Thread: D2 auto trans repair/replacement

Second trans looks much more promising. At least the oil looks red and the pan isn’t full of metal.
And it smells like a transmission not something dragged from the ashes of one.



Steve

Drum looks good where the earlier one was worn. There are some slight marks but they look worse in the photo than they actually are. Probably don’t really need to, but I’ll give them a very slight blend to smooth them out.




Steve

How are you going with this?

I haven't done a trans in a while but I always spread everything out in a line from front to back in order of removal then replace worn bits and reassemble.

Been busy but no major progress on the rebuild at this stage.
I’d ordered the rebuild kit from Ashcroft but they are having issues with supply of the frictions.

As a backup I’ve also ordered a seal kit and frictions from the US so will see which gets here first.

In the meantime I’ve replaced the rear main seal on the engine and fitted a new drive/flex plate.
Stripped the starter and ordered a contact rebuild kit for that, as well as making up a tool for the press to compress the clutch springs.

So lots happening - just not much progress!!

Steve

Just a thought, if you haven't sent the torque converter off yet, what about an upgrade to the V8 one instead using the ashcroft kit and a locally sourced converter?

Thanks John - I dropped off the original converter last week for a rebuild so it should be ready soon.

I’ve actually got a V8 converter here too, but hadn’t looked into what was involved with the swap.
Having a quick look now - seems like basically just the v8 converter, 4 bolt flex plate to suit and a modified crank adapter to suit the longer length of the converter and different spigot.

Steve

Overhaul kit and frictions arrived from the US late last week so I’ve started putting it back together.

The overhaul manual is pretty comprehensive, but there’s definitely some minor differences between the bits I have in front of me and the photos in the manual.

Made up a tool for the press to compress the piston springs so I could pull them apart to change the seals.



Here’s a photo of one of the springs and the half round stepped retainers in the center. Sort of like removing retainers from engine head valves - compress the spring, remove the retainer and release the pressure from the spring.



Think it’s the C and D clutches/brakes (but don’t quote me), and they have an interesting arrangement of steels.
Note how the uppermost steels in the upper pack are in one slot and then a thick one, then the next ones down are in different slots.
Took a bit of head scratching and double checking against the second stripped trans to get it right. The manual does explain it but it wasn’t making sense to me - not helped by my trans having an additional plate in that clutch compared to what the manual shows.



This is the completed assembly.



And back in the case


Steve

Making steady progress. The overhaul kit and frictions from Ashcroft arrived today, along with an LT230 master rebuild kit. I think that is going to be a job for 'ron.

Got as far as having the "A" clutch and input shaft fitted.

Some more hints/tips/gotcha's so far:

Firstly, the Alto friction kit that I got from the US (P/N 053752B ) isn't quite right for these transmissions.
The friction plates for one of the larger diameter packs in the transmission has different inner diameter finer pitch teeth than the other similar (outside diameter) pack.
In the Alto kit all the plates of that outer size have the coarse teeth - so you don't get any fine pitch plates - and have spare coarse ones.
The friction kit from Ashcrofts has the correct plates - but the fine pitch ones are Allomatic brand. Pretty sure all the others from Ashcroft are Alto's.







Second thing with the frictions is you can have either a 5 plate or 6 plate "A" clutch pack.
The Alto kit I got only had 5 frictions, but the transmission has 6 in it.
Again - the Ashcroft kit is correct for the trans and has the 6 plates.
With these sort of variations it makes sense why Ashcroft want to know the serial number of the trans when you order a kit from them.

FWIW - if its only your "A" clutch that is fried and you need both frictions and steels, Alto do a "PowerPack" A clutch kit that has 6 plates. Approx USD$100 delivered from evilbay.

Seal kits:
I bought an Autottec brand one from US while I was waiting on Ashcroft sourcing frictions.
It comes with all the o-rings in one bag - and all the steel sealing rings in another. Its a PITA trying to match up the seals you've just pulled out of a piston with a pile of mixed sizes on the bench.

The seals Ashcroft sent are an Alto kit. The seals for each clutch pack come in separate bags.
A MUCH better idea IMO.











Finally, since it seems to be the product of choice for all the transmission guys on Youtube - I bought some of this Assemblee Goo (from ebay).




Not particularly cheap at $40 delivered, but I figured with the amount of work that goes into doing the rebuild and removing/refitting the trans I'd spend a couple of dollars on a product that would hopefully make it easier to assemble things without risking damaging a seal etc.
There are 2 flavours of the - the green one I bought is a heavy tacky type - reminds me of boot polish in a tin from days gone by - solid but turned slippery if you ran your finger across it.
The blue flavour is lighter and can be applied with a brush.
The youtube guys brush the blue one around all O-rings before assembly, and often use the green one for holding torrington thrust bearings and washers in place when assembling.
I used the green one for both applications - just wiped it around the O-rings with my finger instead of brushing it.
Definitely helps with getting the clutch pistons back into their housings with the new seals on. I was able to press the pistons in using my thumbs - usually just holding a bit of pressure on them until they popped and slid into place.
Using clean transmission fluid would do the job, just messier.


Steve