No 4th gear should I buy this p38?

[DiscoDevil]

A rr is up for sale nearby for $5k, 2650000klm 97 4.6hse.

Can I fix these things err, easily?

Problems that I've found are;

It can't find 4th gear in drive D low range or high. Does 3250rpm at 100kmhr. It had the flex plated changed, auto put back in a voila. Possibly could a nanocomm 2 could fix this?

Mixer fans are shot, hot one side, cold the other, in the middle of the dash!

Runs a bit rich maybe.

Eas has a leak, no surprises there!, oh and headliner is not headliner any more, more like a blanket for the rear passengers!

Main issue is the gear box, any ideas on that?

Cheers for your help :)

[Keithy P38]

Gearbox could be something as simple as the selector cable needing adjustment or something terminal. As you say - nanocom should give some insight! Don't just go off what the dash says as to what gear you are in - my low range park is reverse if I don't give the lever a tiny nudge on the way there!

As for blend motors, could be simple relay blown or they could be shot. Nanocom again - but relays are a common reason for HEVAC issues. Could be costly if you are not the kinda bloke to do your own labour.

The eas is simple yet complex. The bags could be perished, the air lines into the bags could leak, the o-rings in the valve block could leak, solenoids can fail, compressor can die, ecu can play up, etc...

For $5k I'd be finding the exact problems, you could quite easily spend another $5k fixing it up or you could get lucky and only need to spend a grand or less...

For $12k you can pick up a good condition '99 HSE Thor with the same amount of k's on board, on the other hand you could buy someone else's problem.

I'd have a very thorough check done on the $5k one (google "state roads inspections") and find out how much it'll hurt the hip pocket.

My money would be on walking away, but I could be wrong.

Cheers
Keithy

[Slunnie]

I would bet they havent filled the auto with ATF using the proper procedure. When ATf levels are low, 4th is the first gear you lose.

[PaulP38a]

Tranny issue could well be the XYZ switch, same/similar to the Disco2. Remove and clean or buy a replacement... but maybe something much more expensive.

EAS could be any number of things, simple enough to work out if you have the time. Again, could be expensive if it turns out that all bags are perishing and the driver unit is shot. valve block and compressor are pretty simple to fix, as are air lines.

Good chance that the blend motors are gone/going. Not expensive if you are prepared to rebuild the old ones (if they are repairable), even buying new motors is not overly-expensive, just the time to do them is about a day, which can be expensive at mechanic rates.

On the face of it, I would probably give it a miss.

Whatever P38 you buy, factor in an extra $500 for a Nanocom Evo, and $100-1000 for EAS components (bags, o-ring kit, cylinder kit).

Happy hunting.

[DiscoDevil]

I would bet they havent filled the auto with ATF using the proper procedure. When ATf levels are low, 4th is the first gear you lose.

Fair dinkum it wouldn't surprise me! The guy who did the work also serviced my d1 auto and totally stuffed up the volume, couldn't read the damn dipstick. Checked it myself and he'd left about 2 litres out!! I don't get on to well with that guy anymore :o

So is it a case of dumping fluid and starting again? Is the process to do this on rave?

I fix all my own gear, drove my tdi round the country and now I'm looking for something less agricultural. Eas seems a pain, but something that I can troubleshoot. The auto is the big question as they are mystery boxes of the devils own making!

Thanks for your replies, keen to hear anyone else's thoughts on the box?

Apparently he paid $2500 on the flex plate drama with box being sent to Melbourne for some reason.

Oh and he cooked it 5 years ago, seals in heater went, reworked heads and its been good since.

What a promising story hey!?

[tasi devil]

offer him $2,000, there's a lot to fix. even doing it yourself, & it adds up.

..............tasi

[Slunnie]

Fair dinkum it wouldn't surprise me! The guy who did the work also serviced my d1 auto and totally stuffed up the volume, couldn't read the damn dipstick. Checked it myself and he'd left about 2 litres out!! I don't get on to well with that guy anymore :o

So is it a case of dumping fluid and starting again? Is the process to do this on rave?

I fix all my own gear, drove my tdi round the country and now I'm looking for something less agricultural. Eas seems a pain, but something that I can troubleshoot. The auto is the big question as they are mystery boxes of the devils own making!

Thanks for your replies, keen to hear anyone else's thoughts on the box?

Apparently he paid $2500 on the flex plate drama with box being sent to Melbourne for some reason.

Oh and he cooked it 5 years ago, seals in heater went, reworked heads and its been good since.

What a promising story hey!?
It needs to be filled while the engine is running and be cycled through all of the gear positions - it fills the entire transmission and the tprque converter that way. If he hasnt done that then it wont be full of ATF. When the ATF levels drop, you will lose 4th gear before losing all gears. Actually, you might lose TC lock up first, then 4th. I'd just fill it up, but the procedure is in RAVE. Some people will have you believe the Auto is the devils own making, but it really is not the case. The $2500 was probably a rebuild. Hopefully it was sent to A&B in Melbourne who are the ZF geeks in Australia.

[Dan030]

Sorry for bringing up an old post but I just joined and was looking through the forum and found this post. I actually bought this P38. The simple fix was the Blend motor it turned out that someone had replaced the blend motor but had not put the screws back in so the motor itself had fallen out and was sitting on the floor. So 20 minutes later and a bit of fiddling we have a working Hvac system.

The 3 gear problem was a buggered trans. after getting a $6000 quote from Goldstar autos in Launceston for a rebuild and refit. I found a second hand one on Ebay for $490 and after a full weekend of frustration and multiple skinned knuckles it now has 4 gears again. the headliner is still saggy but the paint came up a treat with a polish and the motor is very strong for it's 260,000 ish k's so $4800 later (paid $4200 +$490 trans +$100 of trans fluid) I'm very happy with it. will post some pics tomorrow when the sun comes up.

Oh and the running rich problem was caused by one of the oddest things I've seen there was 10mm hole drilled right next to the oxygen sensor on the right hand side exhaust. plugging that up dropped the fuel consumption from 22l/100K's to down around 16-17l/100k's not sure why it had such a dramatic impact but it did.

[wrinklearthur]

Sorry for bringing up an old post but I just joined and was looking through the forum and found this post. ----

Hi Dan

Welcome aboard to the forum.

I will send you a PM ( personal message ) about a get together for Tassie AULRO members.
.

[Keithy P38]

Good to hear it was a relatively pain free experience (for the hip pocket at least). How did you go with the EAS leaks? If left too long it could start to cost a bit!

Cheers
Keithy

[Dan030]

Good to hear it was a relatively pain free experience (for the hip pocket at least). How did you go with the EAS leaks? If left too long it could start to cost a bit!

Cheers
Keithy

Not yet it goes down on the drivers side front and then all the others follow it down trying to stay level I guess. I'm going to start looking for leaks today now that the mechanical issues are out of the way. Hoping its a hose or o'ring rather than leaky airbags.