Thread: ZF 4HP22 Td5 automatic transmission - how long did yours last before rebuild/replace?

Purchased a second hand 1999 D2 TD5 quite some time ago, done nothing special to it. Previous owner towed horse floats. About 230,000 on it.

Curious! Are gearbox failures mostly internal, such as rapid wear of clutches, or more to do with externals such as broken hydraulic lines and flex plates?

I would have thought a 2.5 litre 5 cylinder would have been smoother and easier on a box compared to the 2.5 litre 4 cyclinder D1 Tdi300.

I find the TD5 a little more powerful, but not that much that it should destroy the box, and I assume the box was an upgrade compared to that in the D1 ie bigger torque converter and upgraded internals to match.

I have one Tdi300 on 600,000, original auto box, and just not being used at the moment for a noisy (original) injector nozzle. Another auto on 400,000, the other two auto on about 250,000 still going strong.

Picked mine up at 195K very sad all over. Replaced the fluid and filter several times to clean out and have used Penrite ATF always. Now getting to 260K only problem is an oil leak, drives fine.

Where is the leak coming from? It could be from the torque converter shaft seal in which case the torque converter bush could be worn out. This can happen if the mounting point lets go or the flex plate breaks allowing the torque converter to wobble about. This can take out the pump too and fruit the flywheel.mounting hub and torque converter spigot....

That was my scenario. .. small leak getting worse then no drive.

May pay to investigate soon😎

$260k and died. The Prev owner did some heavy towing and did not drive gently.

Complete rebuild done by Manuel s in Thomastown .

Make sure the filter is changed with every oil change or it can clog up and block flow, causing excessive wear.

Figured I would put my question here rather than starting a brand new thread.

I have had a tiny leak from the trans for a while now which wasnt to much of a concern, and I knew that I would eventually have to have the trans on Bessie rebuilt from previous jobs completed by TRS.

However.......

On the recommendation of an independent mechanic, he put in some penrite auto stop leak, when he topped up the trans oil for me. NOW, move forward a couple of days, and I now have a much more serious leak from the trans.

Bessie still drives and moves through gears smoothly though.

Went back to the Mechanic today, and quizzed him about it, and he did a quick back pedal saying that he doesnt like using that stuff (Why recommend it then?) He did say however that it could be that the stop leak has softened the seals which is why the more major leak, and it may do its job and seal in a week or so....wtf.

Needless to say im not taking Bessie to him again (The only reason I took it to him in the first place was to top up the transmission as I find it hard to get under her.)

OK so now my question is: Is there anything I can do to stem the flow? OR am I going to have to have the trans rebuilt sooner than what I planned?

Im feeling a little annoyed and stupid at the moment for allowing him to put the additive into the trans, but there isnt anything I can do about that now so have to work out what to do to rectify the issue.

Cheers

Matt

Most 'stop leak' type additives are seal softeners, and if somethinng like a POE oil have a high level of detergency, too, (as well as a seal swell characteristic) which may induce a leak by cleaning crud from around a seal.
I wouldn't think that world be normal for an AT but can definitely happen with an engine.

A very general FWIW on oil chemistry, POE's (esters) are blended with PAO's to balance/neutralise seal swell characteristics in oils.

I'd do as the mech suggested, leave for a week and then reevaluate.
BTW, which seal looks like it's letting go?

Originally Posted by southaussiematt

Figured I would put my question here rather than starting a brand new thread.

New threads are free to make. Make a new one and allow this one to stay on topic. You’ll be better for it to as it would attract more relevant responses to your query.