Diagnosis 300 Tdi D1 ZF auto

[damienb]

My ZF auto gearbox failed a little over a week ago and it's got me stumped.
Nothing in drive reverse etc
It's been downshifting to 1st at 40 kph (see previous thread).
Plenty of oil in very good condition (now dropped). Nothing nasty in the sump. Filter seems in position etc.
Park position holds (indicates I/O splines are OK?)
Fairly soft whirring noise that spools down after stopping the engine. Presumably the torque converter running without oil.
Good flow at the pump outlet when I removed the cooler hose 1L in less than 5 seconds. Don't know what the pressure is.

I suspect pump failure but don't know whether they can fail and still have flow (i.e., low pressure only).

I'm about a 1/3 of the way through removing the gearbox and things are about to get real (i.e., tunnel/console removal).

I can remove the filter and clean it and/or open it but given the lack of debris in general, I doubt it would have problems. I could also try to rig something up to do a pressure test as I guess it could be oil cooler blockage.

Anything else I should try before removing the gearbox?

Edit: Finally, any good walkthroughs for gearbox removal? All I've found is rave.

Thanks/Damien

[damienb]

This ended up being the torque converter inner spline (drive?) It is completely stripped in the TC, but seems perfectly fine on the gearbox side (crowns seem good).

Here's some pics. Torque converter output
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/

Gearbox input:
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/

What are my options here? I see Ashcroft UK sells torque converters, but can I get it reconditioned locally? Is it possible to get 2nd hand units? I'm in Brisbane.

Is the gearbox likely to be OK? Are there other checks I can do while it's out? I need to check the valve block to see why it's been kicking down at 40kph anway. Where can I get a valve block gasket?

Cheers,

Damien

[Tank]

Shouldn' be a problem getting a new or reco TQ from a reputable Auto trans shop.
Kickdown cable (attaches to throttle bracket) adjustment is critical, as it controls pressures and gear change operation, check the w/shop manual for instructions to adjust cable, quite easy to do.
Or get a ZF mechanic that knows his job, you will know if it is adjusted by smooth up and down gear changes, BTW don't take off the valve body unless you know where all the springs and balls that will end up all over the place go back, kick down adjustment should fix any harsh gear changes, Regards Frank.







This ended up being the torque converter inner spline (drive?) It is completely stripped in the TC, but seems perfectly fine on the gearbox side (crowns seem good).

Here's some pics. Torque converter output
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/17195750/output_tc.jpg

Gearbox input:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/17195750/input_gb.jpg

What are my options here? I see Ashcroft UK sells torque converters, but can I get it reconditioned locally? Is it possible to get 2nd hand units? I'm in Brisbane.

Is the gearbox likely to be OK? Are there other checks I can do while it's out? I need to check the valve block to see why it's been kicking down at 40kph anway. Where can I get a valve block gasket?

Cheers,

Damien

[redrovertdi]

Frank, the valve body comes off to do the kick down cable, you will then have to dissasemble the valve body to upset any balls and springs and have bits fall out.
Im no expert but of the two valve bodies ive pulled apart[in dead zfs] they have both suffered from 1 broken valve spring each.
Earlier today i picked up a complete runner 300tdi zf box with 300,000ks on it, was working well and will look into putting a rebuild kit through it, kits with clutches and steels appear to be around the $450 mark delivered[that kit includes the steel plate between the valve bodies- one of which i have down stairs that is rusted with a broken spring]

[Tank]

Unless the kickdown cable is broken there is no need to remove it from the box, the adjustment is done at the throttle plate on the injector pump, hope you know where all the ball valves go, Regards Frank.







Frank, the valve body comes off to do the kick down cable, you will then have to dissasemble the valve body to upset any balls and springs and have bits fall out.
Im no expert but of the two valve bodies ive pulled apart[in dead zfs] they have both suffered from 1 broken valve spring each.
Earlier today i picked up a complete runner 300tdi zf box with 300,000ks on it, was working well and will look into putting a rebuild kit through it, kits with clutches and steels appear to be around the $450 mark delivered[that kit includes the steel plate between the valve bodies- one of which i have down stairs that is rusted with a broken spring]

[damienb]

My kickdown was fine, but I do need to pull and dissassemble the valve block since its habit of shifting to first in 40 is probably found there. Will ring around Tuesday for the TC.

There's a good writeup linked off here:-
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/discovery-2/184004-zf-4hp22-problems-valve-block-rebuild-link.html

/Damien