Well it had to happen one day ...

 

Gearchanges, particularly 1st to 2nd have been getting more mushy, despite the HKS ALC and yesterday I got something just like clutch slip in second. Now driving around very carefully !

 

I'm assuming that it's the combination of 1990 auto, 70,000 miles, ALC fitted a bit late in the gearboxes life and the bits of engine tuning I have.

 

I'm probably going to get Silvia to take the gearbox out and get it rebuilt. I know the people they use do an upgrade to increase line pressure - has anyone got experience of this ? Is it the same as the HKS ALC ? Or does it increase pressure under all conditions and not just when driving hard ?

 

Anyone else got any ideas of who could do the work, based on actual experience please ! One essential for me is a loan car though as I don't have the luxury of a second car.

 

Final question, anyone got thoughts on how long the box will survive if I continue to nurse it ?

 

Dave. (About to get considerably poorer).

 

Hi,

Had mine rebuilt back in feb this year after something when bang in a large way at about 90mph, it also a 1990 auto box, silvia rebuilt it with the altered valving etc, the car now drives perfectly and has very snappy gear changes and feels generally smoother than before. The following is what they say in their literature :-

 

The "fast road" rebuild specification will improve the change speed on very powerful cars, through a higher applied pressure to the clutch packs. This prevents scorching of the friction materials during the second stage of upshifting, leading to a more positive change and less wear.

 

Fast road reconditioning if the bar is a normal failure is apparently £1400 plus £250 to remove and refit it. Also they will insist that you have the oil cooler upgraded for warranty purposes, £250 + £50 fitting. Mine cost £2100 for the rebuild as it let go in a big way they said they had never seen one quite so bad, hope this helps.

 

Dave,

is this the point where you get a price to convert from auto to manual and compare against the rebuild cost ?

 

 

Hairsy,

 

I just had mine rebuilt and its crap. Started slipping within a week! and other problems with it also.

 

I Had a test drive in Coogs's auto Z who had similar problems to mine (slipping gears, slipping out of O/D etc) and he took it to Silvia for the work. The guy they use upgraded the line pressure and a few other upgrades were made. This elleviates the need of an ALC I think? I must say that after having a test drive it was spot on. Very smooth with precise and quick gear changes, much better than stock. Coogs said that he hadn't had any problems sinse.

 

I wish I took mine to Silvia in the first place. I would be supprised if it cost you 2K as it sounds just like a 'software' failure. Trashed hardware internals costs extra. Also, you may wish to sell the ALC as the line pressure upgrade can be done internaly, lowering the overall cost a bit.

 

A secondary oil coolor is as absolute MUST! Trust me!

 

I will not name the place I took it to just yet as I am giving them a chance to put it right. If it gets nasty then I will name them on the forum. You can email me if you want and I will give you the company name via email as a possible avoidance.

 

Andy

 

Sounds like the Silvia rebuild with upgrade is in order. Thanks all for your advice.

 

Anyone want to buy an HKS ALC ???

 

Dave

 

Dave,

 

If I had a second chance on a rebuild for an auto box then I would send it to level 10.

 

Z Viking can give you some advice on this!!

 

Steve

 

I agree Steve, Level 10 seems to be the best you can get for the Z. The ultimate bullet proof auto transmission for the Z. The problem being that I would have needed to puchase a second morgage to be able to afford the bloody thing!

 

Yours poorly even thinking about it,

 

Andy

 

Yup, very happy now with my Level 10 here, after recovering

from the financial crisis that is... ;)

 

The rebuild itself is $3200. The shipping is a killer of course, $800!

 

The planetary gears were worn out on mine so that did cost me extra :(

 

For an instant throttle response, their billit torque converter

is great. It's a bit pricey though, $1400.

If your transmission is blown then a lot of crap can wind up

in the TC, so you have to rebuild it!

 

Maciej

 

 

I'd certainly go for the level 10 if I had a bottomless wallet but unfortunately that's something of a dream ! Z Viking did let me know of a second hand one available on tt.net but it's still more expensive than a rebuild here and I would like the warranty - plus I'd still have the cost of changing it over (not a job I'd feel comfortable with).

 

Still appreciate all the suggestions though !

 

Dave