GM’s 2ML70 Hybrid Two-Mode Transmission
GM’s 2ML70 hybrid transmission (Figure 1) is a four-speed unit with fourth gear being overdrive. Applications include the 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon and the 6.0-liter 2009 Cadillac Escalade. It also was used for a short time in the 2009 5.7-liter Chrysler Aspen and Dodge Durango. BMW uses the two-mode 2ML70 in its ActiveHybrid X6, and Mercedes-Benz also uses it.
Toyota U341E/F
In the Import section of ATSG’s “Shifting Great in 2008” training seminar, one subject that was handled in the Toyota U341E/F segment of the seminar was the elusive code P0770. What makes this code so elusive is that it points to a fault for shift solenoid E. The technician tries to determine which is shift solenoid E and cannot. Nor can the technician determine whether the code indicates an electrical problem or a mechanical one.
722.6/NAG 1
With the large number of 722.6 transmissions being used in both Mercedes vehicles and in Dodge and Jeep vehicles, where it is called the NAG 1, it is virtually certain that this transmission will end up in your shop for repairs. It may be that your shop refuses to work on Mercedes but Dodge and Jeep vehicles are all too welcome. And so it is in this way that if you have not worked on this transmission yet, you will. And it is not a bad unit to work on.
Triple Play
The AS68RC is a rear-wheel-drive Aisin Seiki six-speed transmission that began its life in the U.S. with Isuzu, UD and Mitsubishi midsize trucks (Figure 1). Since the 2007 model year, it has been used in Dodge incomplete-chassis and commercial vehicles with a GCVW rating of 26,000 pounds and the 6.7-liter Cummins diesel engine.
Short-Circuited
In March 2006 Dodge issued safety recall E17 for 2003-05 Dodge Ram pickups equipped with the 5.9-liter diesel and 48RE transmission. This recall addressed a safety issue that could occur if the driver parked the vehicle without placing the gear selector fully in park and left the engine running. The repair consists of a re-flash that when initiated will sound the horn, flash the headlights and cause the PRNDL display to flash if the door is opened and the driver tries to exit a running vehicle without the selector fully in Park. This re-flash can be done only with the DRB-3 scan tool and dealer software.
Cynically Clever
One recent example involved a Toyota Camry with the A140-E four-speed transaxle and an L4 engine. Although this transmission was used in model years 1983 through 2001, we rarely receive calls on it – yet in one week I had three calls. One problem was rapid or stacked upshifts with no kick-down shifts. This problem is typically caused by restricted solenoids. The second call was a harsh engagement into reverse. This is typically caused by the use of flat frictions to replace the waved ones originally installed (see Shift Pointers on page XX of this issue).
Toot Your Own Horn!
As Denny Gipe from Dennis Gipe Transmissions in Chambersburg, Pa., mentioned in this month’s Shift Pointers article, ATSG has experienced the P0123 code in late-model Jeeps using the 2.5- or 4.0-liter engines and the AW4 transmission. P0123 indicates TPS voltage high, and in these vehicles it produces a complaint of no upshift. One cause for this condition is the horn’s 12-volt clock spring inside the steering wheel short-circuiting with the cruise-control’s switch-sense wire (Figure 1).
Cash for Clunkers
How the bill works is that people who trade in a clunker will receive a voucher worth $3,500 or $4,500 toward the purchase of a new “more fuel-efficient” car or truck. The new vehicle must have a minimum fuel economy of 22 mpg to qualify for the voucher. If the new car’s fuel efficiency is improved by at least 4 mpg compared with their previous car, the consumer will receive a $3,500 voucher. If the new car’s fuel efficiency is improved by at least 10 mpg, the consumer will receive a $4,500 voucher.
Things Are not Always What They Appear to Be
Unfortunately for the owner this exchanged unit did not work correctly. Since the facility did not do transmission work the owner took the car to Chris Colucci at CNS Transmissions in Walnut, Miss. Chris saw that the vehicle was in a failsafe condition with lights blinking on the dash. The DTCs he extracted revealed gear-ratio-error problems. Upon learning that the transmission had been replaced, he put 2 and 2 together and realized that they might have installed a transmission with an incorrect ratio.
V-8 Toyota Tundra
I am sure by now that most shops out there have run into the pesky P0770 “Solenoid E Fault,” on some type of Toyota or Lexus vehicle, that has given you the runaround. ATSG senior technical consultant Jim Dial and I have spoken about this on numerous occasions, since it is a very common problem on our tech line. Jim did a bit of investigating, and this is what he discovered.
The 09D/TR-60SN Transmission
The 09D/TR-60SN transmission (Figure 1), the rear-wheel-drive version of the front-wheel-drive 09G/TF-60SN transmission (Figure 2), is being used in the VW Touareg and Porsche Cayenne in the United States. The clutch-application chart in Figure 3 reveals the same clutch elements as in the 09G. If you save past issues of Transmission Digest, dig up the November and December 2008 issues and you can do a little comparison of the 09G with this 09D.
Another Transmission Mutation – Part 2
I’m working on a 1997 Chevy truck that has an “intermittent transmission,” as the owner puts it. He goes on to explain, “It works fine most of the time but when it gets into its spell of acting up, it seems like all I get is one or two gears of bad gas mileage and no power.”
