Can of Worms (Buchse der Pandora)
A 1998 Volkswagen Jetta with a 2.0-liter engine and 01M transmission came in with a complaint of not shifting into fourth gear. The owner had just bought the car, which had the problem when he bought it, and he said it would shift normally up to third gear.
Needless to say, the history of repairs is minimal at best. What we do know is that the owner took the vehicle to a nearby transmission shop, which pulled trouble codes. DTCs for shift solenoids 6 & 4 (N93 & N91, respectively) were present, so they replaced solenoids 6 & 4 and the internal harness. The trouble codes returned immediately. That shop didn’t know what to do from there, so they referred the vehicle owner to our shop.
Metallurgy + the Laws of Physics = Buyer Beware
The car sat on the lot for about a month, until a salesman noticed a collection of white/gray powder under the middle of the vehicle. Curious as to what was going on the salesman went to move the Hummer, put it in gear and promptly blew the rear driveshaft out of the vehicle. They then removed the BW 4484 transfer case from the vehicle. By looking at the photos provided here, you can see what happens when a transfer case with a magnesium case is filled with seawater for more than a month. The case is now paper thin and riddled with holes as if attacked by metal-eating moths. The used-car lot bought a new BW 4484 and fixed the problem. The core was sent to us, and it makes a good basis for this article.
Dead Cylinder Leads to a Broken Relationship
We originally test-drove the vehicle to verify the shaking and lack of power, and we also heard a light ticking when it was idling and at lower engine speed. Even though this Escort far exceeded the average life expectancy of today’s vehicle, with gas currently at $3.50 per gallon, my customer dearly wanted to keep this little Ford on the road.
Vacuum Testing GM 4L60-E
From the TASC Force we reprint a series of in-depth test instructions for checking the serviceability of valve bodies.
Good Production Strategy Keeps Cash Coming In
In this article, we take a look at cash flow, discussing what it takes to develop a good production strategy so that cash will steadily flow into the bank without delays caused by poor planning. There are two parts of the game. Lead flow deals with getting the vehicle into the shop. Work flow has to do with getting the vehicle out.
Why I Didn’t Hire You
I’m an easy interview, but a tough judge. I don’t use personality or behavioral tests – I’ve tried them all, and I do see some value there, but I’ve also relied on them for hiring decisions, which I later came to regret.
I don’t call your references. It’s a waste of my time and theirs. You’d never give me a reference that would say anything other than the most amazing and wonderful things about you anyway.
Dual-Clutch Transmission: Wet or dry?
Even though manual (standard) transmissions had evolved ever since motor vehicles were created, the greater focus of the OEMs has been toward automatics. Automatic transmissions have received more speeds, pulleys (CVT), improved converter strategy and electronics to help keep pace with an ever-changing motor vehicle. Hybrid-vehicle transmissions also tend to be automatic in nature.
Tell Me What You Didn’t Like!
One of the worst things that can happen to any business is to lose customers without knowing why. How do you fix a problem when you don’t know what it is? Often when customers stop using our services they are upset about something. It might be about price, quality or service, but these are all broad areas. What is it specifically? Since we all base our decision as to whether to go back to a certain establishment on our last experience with it, what went wrong? What happened that last time?
August 2013 Issue
In This Issue
Cooler-line flushing: Is it an art or a science?
Diagnostic-trouble-code lights: They donʼt always mean what they say
4T80-E lockup failure: Donʼt overlook the basics
