Transmission failure at 5941 miles: Conclusion

[Alan]

Okay guys and gals....here's the exact scoop on my transmission. Just got back from picking up my baby at the dealership.
See this post for background:
http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=8444

These notes are directly from the invoice and is detailed here exactly as it is written:

Tech notes:
DIAG R&I TRANS TEARDOWN O.HAUL TRANS AND VALVEBODY FLUSH COOLER LINES
REPL. INT ONE-WAY SPRAG, T-CONV, FOW, INT, AND DIR CLUTCHES.
FRONT PUMP GASKET TORN AND LEAKING. INT ONE-WAY SPRAG INT LOCKING-UP
AND CAUSING DAMAGE TO CLUTCHES. ROADTEST TO VERIFY REPAIR
FAIL PART 7A089 CONDITION CODE 69

ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION DIAGNOSIS - DIAGNOSIS
TRANSMISSION ASSEMBLY - REMOVE AND INSTALL OR REPLACE
EXTRA TIME FOR POST ROAD TEST. (AFTER REPAIR)
EXTRA TIME TO MOUNT TRANSMISSION ON A BENCH FIXTURE
TRANSMISSION ASSEMBLY - OVERHAUL
EXTRA TIME TO CLEAN, INSPECT AND REUSE ELASTOMERIC REUSABLE
TRANSMISSION OIL COOLER AND/OR COOLER LINES - FLUSH
MAIN CONTROL VALVE (ASSEMBLY) - OVERHAUL


QTY PART
1 KIT-TRANS GSKT & OIL
1 *FT-105 TRANS FILTER
1 GASKET-TRANS VLV BOD
1 GASKET-TRANS CONTR V
1 *CONV ASY - TR REMFG
1 CORE CHG REMFG
1 *CL ASY-TRANS INTERM
4 PLATE ASY-TRANS INTE
6 PLATE ASY-TRANS DIR
5 *PLATE ASY-CL INTERM
3 PLT-TRANS INTER CL E
6 PLATE-TRANS DIR CL E
5 PLT-TRANS FWD CL EXT
14 FLU TRANS AUTO

PARTS $560.21
LABOR $725.58
TOTAL $1285.79
FAC WARRANTY $1285.79


The drive home seemed to be okay. Punched it a few times, tried it with OD-on and OD-off. All okay, but I could "smell" the new transmission. It was a very distinct odor!

Questions, comments, general discussion?

[SHERIFF]

In some cases a rebuilt transmission is often better than a factory assembly line build. At least you have the remainder of the 3 year 36,000 mile warranty to see if it holds up. (or extended warranty if you purchased it)

Good luck and keep the faith!

[Fourth Horseman]

It sounds like they were very thorough. Personally, I'd give it a week of light use (ie. no hard accelerations, downshifts, etc.) to see how it behaves. I imagine at the end of that time the 'new' smell will fade. If all is good at the end of that period then you'll probably never have any trouble with it again. Glad you got it taken care of quickly and are back on the road!

[Alan]

I can't say enough about my dealership, the Service Manager and the Service Dept employees, and the mechanic. I know it's a recently purchased vehicle, but this dealer is just different. They are a class above the rest. Each person who passes me makes sure I've been helped...and it doesn't matter if they are in sales, service, or the coffee guy. Everyone asks! I've never experienced that sort of service.

They make it so all I have to do is sit back and they do the rest. From servicing the vehicle, keeping me updated on the issue, to the rental car process (which was paid for by them for an entire week). Never once did I have to life a finger to do anything. Wow! What a dealer!

[SergntMac]

"DIAG R&I TRANS TEARDOWN O.HAUL TRANS AND VALVEBODY FLUSH COOLER LINES REPL. INT ONE-WAY SPRAG, T-CONV, FOW, INT, AND DIR CLUTCHES. FRONT PUMP GASKET TORN AND LEAKING. INT ONE-WAY SPRAG INT LOCKING-UP AND CAUSING DAMAGE TO CLUTCHES. ROADTEST TO VERIFY REPAIR FAIL PART 7A089 CONDITION CODE 69"

Looks like they rebuilt your whole tranny, Alan. Judging by the tech's comments and parts list, I'd say you lost your Intermediate clutch pack "c" clip, and everything burned up from there. This has happened to a few of us, apparently your's lasted until the reverse clutch pack gave out. All of this would have overheated the tranny fluid, so, it's best to replace what may or may not have been affected by that heat. They did replace your torque converter with a remanfactured unit, which is fine, as long as you didn't lose a Stallion in the exchange.

Thanks for the details, Alan, happy motoring.

[Ross]

Glad to see another MM back on the Houston roads.

[Alan]

Mac,

I knew you'd help me decipher all that lingo! Thanks!
Part of me is glad for the rebuild, but I'm a little worried at the same time. Glad it happened so early in my car's life...just in case it happens again. If it does, I'll have plenty of time to have it rebuilt again. I'll just have to have faith that I didn't get screwed on the parts.

[Ross]

This has got me thinking, I just had a 30K service, including changing tranny fluid and filter. If there were potential problems like this on my car, is it likely that the LM wrenches would have noticed it and done something about it? Or would they have likely just changed the fluid and filter and not really looked for anything else? My gut tells me that they wouldn't do much of an inspection while the pan was off.

[merc406]

This has got me thinking, I just had a 30K service, including changing tranny fluid and filter. If there were potential problems like this on my car, is it likely that the LM wrenches would have noticed it and done something about it? Or would they have likely just changed the fluid and filter and not really looked for anything else? My gut tells me that they wouldn't do much of an inspection while the pan was off.


Depends on who did it, a qualified mech. or an intern.

[RF Overlord]

is it likely that the LM wrenches would have noticed it and done something about it? My gut tells me that they wouldn't do much of an inspection while the pan was off.

Ross:

Unfortunately, there isn't much they CAN tell by just removing the pan...unless there were pieces of the internals down in the pan, or extremely heavy deposits, excessive metal filings on the magnet, etc...or the fluid was really burnt and grungy...if any of the above was true, they SHOULD have brought it to your attention, as you are about to be SOL...

Just because they DIDN'T see any of this, doesn't mean you're out of the woods...the spiral-lock that fails won't necessarily cause any of the above issues...it fails, and shortly thereafter you're walking...that's the part that scares me the most...there's little, if any, warning...

[Ross]

Kind of gives you a real confident feeling, driving alone in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere, doesn't it? :depress: