Shift Pointers
- Subject: Unavailability of repair parts
- Unit: Getrag DCT470/DCT450
- Vehicle Applications: Mitsubishi, Ford, Volvo
- Essential Reading: Rebuilder, Diagnostician
- Author: Wayne Colonna, ATSG, Transmission Digest Technical Editor
It is no secret that the rapid technological advancements being made in the automotive world are challenging the industry on a multitude of levels. In particular, those of us who earn a living in the aftermarket repair industry can certainly attest to that.
From one perspective it appears that the government and the manufacturers are working hand in hand to dismantle the aftermarket repair industry. Of course, their view is different. The government is concerned about fuel economy and emissions. So it places on the manufacturers CAFE ratings and emissions demands that have in many ways accelerated this technological advancement to meet those demands. Then, of course, there is competition among manufacturers to meet customer demands for as many comforts as the vehicle can offer.
One of the pitfalls in this high-tech world for the manufacturers is to find competent individuals to repair their vehicles. Since there seems to be a gross shortage in this area, they appear to have implemented unit replacement instead of providing parts to rebuild and repair major components. Once their vehicles are out of warranty it’s no longer their concern. As a result, the aftermarket repair industry is beginning to experience vehicles coming into their shops and finding that parts are not available to repair or rebuild them.
Take, for example, the DCT470 dual-clutch transmission (Figure 1) made by Getrag and used in Mitsubishi vehicles. Mitsubishi refers to this transmission, used in vehicles such as the Lancer Evo, as its Twin Clutch Sportronic Shift Transmission (TC-SST). You’ll discover other designations for this transmission, such as W6DGA or SPS6. This dual-clutch transmission is basically a manual-shift unit controlled automatically via a Mechatronic assembly (valve body and computer together).
Figure 2 shows an apparent problem with a DCT470. It seems as if the gears were not properly dressed, causing excessive flashing to be distributed throughout the transmission.
This causes a number of issues. First, there are magnetic fork-position sensors (Figure 3) that attract this metal, which builds up on the magnet and interferes with the signal it provides to the TCM.
Then there are two filters – one internal and one external – that become loaded with this fine metal, preventing proper flow (Figure 4). The result is a malfunctioning transmission that produces a variety of shift-error and clutch-pressure-low codes. Once the transmission is disassembled it is for the most part still in very good shape. Just some thorough cleaning and new filters could remedy the problem.
But here is the show stopper. From an undisclosed source, I have recently learned that Getrag owns the tooling used to make the filters. The company that makes the filters is under contract to make these filters available to no one except Getrag. At the time of this writing, Getrag is holding back the sale of the inside main sump filter for its transmission, whether it’s in Mitsubishi vehicles or the DCT450 version (Figure 5) used in Ford or Volvo vehicles. This forces the owner of the vehicle to buy a whole transmission if it’s out of warranty. The transmission lists for about $8,500 but dealers are marking it up to about $14,000.
So are the manufacturers trying to push out the aftermarket, forcing all work to their dealers, or are they trying to facilitate warranty work due to the lack of qualified help? To charge a customer $14,000 dollars for a new transmission, I’ll let you in on a really big secret.
