What a Drag
The ATSG tech line frequently receives calls related to engine stall or even a partial-stalling condition that could be easily mistaken for an engine-performance problem in 1995 and later Audi/VW vehicles with the 01M transmission.
Shift By Wire
This article presents a situation that ATSG technical adviser Gerald Campbell handled regarding a ZF 6HP26 in a BMW with Reno Partipilo, Sal Scardina and Joe Russo from Continental Transmission in Bridgeview, Ill. But before we can cover it, we first need to present a bit of information that will help to make sense of the problem and what it was that corrected it.
The Big Idea
In the transmission business, I too get to meet men and women who from time to time come up with a great idea and develop it into a salable product. I do not have a TV show, but at least I can present to you in this article three fellow technicians who saw a need and brought a solution into reality.
Toyota Matrix U341F
In rebuilding today’s transmissions one has to be very careful with the small parts that come in these valve bodies, such as checkballs, solenoid filters, springs and relief valves. These small parts might seem insignificant, but they play a vital role in the function of the transmission. Many rebuilders dread rebuilding valve bodies with all these intricate parts that are so easily misplaced or lost. On the 50-42LE found in many Volvo, Daewoo and Saab vehicles, if the valve-body filters are installed incorrectly they can cause problems such as no reverse or lockup issues.
Coping with Capillary Action
Capillary action is defined as the movement of a liquid within the spaces of a porous material due to the forces of adhesion, cohesion and surface tension. A simple example would be dipping a paper towel into a glass of water and watching it climb up the towel. If the towel is long enough, eventually the force of gravity will be too great for the water to overcome.
Noise? What Noise? Oh, That One
One of the toughest things in the transmission industry for any technician to diagnose is a noise problem. It’s even tougher to diagnose over the phone, and at times near impossible. In some instances, as with the 5R55S/W transmission, there can be several different things that can have you chasing a noise ’til you’re about to pull hair from your head.
The Bucking Audi
The continuously variable transmission (CVT) used in Audi’s A4 and A6 vehicles, called the 01J or Multitronic, could show up in your shop with a bucking complaint. This style of CVT (see Figure 1) does not use a fluid coupling as a pass-through device for engine torque input. This means that when the vehicle is engaged or comes to a stop in gear, the forward or reverse clutch must slip. When the brake is released and the throttle is depressed, the clutch applies and the drive and driven pulleys begin to move in relation to each other to provide gear ratios.
To 6HP or not to 6HP – Is That a Question?
ZF Friedrichshafen (meaning Zahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen) is a leading supplier of automobile transmissions. The company was founded in 1915 in Friedrichshafen, Germany, to produce gears for zeppelins and other airships but moved into the automobile market by 1918. The company helped produce the airship Hindenburg as well as truck parts for Hitler’s war effort. ZF is also known for designing and manufacturing the transmissions for most German Panzers of Word War II.
The 4L30-E Connector Connection
Because of the 4L30-E’s longevity (16 years now) and its use by a variety of vehicle manufacturers such as Isuzu, Honda, BMW and Cadillac, numerous changes have taken place in this transmission throughout those years.
Say Cheese
I ran across an interesting code the other day. A guy called in to the ATSG help line and said, ”I have a 1999 Saturn SC2 with a code P1624.
Repeat Performance, Not by Popular Demand
You may recall that the 4L80-E made its appearance in 1991. And whether it was in two-wheel-drive or four-wheel-drive configuration, the output carrier had the exciter ring for the output-shaft-speed (OSS) sensor pressed onto it.
What’s the World Coming To?
You may be familiar with a transmission called the JF506E, which in the North American market can be found in the VW Jetta, Golf and GTI; the Mazda 6 and MPV; the Jaguar X Type; and the Land Rover Freelander. It is manufactured by Japanese Automatic Transmission Co. (JATCO). In Europe the JF506E is in vehicles such as the VW Golf and Sharan, the Land Rover Freelander, the Jaguar X Type and the Ford Mondeo, to name a few. And the company said something to this effect: “You build the car and we will make this transmission fit it. The transmission will be versatile enough to accept programming of the computer to meet various strategies desired by the car manufacturer using the transmission.”
