Gearbox adaptions

alexanderfoti

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Hi all

My 221 has a jerky TC engagement when cold. Disappears when warm

It also has a tugging sensation when slowing down occasionally. Both tell me that the TC is not disengaging/engaging smoothly/properly.

I changed the fluid and it remained the same.

First thing to do is reset the adaptions, which I have done. I have followed the TC re-adaption procedure, but only for torque output ranges, not the temperature range one. Is it required to do both or is it a one or the other type situation?

Additionally, if re-adaption does not fix it, I suspect I have a sticky TC lockup solenoid (£30), is this most likely, or should I send the valve body off to be rebuilt (approx £150)?

Thanks!
 

V6Matty

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I believe you have to do both of them Alex but one of the indies should be able to confirm 100%, but it does sound like a sticky valve body rather than a quick lockup clutch change, what does it feel like when your driving, harsh or just an odd judder?
 

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Do you have star, if so follow the TC teach in, it takes a lot of time and quiet roads to do it correctly but worth it once done, then do the fill times for up and down shifts.......so worth the few hours to get it right.......
 
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alexanderfoti

alexanderfoti

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Do you have star, if so follow the TC teach in, it takes a lot of time and quiet roads to do it correctly but worth it once done, then do the fill times for up and down shifts.......so worth the few hours to get it right.......

I do have star yes.
As its the old 722.6 box I only get two options for TC re-adaption .

Adaption for coolant temperature
adaption for torque ranges.

I have already done the second one (as the car was warm at the time of adaption reset). I do need to do the others as you say, but more concerned on the TC side of things at the moment.

The torque range one was difficult on the road, but I found a long quiet side street that was uphill so easy to keep in the right torque ranges.
 

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Sorry, thought you were talking about a 7g box.........
 
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alexanderfoti

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Sorry, thought you were talking about a 7g box.........

No worries, everyone does when I ask them about this car. any idea if I need to do both for the 722.6??
 
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alexanderfoti

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Back to same behaviour today again. Seems if I reset and carry out adaptions whilst the box is hot, all is OK. I think the odd Tc lockup behaviour when cold is throwing off the adaptions.

I am thinking I am going to send the valve body off for refurb (after the mot!)
 

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Back to same behaviour today again. Seems if I reset and carry out adaptions whilst the box is hot, all is OK. I think the odd Tc lockup behaviour when cold is throwing off the adaptions.

I am thinking I am going to send the valve body off for refurb (after the mot!)

I've had this 'tugging' on slowing to a halt for some time. We also went for the TC but replaced it with a recon unit from JPAT, a highly reputable company. It seemed better but soon drifted back to it's old ways.

We changed the oil, twice. Made no difference.

A full valve block rebuild is about £600 so i'm not sure what your going to get for £150, but i would be interested to know. We pulled our valve block out, replaced the shift overlap valves with sonnex replacements, everything else seemed OK.
Made no difference.

We put it onto STAR and found the adaptation figures were way out, suggesting the clutch packs were way out of tolerance, worn out basically. With the grooves on the friction plates worn off all the plates could stick together, a process known as 'ringing'.
This may be my problem.
We reset the adaptions with star and it made a big difference, but soon drifted back to it's old ways.

What numbers did you get for your adaptions?

We currently have a second hand box in the post, due Friday or Monday. Not sure what i'm going to do with it yet, put it in or tear it down. I'll write it up as i go along.
 
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alexanderfoti

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If I turn off the TC tugging goes away so its definitely something in the TC circuit and not work clutch packs etc. Have you tried the same on yours?

Like you, changing the oil made no difference.

Valve Bodies UK quoted me that price. It does not include any solenoids if required, but does include testing on their test rig and full cleaning.

I can buy a new valve body for £900 odd, so wouldn't spend £600 on a rebuilt one! Who quoted you that?

I haven't checked adaption values on star yet, will check them today.

Also, like yours, resetting adaptions made it much better until it "re-adapted".
 
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alexanderfoti

alexanderfoti

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I believe you have to do both of them Alex but one of the indies should be able to confirm 100%, but it does sound like a sticky valve body rather than a quick lockup clutch change, what does it feel like when your driving, harsh or just an odd judder?

I get absolutely no judder, just the harsh tc engagement. Like release the clutch too quickly on a manual car. This characteristic goes away after 15 minutes of driving.
 
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alexanderfoti

alexanderfoti

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Interesting....How do you turn the TC off? We are talking about the torque converter arn't we?

We are!

You can do it using star.
 
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alexanderfoti

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So you can disable the torque converter clutch using STAR?

Yes, only for testing though, it reverts back to normal on ignition reset.
 

Arudge

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We are!

You can do it using star.
Better be quick if you want to come down - we're away from Sunday!
No, this is a whole new avenue I didn't know about, I'll have to have a look into this because if we have the same problem then it's back to the valve block, which we couldn't find fault with. However, we don't know whats happening when it gets hot, the coils on the valves are more likely to fault got than cold.

I'll continue on my current path for now but I'll keep a close eye on this thread. There's a lot for me to learn here.

Don't worry, you havn't seen the last of me yet!!!
 
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alexanderfoti

alexanderfoti

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You are welcome to come round to me, but its probably quite a long drive for 30 minutes on a star machine!

The main issue on mine is the tugging. I can live with the jerky changes when cold. The tugging ruins just cruising around town and makes the whole car feel nervous.
 

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I'm just as interested in comparing your driving experience with mine.
 
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alexanderfoti

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Sorry, old forum used to show location. I am in west london
 


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