camboinc

With the help of Dave K and Dennis, we pulled the auto transmission out of my murf sc'ed 87 S4 on Saturday. I am pretty confident that the primary pump was the culprit for the no go on the blue ridge parkway at SITM. Steve Cattaneo was kind enough to fax me a picture laden troubleshooter to determine this.
You remove the regulator pressure allen bolt from the drivers side of the tranny.
Start the car up.
No fluid gushes out and its the primary gone bad.

Im thinking that maybe I should just get the A/T rebuilt while its out. I would prefer not to pull it back out yet again. That is, if I replace the primary pump, put it all back together and then the car wont move!

Steve C. comes highly recommended- its just the cost of the rebuild plus shipping both ways is not so palatable at the moment.

Anyone want to chime in here? Opinions, rants, suggestions?

Thanks much-
Brian

Landseer

Lots of documentation exists. Parts are reasonable, so I'm doing my own. Its out for reverse bands and parking pawl. Going through it all while its out.

White Lightnin'

Brian, it was a sad sight when your car got hauled to DR's... but having the tranny out can give you the opportunity to R&R your torque tube and thrust bearing at the same time!

And, with the tranny out -if there was anything else you needed or wanted to do in the rear of the car -now is the perfect time! Suspension mods; new or super beefed axle shafts to hand the SC's power; fuel supply repairs; brakes; etc.....

Depending on what needs to be done... having the tranny out could be a blessing in disguise!

Yeah, I'm an optimist sometimes!

dr bob

I guess I'd start saving my milk money and send it to Steve. Considering the slightly improved torque numbers you probably have, doing it half fast doesn't seem like the right longer-term solution. Of course, you can always just replace the pump and see what happens. IIRC from other transmissions, there's a serious alignment concern on the front pumps. Sometimes a special fixture is needed to get them 'just right'. Too tight in one direction and you have metal bits in the fluid and a junk trans in a minute or two. Too loose and there are performace and heating issues. I need to crack the AT manuals for this car to see if that applies, and I'm separated from my WSM's at the moment. I guess I -should- load the soft copies on my hard drive, and will someday I'm sure. I've done a few AT's in my lifetime and recognise the value of expert knowledge. I'll tackle almost anything in the car, but the auto trans is probably pretty safe from me.

David L. Lutz

If mine ever comes out again I am sending it to Steve, no question based on what I have read here over the past years.

Mrmerlin

Just send it to Steve C. if there was ever a place to cut corners this ISNT one of them.
While you have the trans and TT out you would be wise to replace the hoses for the trans fluid lines, if they are original its a great time for this job

David L. Lutz

Yep, i should of done this too. For me, it was a lot of work and time to get the rear end and the tranny out and for that reason alone it is the time to take care of those lines.

blown 87

Do it once, do it right, that means sending it to Steve.

AO

I going to stay out of this one...

bigmac

If it was me I would send it to Steve, but I am an old fool.

fraggle

Wow. A thread where everyone agrees on something!

auzivision

Okay, I'll dissent and offer a few other options that don’t require shipping transmissions. First are a couple used ones available within driving distance:

1988 Transmission Porsche 928 w/lckng diff-114K TR1191 $1400 Oil City Sales USA-MI(Mount-Pleasant) 989-773-9991

1988 Transmission Porsche 928 w/lckng diff-AT 114,000 AI1684 $1000 Brims Imports Auto USA-OH(Kenton) 1-800-221-3874

Or maybe this outfit in Muncie , IN:
http://www.adsitco.com/

I pilfered this information from the following thread:
https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...uild-cost.html

I posted this last year. My wrench used these guys to do an 85 auto for a female in town. He said it worked out well. Obviously, you have to factor pulling it and shipping it.

I was on the throne reading through an old Car and Driver and noticed there was an ad for Mercedes Rebuilt Transmissions by Adsitco in Muncie, IN. I sent them an e-mail stating that the 928 had a 722.3 and asking if they would rebuild one. Here was the response. Seems that if you are close to Muncie, IN, this is probably a good option.


Shawn,

Thanks for your inquiry on our transmission, here are the quotes you
requested for your 928.

Rebuilt Transmission - $1395.00 (with an online or fax order)
Rebuilt Torque Converter - $265.00 (with an online or fax order)

We would have to rebuild your cores.

Warranty:
One year unlimited mileage with the purchase of a rebuilt transmission.
Two year unlimited mileage with the purchase of a rebuilt transmission
and a torque converter.

If you have any additional questions give me a call at 1-800-521-7656.

Regards,
Reece
Adsit Company Inc.
www.adsitco.com


That said, I think you might want to check out Forward Air. They’ll ship a transmission for less than $150 each way.
www.forwardair.com
Of course, Steve C. would have to be willing to pick it up/drop it off at the nearest terminal.

Black Sea RD

Since you've increased your power output, suggest having your transmissuion rebuilt instead of sticking in a used one and having to possibly be at this same point sooner than you want.

Steve C. would be our choice too.

camboinc

Thanks for responding everyone. I do plan on some WYAI stuff. Suspension has already been replaced (new shocks and GT springs from Andrew). I'll call Steve later today.

Clearly, Andrew is the non committal homo of the bunch...

IndyMatt

I am in the same position you are with having to get my tranny rebuilt. I plan on keeping this car for a LONG time and for me the piece of mind with have Cattaneo redoing the transmission as well as him upgrading the internals is worth that to me.

However, I am VERY close to Muncie and Adsitco so I will take a look at what they have to offer. But I still think in the long run, I will be using Cattaneo. My time is very precious to me so me having to do this once is worth it to me. While the trans is out I will be doing the lines, TT Rebuild and Clamp from Constantine, replacing the gear selector cable, motor mounts, oil pan gasket, and steering rack bushings. This will all be done next winter, when I get back from Iraq. There are other various jobs that I want to get done next winter as well but we will see.

You are already saviong on labor by pulling it and installing it yourself. So, even if you have Catteneo do it, I'm willing to bet that you are still saving from having it ALL done by a shop.

By the way Cattaneo has his own freight company that he uses. I can't remember the name off the top of my head. I do remember it being around $150 each way though.