Thread: Ashcroft Vs Local

Sorry for the unclear explanation.

1.It was only the converter that went to TCE,,and it was the standard converter out of the car,there were no faults with it when removed.

1a.The whole lot were removed with a modified engine crane that can lift it all out in one piece,with the rear of the car up on ramps for a better angle.
First thing done before removal was to put a 1/2" x 6" dyna bolt with chain loop in the garage floor at the back of the car and a safety strap around the rear diff to stop it running away,
remember you won't have any hand brake,, and as always SAFETY FIRST or they'll use your car for the Hearse.

2.the Transmission went to our local specialist whom i've known for 20yrs.
and it was completely rebuilt with all new parts.cost $2k,,again no faults known when removed.

2a.Transfer case also completely O/hauled,Bearings,thrust washers,seals and centre diff thrust washers.

3.The reason for rebuilds is that i have a fully rebuilt 4.6ltr to fit back in the car with a KentH180 cam(thanks Pedro),It will also have a Mark Adams(Thanks Pedro)engine management computer Upgrade.as well as a new item from Mark with a transmission computer upgrade.

4.Every Bush/Rubber/Seal and moving Part is being removed ,Checked and replaced if in doubt.

5.All of this for about 1/10th of the cost of a D4,,Not that i don't want one.

6.All of this done with slave labour(Me)

7.End result will be a car that i know who to go to when something goes wrong,,The Slave

8.Total cost so far for all is just shy of $4.5k

9.I'll have an almost new Black D2a with 2 of everything for around $14k all upOne Happy Chappy.

cheers
Paul

Well now.

In line with my latest post 'Out of warranty by six weeks' I have the following to report.

The secondhand automatic failed after 4.5 months, warranty was 3 months.

The transmission failed probably because of an overheating problem, the head gasket is currently being replaced.

My initial transmission had had a very hard life if the wear on the tow hitch and pin are an indication.

The TC clutch gave up and sent particles through the box, finances at the time meant fix as cheaply as I could but, I spent the money on an upgraded torque convertor from Torque Convertor Technologies in Melbourne, V8 larger clutch and lower stall speed that I have described elsewhere.

I have had ongoing over heating problems for some time and it has all come to a head (no pun intended) now, in view of the overheating and my attempts to overcome it I was still driving the car with the engine fan OFF as I was in the middle of trying to fabricate a frame to suit electric fans. Wrong wrong wrong, but I did and that probably had a bearing on the failure so soon.

Now TRS did look after me but there was a problem getting the torque convertor off the crank shaft extension, they had had trouble fitting it in the first place now they had to end up cutting the extension in half to get it off. Because of this they could not refit it, besides they didn't want to I think. They claimed that the TC was part of the problem.

Now, in my mind this is where dealing with a local company comes into it's own.

As strangy has reported to me.

"The original had a spigot with a very large chamfer to locate then an under cut following the location surface. (think exaggerated mushroom shape)
My TCT unit had the chamfer but no undercut which effectively created a larger locating surface area over the length of the spigot.

The undercut on the original gave less surface area to the spigot and allowed the torque converter a little extra angular movement when fitting.

This hasn't posed any issues for me and I did have to remove the box after I fitted it all up because I needed to fab custom oil cooler lines.

No probs removing or refitting. Though I think the TCT converter spigot requires more accuracy/care when lining up the box.

I would be very doubtful and surprised if the TCT converter was the cause of box failure. unless it came apart internally its a big call.

Reading your posts on this, I cant help wonder if the TRS guys were in a hurry.

IMO if the spigot locating hole wasn't thoroughly cleaned and lubed, combined with a longer spigot surface area and not quite optimum alignment when refitting, then the spigot could be damaged/burred and the problem could occur.

As a Fitter/Machinist in a previous era, I can only see the above as reason for the TC to be stuck, assuming spigot measurements were checked."

Now, everything said in the communique seems to be spot on, the new convertor is better made and ever so slightly different, but, it was fitted dry and slightly misaligned.

I have just been over to Melbourne with my TC and TCT have shown me the problem and, incorrect/poor fitting of an unknown better product was the problem. TCT have even taken back my TC to flush it out of the contaminated oil and you can't do that from overseas.

You can't beat that.

Overheating is what caused the 2hnd transmission to fail, nothing else.

I have nothing but praise for Torque Convertor Technologies, their service and knowledge is first class.

I was also able to observe some of their procedures, brazing the vanes in place and their quality seems up there with any.

Thanks again TCT.

Cheers

Mike