Just wondering if amunoz got his car up and running

Hi guys I also own an automatic. Its been stored away for 4 years and I just took it out again. No problems with it, just didn't want to hit 100k miles on it. Anyways, its pretty much stock now besides a stock mount intercooler and a cat-back.

I did have it upgraded tho back in the day. Turbo back 3inch including straight midpipe. HKS Intake. Stock mount. Power FC+C tuned by Steve. Stock Twins. Etc.

I made 295 to the wheels; however, after that my tranny started to go out on me so I took some parts off.

If you want to see video of my first time on a dyno (283rwhp) its on streetfire.net search for "automatic fd dyno"

From what I read, he's been having problems:

https://www.rx7club.com/bad-fugly-businesses-231/turbo-blown-performance-all-i-have-say-warning-warning-warning-924819/

and in the mix I found this said:

So, it looks like we need someone else to spearhead this.

Ah thanks for the work reading material :)

Hey all, I've got a story for you.

A couple months ago I got my differential swap completed and wow, what a difference. It was immediately noticeable. I had a 4.44 ring and pinion from an Rx8 put in the stock pumpkin. It was a great mod and the gearing change isn't even all that bad on the highway.

Unfortunately though, on the ride home from the shop that installed it, one of the transmission lines decided to pop a hole. I did not notice this until a block or two from home when the transmission started to rev up when I applied the gas. I pulled it into the parking lot and found a trail behind it. When I looked underneath one of the hoses between the hard-lines and the transmission was the obvious source. It took me some time (and a couple trips to the part store) to get it buttoned back up but before long she was moving again. I ended up needing to put in about 7qts of fluid back in it (out of 9.1) so it was ran pretty low.

After that, the car ran pretty well again. It drove normal, I took it to three autocross events and daily drove it half the time. All was good, but as I was driving it around maybe a week after the third event I did notice a little flare up in second after a throttle actuated kick down made to pass in traffic. A week or two went by after that with no more symptoms, but eventually it started again. I started at first to get flare up in first gear, then I think fourth, and eventually second as well. Light flares at first but got progressively worse. So, I drove it around in third until I could get it to a good location to work on it.

I was able to borrow a garage to do some work on it and had to make a decision about 5-speed, rebuild, or replace. I like my auto don't get me wrong, but I am not prepared to spend much money keeping it auto. I originally bought an auto because where I live (DC area) has too much traffic and I didn't want to DD a manual (also it was cheaper and in better condition). Now that I have another DD I would rather the FD be a 5 speed, but I am still having a lot of fun with it as is.

I found a free transmission from someone local that had been trying to get rid of it for 2 years after their swap. This made my decision easier. I drove and picked it up, mileage estimate 40k or so. So, I brought that home and put the car up on jack-stands. This was my first time doing a transmission swap so I gave myself a 10% chance at getting it right the first time. I'm not going to go through my whole ordeal, but I'll give a few notes about the process. I could do a full 'how-to' thread if anyone wants it, but it would not be as much help as talking to a real transmission specialist. It would be more of a 'lessons learned by a first timer.'

First try:
First off, holy crap! You have to disassemble half the car to get just the transmission out. Make sure to put jacks etc on the motor/diff so you don't have problems later getting them to line up properly. (not a necessity, just makes it easier). Now some important things. Make sure there is some ATF in the TC before you install it. Some people say it isn't necessary because "the oil pump immediately starts pumping ATF into it when you start the car". Well, what happens if the oil pump is non functional? Goodbye TC clutch. Which brings me to my next point; make sure that the TC is installed correctly onto the transmission before you install it. It is critical that you get three distinct clunks as the TC falls onto the shaft splines and into the oil pump. If you do not, you will destroy the oil pump and damage the TC shaft. Ask me how I know :rolleyes:. This will also leave the pump inoperable so if the TC is dry, that's likely toast too (this didn't happen).

When the transmission is installed, do not use the mounting bolts to help pull the bell housing up to the block. The transmission should be able to be pressed up to the block fully and aligned with the dowels before you put any bolts in. If your jack is say, a floor jack that the transmission is balancing on and doesn't have good articulation, you might want to jack up the front of the engine to make this easier. If you do try to draw up the transmission using the mounting bolts due to everything not coming together easily (possibly due to a improperly installed TC). You might pop a mounting ear off of the rear iron. :banghead: (Oops... incidentally this was the mounting ear that is no longer used when a 5 speed is installed. Do you think the car is trying to tell me something?)

Second try:
After starting it up and getting no fluid flow I backed out what all I had done wrong using some other forums that are more helpful with automatic transmission information. I realized my rookie mistake and took back apart the car. I then swapped my old oil pump into my new transmission, used a file to clean up the TC shaft, installed the TC correctly, and put it all back together (much easier this time). During installation there was a little more then 1/8" spacing between the TC and the flex-plate when the bell housing was fully bolted up. This is much better then the interference fit I had before. I got it all buttoned up, put some transmission fluid into it, and started it up. This time everything worked so I took it for a test drive. All seemed well, but I didn't have enough clean ATF to fill it up so I didn't drive it around too much or really push it yet. I need to put another quart or so in it and figure out a coolant leak that has been plaguing me for a while and then I'll really give it a workout.

We'll see how long this one lasts. I am not anticipating as long as the last one, mostly because I probably messed up something else with the installation. Either way though, the last one had about 18 years and 97k miles on it including AutoX, drag strip, and traffic/city driving. I power brake the car for hard launches, and hold it in gear often. But, I think what really killed it was when it ran out of fluid. If not for a $5 length of hose, who knows how long it would have lasted.

Wow, awesome info in this thread.. thanks for the link Toroid! Personally I couldn't imagine not swapping to a manual if at all possible, but am disabled/stuck with auto's, so that changes things a bit. :p:

amunoz , is it true you've abandoned the mega-hp auto project? If so, at least we know 488hp is doable - thanks. :icon_tup:

I talked with him a while ago and yes.....he did the manual swap. Only because he wanted more power with a bridge ported motor....He said the auto would'nt do well idleing at 1500rpm, but he had a fully beefed up Level 10 auto tranny ready for the power...BTW he sold the Built tranny and torque converter for only 1g

Dang, that stinks. With as much as he was into it/this thread, you'd think he'd have posted as much. Oh well, at least we know what we do now!

As for L10, I've heard enough negative about their actual transmission components, I think I've lost interest in anything but their TC's & electronic control stuff. (already got a TC from elsewhere in the 7, but my other two cars are still stock in that department)

Well....got my car fixed from a blow engine on purchase only to have the trans start slipping 400 miles later. Not sure how good it was taken care of but when he pulled up after driving from an hr and a half away on a uhaul trailer with just the front wheels in the air I did kind of cringe. New trans just arrived today, hopefully will have it put in soon but going out of country tomorrow for a week

Ouch, good luck!

Uh yeah, I'm pretty sure you can say it wasn't taken care of (the transmission anyway). I never let anyone tow mine unless it is on a trailer or a flat bed. That sucks. Are you doing the install yourself? if so, good luck :icon_tup:

I think the guy just didnt know about cars in general. Ive got a friend that is going to be putting it in for me while I'm gone. From the FSM it looks pretty straight forward but looks can be deceiving. I just dont have the tools or a place to do it at. Got rid of all my things a long time ago when I sold my dsm I used to have and just needed allen keys, a phillips and flathead screwdriver for my bike lol

If he's never done it before, have him read my post above (#105). If needed, I can also try to answer any questions he might have.

Oh thanks for the heads up. He was a tech at an Acura dealership I used to work at but now is at our Honda sister company. Hes done a lot of trans swaps (TL's) and a ton of sidework so I trust him but passed on your post to him anyway lol. I really just want to drive the thing and dont want anymore "problems" for at least a little bit lol

I'm sure he will do just fine then. If I could manage, he should have no issues.

Im almost scared to beat on the car now :/ I mean I took it really easy since the build was done 400 miles ago and even then it messed up.

But a different area messed up.. unfortunately you gotta find out what the previous owner didn't tell ya about and/or jacked up @ one point or another. Hopefully you're good to go for awhile, though hope you know of the FD's reliability issues etc. & upgrades pertaining to the fact.

Was the driveshaft disconnected? If not that is most likely your cause of transmission failure due to overheated fluid beacuse it was not being circulated through the transmission and cooler. A car should never be towed with its drive wheels rolling on the ground unless the driveshaft(s) are removed.




John

Yeah, I know..Thats why I cringed when I saw it. To answer your question no, the driveshaft wasnt disconnected :(

Oh dang, did ya say anything to the person ya bought it off of? I'd have tried to get a small discount, which I know wouldn't likely happen, but dude should be made aware of the fact. (on a different car I did get $400 off for a CEL as when I asked about it on pickup, he'd already had it checked out & discounted the price of repair!)

Oh trust me, I got a killer deal on it. I bought it as a non runner, he flooded it out and couldnt get it started. I did the pettit starter booster on it but he had apparently taken out plugs and let it sit. According to my engine builder moisture got inside and rusted away at everything and left front rotor with no compression. I had driven to Houston overnight and by that point I was tired and just wanted to get back.

Sent you an email :icon_tup:

I just got it, will respond

alternative "hold" malfunction cause..
 

Just thought I'd post this in the slight chance it gets searched/can be of use to anybody in the future. (figured I'd put it here, since this seems to be one of the more comprehensive auto-threads)

My Hold/OD light was malfunctioning @ random and I was also having issues keeping the engine running when put in gear from time to time. I was afraid of the norm.. premature signs of tranny failure, though actually think I've lucked out for once! Turns out the alternator wasn't putting out enough juice to keep the system happy, as after its replacement, the tranny/light seem to do as told! No more stumbling, dieing engine either, (which I was getting sure would need to be tuned out). :icon_tup:

So any more automatic trans updates???