Upgrading the Honda Impeller-to-Stator Bearing
Torque-converter rebuilders have been reporting Honda bearing failures in increasing numbers. The bearing failures have been from different locations within the converters and have been reported in most of the Honda and Acura models. The most common of the failures has been the bearing between the impeller and stator in the larger-diameter converters. In all converters, the bearing in this location carries most of the thrust load when the vehicle is accelerating, and it is typically the first bearing to fail. Because the larger-diameter converters are used in the larger, higher-torque V-6 applications, the thrust loads on this bearing are even greater.
Fine-Tuning the NVG 247 Transfer Case
The New Venture 247 transfer case was used in the Jeep Grand Cherokee (WJ) vehicle in the 1999 to 2004 model years. Nobody throws away a Jeep, and these units create a lot of repair work and parts sales. They also generate an inordinate amount of tech calls as a result of the problems with the design and misunderstood theory of operation. This article will concentrate on the areas that cause shops the most trouble in diagnosis and repair.
Taking it to the Track, Part II: Our Charger Runs the Quarter Mile
In my previous installment (November 2011), I profiled our progress of “hot-rodding” a part-time sheriff’s car for our local one-fourth-mile drag strip, Bandimere Speedway.
Our speedway hosts a program called “Take it to the Track,” an initiative aimed at getting young drag racers off the street and onto a safer venue, and this 2006 Dodge Charger just needed its exhaust system installed before we could start the engine.
It’s Sometimes Overwhelming
Are you in a continual state of being overwhelmed by either having so many customers that you can’t find adequate time to sell properly and do for them everything they need, or not having enough customers and always being behind with the bills you have and sometimes cannot pay? Either scenario is not healthy for you or your business. In fact, the first could easily lead to the second if not remedied. Not spending enough time with your good customers and selling them what they really need when they come in for minor services can lose many of them for you and put you in the unenviable position of not having enough customers to generate the dollars you need.
A Hard Shift Fixed by a Gentle Squeeze
The RE4F03/4B transmission in several Nissan vehicles develops a hard 1-2 upshift as a result of uncontrolled line pressure. Sometimes code P0745 is stored for a problem in the line-pressure-control solenoid circuit. Replacing the solenoid assembly usually fixes the problem. But, the next time this happens to you, or you get to experience this for the first time, the fix may be as simple as gently squeezing a crimp.
Once More, Not the Transmission
It’s very simple to get steered in the wrong direction when you’re diagnosing a transmission complaint. There are so many different sensors and components that can cause transmission-like symptoms that at first it seems as if without a doubt you have a transmission problem, and from a customer’s perspective they are convinced it’s going to cost them an arm and a leg, which provides you the opportunity to be a hero and gain a customer for life.
Identifying the 5L40-E and 5L50-E Transmissions and Valve Bodies
The 5L40-E and 5L50-E transmissions and valve bodies look the same at a glance. On the Cadillac, Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky, you can look on the service-parts identification label to identify the transmission by the RPO (Regular Production Options) number.
February 2012 Issue
In This Issue
4L60/4L60-E/4L65-E/4L70-E: Correcting poor 1-2 and 2-3 shift quality
4L60/4L60-E/4L65-E/4L70-E: Third-gear starts
5L40-E: Line-pressure instability
6L40/50/80, GM6: Delayed, slipping reverse; slide 2-3
GM 4L60-E: Code P0741 stored, cruise control inoperative
Low/Reverse-Solenoid Circuit Fault Code P0750 (41)
Without question, aside from P1776 (47), one of the most-common trouble codes plaguing Dodge/Chrysler vehicles is P0750 (or 41), “Low/Reverse Solenoid Circuit error,” in 41TE-type transmissions (see Shift Pointers, October 2008). This is purely an electrical code and typically points to the solenoid, the wiring (which includes the connectors) from the solenoid body to the TCM, or the TCM itself. In so many instances on our technical hotline the cause has been a defective TCM. What becomes very frustrating is out-of-the-box remanufactured TCMs coughing up the same code as soon as they are installed; makes you think you missed something in your previous diagnosis.
