AU III transmission slipping when cold only

[saber]

Hi guys

The old mans AU III Falcon ute tranny is slipping.
It only slips when cold, from gear changes 2-3.
After the tranny warms up a little, there is no transmission slip. The tranny shifts pretty damn smooth after it's warmed up.

My main concern is that in the 300000km+ he's covered in the ute (bought new off the showroom floor), he has NEVER done a transmission service.

Would it be safe to do a service (drop pan, replace filter and refill with new oil)?
Or would it be best just to leave it until it dies? He has already resigned himself to a rebuild/replacement unit; I was hoping to spend a little cash in order to prolong the life of the tranny.

Any thought on the matter appreciated.

[Mr Hardware]

I would get a pro to do a trans service asap

[saber]

Originally Posted by Mr Hardware

I would get a pro to do a trans service asap

Yeah that would be ideal, but the old man doesn't wanna spend the cash!
For him, he is better off saving the cash from completing a tranny service, and putting that towards a rebuild when the time comes.

But it couldn't hurt the tranny if I did a service on it??? I've already done a service on my BFII falcon, and the tranny is better for it.

[Beer Baron]

Servicing prolongs the life of components. Slap that man, But then again its people like him that keeps me in a job.

[sneaky]

i had the tranny oil changed on my au3 for the first time at 170000k's. the mechanic (good friend) said that i should change it again every 5000k's for the next 10-15000k's. or get a 'powerflush' done at a proper transmission place.

the normal service was $100 or $120 for the filter/gasket/oil or the powerflush was about $180.. i went the powerflush option and i haven't had a problem since (18months and only 30,000k's)

[mik]

Originally Posted by saber

Yeah that would be ideal, but the old man doesn't wanna spend the cash!
For him, he is better off saving the cash from completing a tranny service, and putting that towards a rebuild when the time comes.

But it couldn't hurt the tranny if I did a service on it??? I've already done a service on my BFII falcon, and the tranny is better for it.

the way i look at it , driving it while its slipping it may well be damageing components that may not normally be needed to be replaced at rebuild time, unless he`s just gonna fork out a couple of thou?? to have a changeover box fitted then it does`nt matter, on the other hand it might only need some cheap components and a service and the bloody thing might go for another 200000 k`s for 4/5 hundred dollars, i`d be haveing a talk to an auto bloke pronto.

[JC]

As a short term solution, top the fluid up at least - that should stop the slipping when cold.

[saber]

Originally Posted by JC

As a short term solution, top the fluid up at least - that should stop the slipping when cold.

Could this cause any harm? Old (as in 300000km) fluid mixed in with a bit of new fluid?

[saber]

Originally Posted by Beer Baron

Servicing prolongs the life of components. Slap that man, But then again its people like him that keeps me in a job.

Haha!

Getting a 60 year old Italian man to change his mind is like turning water into wine! I've tried changing his mind, but he wont. Oh well, its his money I guess!

Also, seeing that you're in the trade, how long (on average) does the tranny last. Would 400000km or more be out of the question???

[Mr Hardware]

Getting 300k out of an AU unserviced box is almost impossible to start off with, to think that 400k is achievable will take a miracle.

[BAxtER]

Originally Posted by saber

Haha!

Getting a 60 year old Italian man to change his mind is like turning water into wine! I've tried changing his mind, but he wont. Oh well, its his money I guess!

Also, seeing that you're in the trade, how long (on average) does the tranny last. Would 400000km or more be out of the question???

LOL! my old man is greek...tried so hard to convince him to do a flush on his AU11 transmission at 60,000kms luckily he did it...1 year on its now clicked 66,000kms. Gear changes are very smooth thats for sure. Maybe just do the rebuild now??

[saber]

Originally Posted by BAxtER

LOL! my old man is greek...tried so hard to convince him to do a flush on his AU11 transmission at 60,000kms luckily he did it...1 year on its now clicked 66,000kms. Gear changes are very smooth thats for sure. Maybe just do the rebuild now??

I've advised him that a rebuid will be needed, and he realises this, but he wont bother until the tranny is dead and the car isn't moving.

I'm just dreading the call late one night:

" Mate, I'm on Springvale road, the car wont go anywhere for some reason....."

[Mr Hardware]

For reference in the taxis we used to get a usual high 300's out of a box
400 for a good one driven kindly and serviced every 40k
apparently the BA's with a cooler are seeing 530k out of a box, regularly.

[Bobman]

Change the oil and filter of the transmission and see how you go.

Many AUII/AUIII cabs at my old work slipped first thing in the morning (it was an effort to move 1cm), but once warm they were fine.

[BAxtER]

Originally Posted by saber

I've advised him that a rebuid will be needed, and he realises this, but he wont bother until the tranny is dead and the car isn't moving.

I'm just dreading the call late one night:

" Mate, I'm on Springvale road, the car wont go anywhere for some reason....."

Cant do much about their stubborness mate! Ahh well, at least you will look like the smarter one again for the 34,000th time ! Just as alwasy the case with our older folk.

[superyob]

Is there an external band adjustment that can be made? Not sure if these adjustments are available on more recent transmissions.

[JC]

Originally Posted by superyob

Is there an external band adjustment that can be made? Not sure if these adjustments are available on more recent transmissions.

In this case, it doesn't need an adjustment, it simply needs a top up of fluid. I've had 7 9or is that 8 or 9 by now) AUs, and only one of them was manual. out of the autos, 3 had the symptoms described above, and in each case, a top up of the fluid recitifed the issue (the worst one wouldn't go into reverse, but would go forward!). Not one was rebuilt. A full flush (1st choice) or even just a service (2nd choice) would be the way to go, but as a short term measure, a fluid top up is all that is required.

To the OP - Put it this way, if you try the top up, and it doesn't fix the problem, it's only a minimal outlay and this then points to the box being on it's last legs.

[66 coupe]

300,000+k's on the clock what will wear has worn, and changing fluids not going to fix it, sure a top up if its low might help, but friction materials are only going to last so long, and you will find a high percentage of its on the bottom of the pan. just keep it going until it stops then look at swapping / reconditioning the gearbox then

[nikolaospontus]

had simalur prob when cold changed oil and filter and know slips in second

[saber]

Boys, just a quick update.

I didn't change the oil and filter, as once again, the old mans see's it as a waste of money...

The tranny (from all reports) is on its last legs. How much would a rebuild cost?

Another thing, does anybody know of a decent shop that can do the rebuild on the Mornington Peninsula?

[Rfordsfun]

Hi ppl, soz to jump in here, but I've been looking for days. My AU ( Fairmont Ghia ) has 290k on it and the trans hasn't been touched for the last 150k, lol I bought grandmas car.. I'm having the devil and angel debate on my shoulders as to power flush, or drop and cycle, with reg drops. symptoms atm. is bit of a thud in 1st to 2nd, but only in warmer weather, needless to say " old jed had struck oil " when i check the fluid condition.. I got a spare box with low k's. but any technical advice as to weather, doing the drop and cycle service with new filter and ATF would obviously mean reduced thud ? as also resetting the trans comp after wards. would prefer getting all the life outta my current trans, as a working trans is a terrible thing to waste.. I'm leaning towards self service and maybe tweak s5 1/12.
Is that clock wise? great forum, here and my 1st ford not to mention all the stuff ive already had to do, and the few things i have left. to get this beast back to a sensible motorist's mode of mobility. cheers. thanks in advance. this model had some factory defects as I'm learning. love fixing my own cars, since birth

[Beer Baron]

Power flush it with a new filter, also add a magnet to the pan or clean it if t has one fitted. I wouldnt be touching the shift solenoid in a car with high km's, you may cause other problems like uni's failing or extension housing bush issues.

An after market external oil cooler will add life to an auto so I would be doing that too.

[Mr Hardware]

this thread makes me cringe

[smoo]

Originally Posted by Mr Hardware

For reference in the taxis we used to get a usual high 300's out of a box
400 for a good one driven kindly and serviced every 40k
apparently the BA's with a cooler are seeing 530k out of a box, regularly.

My old AU was a one owner taxi with an external cooler fitted, I owned it from 380-470k. Shes still going strong to this day on the original gearbox at about 480-490k, my estimate. Highest I've heard on an AU BTR.
300k without a service is a good innings. If anyone has had anything to do with BMWs, the ZF autos they use from the 1980s onwards are a 'sealed for life' unit (a crock of ***), which is probably why there are dozens of 15-20 year old BMWs around with buggered autos.

[Mr Hardware]

I have heard of a mil out of an AU BTR. It was an early AU futura - it was a quasi-taxi, one-owner and it basically lived on the highway its whole life, doing runs from Bribie to Bris daily. More of a limo life than anything, and the whole car serviced every 10k at Metro Ford. Did the mil, original auto and original motor, unopened. I dare say the auto had probably had solenoids changed however.

[Rfordsfun]

Originally Posted by Rfordsfun

Hi ppl, soz to jump in here, but I've been looking for days. My AU ( Fairmont Ghia ) has 290k on it and the trans hasn't been touched for the last 150k, lol I bought grandmas car.. I'm having the devil and angel debate on my shoulders as to power flush, or drop and cycle, with reg drops. symptoms atm. is bit of a thud in 1st to 2nd, but only in warmer weather, needless to say " old jed had struck oil " when i check the fluid condition.. I got a spare box with low k's. but any technical advice as to weather, doing the drop and cycle service with new filter and ATF would obviously mean reduced thud ? as also resetting the trans comp after wards. would prefer getting all the life outta my current trans, as a working trans is a terrible thing to waste.. I'm leaning towards self service and maybe tweak s5 1/12.
Is that clock wise? great forum, here and my 1st ford not to mention all the stuff ive already had to do, and the few things i have left. to get this beast back to a sensible motorist's mode of mobility. cheers. thanks in advance. this model had some factory defects as I'm learning. love fixing my own cars, since birth

Did it myself with hand pump to replace fluid took in 5 litres, and glad to say runs smooth like new, pics explain it . !! now to replace drivers door actuator, and adjust handbrake. ( had been driven with it on) can't wait. thanks guys

[nikolaospontus]

yeh drop pan will be all good

[saber]

Originally Posted by Rfordsfun

Did it myself with hand pump to replace fluid took in 5 litres, and glad to say runs smooth like new, pics explain it . !! now to replace drivers door actuator, and adjust handbrake. ( had been driven with it on) can't wait. thanks guys

+1

Well you could call this an update to the orignal opening post...damn I can't believe the first post was at the end of 2010!!!

Well, more then 5 months after I made my first post, I completed a transmission service on the old mans car. It's rocked up 321000km.

What prompted me you ask? I got a call one one evening last week; it went something like this:

"Mate, the car is running like crap. It barely shifts from 1st-2nd. I'm getting bloody sick of it. Once its warmed up it seems to shift fine, but (insert italian swear words here) its cold its crap!!!

So after finding out the car hasn't been running for 2 days (that was due to a blocked idle jet, which had not been cleaned in god knows how long) I took the car out for a quick drive. 1st-2nd was non existant. Once I started to roll down the hill, and the tranny shifted into 2nd, the car went pretty well. 2-3 and 3-4 shifts felt smooth enough. But when you stopped, oh boy, we had issues...

So I completed a tranny service. Initially I checked the oil (via the fill plug). Stuck my finger in the whole and surprise surprise, I couldn't feel a drop of fluid!!! The fluid that did come out (after I dropped the pan) was as black as black could be. When I cleaned the pan, the amount of metallic pieces sitting in the bottom of the pan made me wonder if I should complete the job in the first place...

But I soldiered on, and completed the service. New filter, gasket, O ring around fill plug and 4.6L of Castrol TQ95 (yes, a service refill should only take 4L, but as I said, the tranny was low on fluid in the first place...) and suprisingly, she's running pretty good. Took her out for a drive, and the slip was gone. The tranny shifted firmly from 1st-2nd (felt a slight bump as she shifted gears from 1st-2nd for the first few shifts, but after that it shifted smoothly enough, and most importantly, the slip was gone) while all other shifts felt seamless...

The big test was then to let her sit overnight, and see how it shifted when she was dead cold. Happy to report (from the old mans account anyway) the car felt fine. No slip from 1st-2nd, or any gear for that matter. Shifted smoothly cold and warm.

The next test is to see if this will last. So far so good, I'm hoping it will stay that way until I next service the tranny in 30000km...

[Mr Hardware]

Car neglect rots my socks. Glad to hear you've done the right thing light saber

[The Monty]

I cant believe people will neglect to service the trans at $150 MAX, and rather wait for it to die at a cost of around $1800. Makes no sense to me.