluid, and examined it, or I'd asked him. Not his fault.

Just bad luck, I guess. (Not looking to apportion blame here. I got the car 6 weeks ago, paid C$4100, and I'm now pretty p!ssed I have to spend another C$3000 on a tranny. We don't have lemon laws, from what I understand, in Ontario.)

Still, as I've said elsewhere, for the car I got (128000km), even with the extra, I got an okay (instead of a fantastic) deal.

T