It’s Not Your Fault – or Is It?
We may need to market our goods and services differently, but we should never change our morality and basic philosophy. We came this far by providing honesty and customer service at profitable prices; to change any of that would prove disastrous. I understand that the fear of charging too much during hard economic times can scare shop owners into lowering prices and not trying as hard to sell everything the customer may need, but the reality is that you need a good price or you won’t be around to sell the customer anything in the not-too-distant future, and it is a disservice not to report everything that’s needed.
Top 10 Problems at Installation Part 1
Our company sells a large quantity of wholesale carry-out units in addition to performing in-house installations. We have a panel of technical advisers that provides guidance for both types of installations, and this article focuses on what we consider to be the top 10 issues that installers face today, based on the data we continually collect.
Some Days You’re the Windshield and Some Days You’re the Bug
The first was at Luis Zabala’s shop, where it’s not uncommon to have a Mitsubishi Galant with an F4A51 transmission come into the shop sporting codes for the input- and output-speed sensors and the transmission range sensor (Figure 1). Of course, the vehicle is in failsafe with these codes.
Recruiting Pays Big Dividends
Most transmission-shop owners would rather wear a dress than recruit. Who can blame you? The numbers are stacked against you as a recruiter. I get it. But I also know it’s part of your responsibility as a shop owner, and if you are going to be successful you need to keep your recruiting skills sharp. The fact is, if you hire the right people you can stop working for the numbers and have the numbers start working for you. I will show you in this article how that works.
RAV4’s Transmission Dilemma Presents Challenge
The code chart for the P0770 shift-solenoid-E malfunction has a simple description of the diagnostic trouble code (DTC) checking condition: It says that the lockup does not occur during lockup range (50 mph) or lockup remains on during lockup-off range. The possible causes listed are that the shift-solenoid valve is stuck open or closed, the valve body is blocked or stuck, or the clutch is locked up.
Where Do They Go?
The RC4A-EL transmission, also known as the JR405E, is used in the States in the Mazda RX8 vehicle. It has a much broader use overseas. Since this is not a transmission that shows up on the bench regularly here, when a shop gets one we usually receive a call for help on placing the three tension springs shown in Figure 1.
4L60-E No move after rebuild
The transmission rebuilder accused the R&R man of breaking the pump during the installation process. The R&R man was certain that he had done his job correctly and that the rebuilder must have done something wrong during the rebuild. To help pinpoint the problem, a pressure gauge was installed into the line-pressure port. To everyone’s surprise, the line pressure was normal. This meant that not only was the pump not broken but also the PR valve was not stuck open. This also meant that the transmission would have to be removed from the vehicle and at least partially disassembled.
Common Failures, and Why They Happen
We must never lose sight of the basics of modern vehicle technology and design encompassing a wide variety of complex systems that activate and control the functions of the major components we are working on. The following are some examples of common failures that generate a lot of traffic on the hotlines and have many technicians scratching their heads and wasting time and money. One thing we know from experience is that you are only as good as the last thing you did for a customer.
July 2012 Issue
In This Issue
Ford/Mazda FNR5/5NR5: harsh shifts and/or downshifts
Ford/Mazda FNR5/5NR5: short bind-up on 3-4 shift
