Another sad repair story.....

[thearrow]

About six weeks ago I started to have trouble with the auto on my Cat. One Saturday it started to slip and change gear randomly, however the next day it was OK. So about a week later the transmission stops working completely and next thing she is on the back of a tow truck off to be repaired.

After a few days my repairer calls me and says “so sorry but the only one we can find is in a wreckers and cost $2000.00 with no guarantee”.

I get on the internet and find that Cougar auto transmissions are notorious for failing as they were manufactured by Mazda as their CD4E gearbox and were used in heaps of different cars in the USA.

So methinks it shouldn’t be too hard to find a company in the USA who can send me one or even deliver to my nominated freight forwarder in Los Angeles…….Guess what???.......Think again.!!!

I contact at least five companies who advise on their web sites that they remanufacture CD4E gearboxes but they all refuse point blank to export. When I ask why, I just get told “no we don’t do it” and in some cases get told “get your repairer to contact us” but when I tell them I am in Australia they just say “sorry”.

In the end I find someone who will do it and they turn out to be very helpful and very professional so I can highly recommend……www.portlandtorque.com total cost was U$1830.00 delivered to Los Angeles, freight and handling will be another A$350:00 and import GST = A$250:00.

My gearbox finally arrived over the weekend and I picked it up and delivered it today installation is quoted at A$600:00 with another $350:00 for a transmission cooler.

So hopefully will be back on the road next week cos I am sick and tired of getting the bus to work every day.

This is my story........sad but true.

[XB GS 351 Coupe]

Not a bad outcome really.

Good thing is you are smart enough to do your own leg work and saved yourself a packet, I do the same thing.

[syl77]

$2000 from a wreck without warranty... what a joke!

[Thunderbird]

Glad you found a solution - there are no many out there.
But you don't really have a warranty with the USA imported one do you..?? will they pay for R&R and return to the US..?? if it faults on the next.. ..?? month/6 mths etc.. or does the mechanic get the blame..
Don't know how many answers there are but at least you got back on the road.

[REDDYZ]

Next time give a call to Manuel Automatics in Melbourne who rebuilds all kinds of transmissions. They are No.1 in European Transmissions, DSG, CVTs as well. They have diagnostic equipment for any kind of car. They stock all kinds of transmission parts and they can re-bore worn valve body and re-use it again. They can rebuild with heavy duty parts to suit specific needs. Owner is president for Automatic transmission rebuilders association in Australasia and they are No.1 in Australia with over 40 years experience in Industry. They take up challenging jobs and are not giving up type. Worth giving them a call. If you have a reliable transmission repairer who knows what he is doing, you can send just the transmission to them. They will rebuild and send it back with detailed instructions. They can organise shipping at affordable prices.

PS: They rebuild Cougar transmissions too.
www.manuelautomatics.com.au

[thearrow]

Been back on the road for a little while and going OK with only the fuel pump and the leaking timing chain cover to be fixed......or so I thought...

The new problem is........RUST

Two places......just above the windscreen where the windscreen rubber meets the roofline and on the tailgate hinge which is only minor.