Premature Failure Of Mitsubishi Galant failed ring gears on Mitsubishi Galant converters. Most of...
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Torque Converter Rebuilders Association November 2010 Issue 2, Volume 9 [email protected] www.tcraonline.com PLATINUM SPONSORS: Monthly publication of TCRA newsletter provided by Melissa Hall T orque converter rebuilders have been reporting an increase in the number of failed ring gears on Mitsubishi Galant converters. Most of the failed ring gears are found on 2006-2008 vehicles equipped with V6 engines, and the failures seem to occur soon after the vehicle’s starter has been replaced. Prior to the ring gear failures, most customers report hearing a noise during startup followed by a starter non-engagement condition. In most vehicles, the starter ring gear is located on the outer diameter of the flex plate; when a ring gear fails, the flex plate must be replaced. On most Mitsubishi Galants, the ring gear is mounted directly on the converter, which makes it more difficult and much more expensive to replace. If the mileage of the vehicle or the appearance of the ATF makes the condition of the transmission questionable, replacing the converter and overhauling the transmission may be a better option than simply replacing the converter. If it is a low-mileage vehicle and the ATF appears to be in good condition, it is possible to replace only the ring gear. Unfortunately, the location of the ring gear on the Galant converters makes it impossible to replace the gear without disassembling the converter. The welds used to secure the ring gear to the cover are too close to the TCC reacting surface to allow the ring gear to be replaced with the converter still assembled. A ring gear typically can be removed from the converter by machining the welds off on a lathe. On some models of the Galant the ring gear is mounted to the outer diameter of the converter cover. On the 2006-2008 Galant, the ring gear is mounted to the front of the cover directly adjacent to the four mounting pads. The close proximity of the ring gear to the mounting pads makes ring gear removal more difficult. On those converters, a milling machine is a better option than machining the welds off on a lathe. If you are only removing one ring gear, you can secure the cover directly to the bed of the milling machine, see below. If you are removing more than one ring gear, you may want to mount your cover to a turntable. To remove the weld, plunge into the weld until the milling bit contacts the ring gear (the ring gear is harder than the weld and has a different feel on the cross feed). Do not force the milling bit into the ring gear. If you do, the bit will quickly become dull. Why did the OEM ring gear fail? While the cause of the ring gear damage is not totally clear, all known failures have been in vehicles with aftermarket replacement starters. The OEM replacement starter cost about $160, so customers often elect to go with an aftermarket starter that is about $40 less. In the short run, these customers did save $40, but in the long-run they also had to pay for the R & R of the converter, the cost of the replacement converter and opted to go back to the OEM replacement starters to prevent a repeat failures. Ed Lee ©2010 Sonnax NEWS BRIEF TCRA member awarded 2010 BBB Integrity Award C ertified Transmission is proud to have received the 2010 BBB Integrity Award. Since 1995 the Better Business Bureau serving Nebraska, South Dakota and southwest Iowa has presented the prestigious BBB Integrity Awards to recognize those firms whose business practices and related activities exemplify the BBB’s mission and principles which include honesty, commitment and accountability. The BBB Integrity Awards recognize companies that go above and beyond in serving their customers and communities. Unlike other awards, the BBB Integrity Awards focus on demonstrated ethical business practices, rather than a company’s growth, profitability or popularity. The BBB Integrity Award applications are not only nomination based. All businesses, organizations and charities located in the BBB’s service area, that have been operating under the same ownership for three years or more, are eligible to apply. Independent panels of judges from the business and academic communities select the award winners. TCRA says ‘goodbye’ to Robert Mock T he TCRA has received word of the recent death of Robert Mock of Mock’s Transmission in Cottage Grove, Oregon. Bob was 64. He is survived by his wife, Carol and two children. Bob was a long time member and supporter of TCRA and he will be missed. A memorial donation has been sent to the American Cancer Society in his name. The business will continue to be run by their son Bob, who has been recently trained in converter rebuilding, in addition to being well trained in transmission rebuilding. Premature Failure Of Mitsubishi Galant Ring Gears The cover can be secured directly to the bed of the milling machine when removing only one ring gear.
Transcript of Premature Failure Of Mitsubishi Galant failed ring gears on Mitsubishi Galant converters. Most of...
Torque Converter Rebuilders Association
November 2010Issue 2, Volume 9
PLATINUM SPONSORS: Monthly publication of TCRA newsletter provided by Melissa Hall
Torque converter rebuilders have been reporting an increase in the number
of failed ring gears on Mitsubishi Galant converters. Most of the failed ring gears are found on 2006-2008 vehicles equipped with V6 engines, and the failures seem to occur soon after the vehicle’s starter has been replaced. Prior to the ring gear failures, most customers report hearing a noise during startup followed by a starter non-engagement condition. In most vehicles, the starter ring gear is located on the outer diameter of the flex plate; when a ring gear fails, the flex plate must be replaced. On most Mitsubishi Galants, the ring gear is mounted directly on the converter, which makes it more difficult and much more expensive to replace. If the mileage of the vehicle or the appearance of the ATF makes the condition of the transmission questionable, replacing the converter and overhauling the transmission may be a better option than simply replacing the converter. If it is a low-mileage vehicle and the ATF appears to be in good condition, it is possible to replace only the ring gear. Unfortunately, the location of the ring gear on the Galant converters makes it impossible to replace the gear without disassembling the converter. The welds used to secure the ring gear to the cover are too close to the TCC reacting surface to allow the ring gear to be replaced with the converter still assembled. A ring gear typically can be removed from the converter by machining the welds off on a lathe. On some models of the Galant the ring gear is mounted to the outer diameter of the converter cover. On the 2006-2008 Galant, the ring gear is mounted to the front of the cover directly adjacent to the four mounting pads. The
close proximity of the ring gear to the mounting pads makes ring gear removal more difficult. On those converters, a milling machine is a better option than machining the welds off on a lathe. If you are only removing one ring gear, you can secure the cover directly to the bed of the milling machine, see below.
If you are removing more than one ring gear, you may want to mount your cover to a turntable. To remove the weld, plunge into the weld until the milling bit contacts the ring gear (the ring gear is harder than the weld and has a different feel on the cross feed). Do not force the milling bit into the ring gear. If you do, the bit will quickly become dull.
Why did the OEM ring gear fail? While the cause of the ring gear damage is not totally clear, all known failures have been in vehicles with aftermarket replacement starters. The OEM replacement starter cost about $160, so customers often elect to go with an aftermarket starter that is about $40 less. In the short run, these customers did save $40, but in the long-run they also had to pay for the R & R of the converter, the cost of the replacement converter and opted to go back to the OEM replacement starters to prevent a repeat failures.
Ed Lee©2010 Sonnax
NEWS BRIEFTCRA member awarded 2010
BBB Integrity Award
Certified Transmission is proud to have received the 2010 BBB
Integrity Award. Since 1995 the Better Business Bureau serving Nebraska, South Dakota and southwest Iowa has presented the prestigious BBB Integrity Awards to recognize those firms whose business practices and related activities exemplify the BBB’s mission and principles which include honesty, commitment and accountability. The BBB Integrity Awards recognize companies that go above and beyond in serving their customers and communities. Unlike other awards, the BBB Integrity Awards focus on demonstrated ethical business practices, rather than a company’s growth, profitability or popularity. The BBB Integrity Award applications are not only nomination based. All businesses, organizations and charities located in the BBB’s service area, that have been operating under the same ownership for three years or more, are eligible to apply. Independent panels of judges from the business and academic communities select the award winners.
TCRA says ‘goodbye’ toRobert Mock
The TCRA has received word of the recent death of Robert Mock
of Mock’s Transmission in Cottage Grove, Oregon. Bob was 64. He is survived by his wife, Carol and two children. Bob was a long time member and supporter of TCRA and he will be missed. A memorial donation has been sent to the American Cancer Society in his name. The business will continue to be run by their son Bob, who has been recently trained in converter rebuilding, in addition to being well trained in transmission rebuilding.
Premature Failure Of Mitsubishi Galant Ring Gears
The cover can be secured directly to the bed of the milling machine when removing only one ring gear.
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TransmissionCertified
Recently we attended the ATRA expo in San Antonio. The purpose of this
trip was to stay in touch with industry happenings. It was an opportunity to see what issues the transmission industry is facing. If you are strictly in the converter business, sometimes it is hard to get away to an event like this that may not seem specifically related to what you do. Of course, that is one way to look at it. On the other hand, these are your customers and knowing their needs is critical to your success. We sat in on several technical seminars, and although none were torque converter related, we gained some valuable information. Mike Souza presented a seminar on the RE5RO5As. The key concern with this unit tends to be water/coolant contamination. The problem is it is not the typical pink milky condition you may be accustomed to seeing. In fact, many times visual inspection will not give you any indication there is contamination. This is only a problem if you are reusing frictions or bearings in the converter or your customer doesn’t solve the contamination issue during rebuild. Another important topic that was brought up several times was OE fluid. It is common in the converter industry to pre-lube converters after rebuild with transmission fluid. There are several different opinions on mixing fluid and the impact that may have. This of course is a technical article in itself, but I will
give you this thought. If you are pre-lubing your converters with a bulk fluid that is red in color and your customer is using an OE fluid that my be blue in color (some CVTs) even if you don’t develop a driveability problem when the fluid is mixed it tends to turn purple and it resembles fluid that has had some type of failure involving an aluminum component. Maybe you get to cut this converter open again to prove it didn’t fail or maybe you don’t. Either way it’s something to think about. Moving on from fluids there were several other converters discussed. The 722 and all the issues covered at the TCRA seminar in Dayton this past year were a big topic as well as 4F27E units and the ever increasing shift to CVTs. Of course the one constant about these events is the opportunity to network with the industries best. Not unlike TCRA seminars people who attend other industry events have plenty of ideas to share. It is opportunities like these that make these events priceless in my opinion. Sitting here writing this article is making me look forward to TCRA 2011. We were able line up a couple of commitments while we were in San Antonio as well. I can’t give you all the details yet but it looks like the city will be windy so keep your calendar clear for mid May and expect a formal announcement soon.
Jeff StuckTCRA President
TCRA members attend ATRA Expo
Keep up on 2011 TCRA seminar announcements, schedules and speakers in upcoming editions of the newsletter and online at
www.tcraonline.com.
