Transmission Rebuild in Progress: I'm in the really school now for VX OWNERS! WANTED!

[tom4bren]

Erik,

I don't want to complain about your tranny shop since they seem to be working with you quite well, but ...

Maybe they need to think outside the box a little.

There's absolutely no reason that your tranny case couldn't be salvaged if it's just a matter of sealing where the input shaft enters the tranny.

You said that it can't be bored ... but does it really need to be???

That shaft did NOT exit the tranny case without a bushing or a sealed bearing (hardened steel shaft spinning in a cast opening wouldn't last 100 miles). My guess would be that it is a steel clad babbet bushing that is really the damaged part. Unfortunately, there probably isn't a source for an exact replacement. That doesn't mean that you are SOL though. They should be able to find a brass bushing with the correct ID and machine the OD to make it fit. If the bushing requires an oil groove to keep the shaft surface lubricated, then that can be cut with a dremmel.

I'm not just pulling this out of the blue. That's the EXACT same thing I went through on a '87 Samurai I used to have. Granted that we are talking the difference between an automatic and a manual transmission but the input shaft seal doesn't care about that. BTW, I got another 150K miles out of that tranny after my "fix".

Another BTW: The Suzuki shop manual (mine nor the dealer's) even showed that there was a bushing there. The MFR recommended solution was a tranny case replacement. Suzuki wasn't interested in what I proposed to them as the solution since there was already an upgrade to better bearings internal to the tranny that caused the bushing to go bad.

[VX KAT]

Erik-
This is an active group of MANY obssessed owners.....many of whom are actual wrenchers.
Many know the history, details, lineage and provenance of every single part/component of this truck. It just doesn't make any logical sense that your mechanic has just discovered some new, unknown info about the tranny in this 11-14 year old vehicle.

They've taken apart/repaired/replaced/adjusted/modified/broken/bled on/changed etc...many of the major components of the truck, like the engine and tranny.
With the VAST amount of experienced people on this forum, who know this truck forward and backwords, do you really think NONE of them would have commented on this tranny issue before?

Like Tom said, I don't mean to question your tranny shop, but I'm 100% certain the many experienced wrenchers on this forum, know the VX far better than the guy you're dealing with.

[mborodi]

lol.. I've run mine across the USA.. I know eventually I will have to do tranny work.. Im not a wrench turner.. but I am obsessed with my Proton.. I would no sooner rebuild the tranny @ 75K than I would take a sledge hammer to the body.. I would hope any VX'r would not jump the gun and take every bit of information & run with it.. homework, homework! the price looks good, but not all mechanic's are created equal..


Can you imagine if deermagnet, at nearly 300K miles, was about to do his 4th rebuild?

Erik-
This is an active group of MANY obssessed owners.....many of whom are actual wrenchers.
Many know the history, details, lineage and provenance of every single part/component of this truck. It just doesn't make any logical sense that your mechanic has just discovered some new, unknown info about the tranny in this 11-14 year old vehicle.

They've taken apart/repaired/replaced/adjusted/modified/broken/bled on/changed etc...many of the major components of the truck, like the engine and tranny.
With the VAST amount of experienced people on this forum, who know this truck forward and backwords, do you really think NONE of them would have commented on this tranny issue before?

Like Tom said, I don't mean to question your tranny shop, but I'm 100% certain the many experienced wrenchers on this forum, know the VX far better than the guy you're dealing with.

[LeglizHemp]

ya know, after doing a little more online research, i'm wondering if my transmission needs to be rebuilt. i've never had any trouble with it before the engine swap and only trouble after was it was leaking. it needs like 3 seals fixed and they say they found clutch material in the fluid. maybe i should have them just fix the seals and move on and see what happens. any thoughts on this idea?

[nfpgasmask]

This is a funny thread, and I am going to go out on a limb here and sort of agree with the OP a little, that the 4L30E is not the "best part" of the Isuzu VehiCROSS by any means. That said, I do not think it is a "bad" transmission, it is just a weak point and a severe pain in the boot to maintenance. Thus, many owners fail or their shops fail to do a good job at regular intervals with fluid and filters.

I bought my VX with 24,000 miles on it, and within the first week of ownership, I was slamming gears between 1st and 2nd. I then drained the tranny fluid and my fluid, at 25,000 miles, was BLACK and BURNT. I don't know how this could have happened on such a young tranny, but it is FACT. I have since been using Mobile-1 ATF with good results, changing fluid and filter ever 30-35,000 miles.

I think the tranny, when properly and diligently maintained, is a fine auto tranny for a VehiCROSS in stock configuration. Also, I am pretty sure, the VehiCROSS was NOT meant to be used for TOWING. I also think, it was NOT MEANT to be used for ROCK CRAWLING. So you cannot judge a transmission in a vehicle based on using it for something other than what it was intended.

That said, I do agree, that an Isuzu MUA5 5-speed of sorts or an Aisin auto would have been a MUCH better choice. But we have to remember that it was a partnership with GM that most likely put the 4L30E under our beloved VXes. And it was ALSO GM that screwed Isuzu up in the United States. Honestly, I cannot blame Isuzu for pulling out of the horrid passenger vehicle market in the US at the time. It is sad and unfortunate but it happened to a lot of marques and Isuzu just happened to be one of them.

Bart

[CowboyErik]

Erik-
This is an active group of MANY obssessed owners.....many of whom are actual wrenchers.
Many know the history, details, lineage and provenance of every single part/component of this truck. It just doesn't make any logical sense that your mechanic has just discovered some new, unknown info about the tranny in this 11-14 year old vehicle.

They've taken apart/repaired/replaced/adjusted/modified/broken/bled on/changed etc...many of the major components of the truck, like the engine and tranny.
With the VAST amount of experienced people on this forum, who know this truck forward and backwords, do you really think NONE of them would have commented on this tranny issue before?

Like Tom said, I don't mean to question your tranny shop, but I'm 100% certain the many experienced wrenchers on this forum, know the VX far better than the guy you're dealing with.

The General Motors 4L30E we have is at best generic. It was anything special for the VX and was old tech and weak. It was never designed for 4WD all the time for certain. I been running now for half a decade on my rebuild I guess or getting close, glad all is well. The old man who just did the actualy tranny work ( not the wrencher who took the unit out of my car) had about 40 years in doing trannys. I think he could have done it with his eyes closed, reassembling 100's of parts and I have flawless performance now but I don't push hard anymore. We got lots of people on this forum since me with total failure of their trannys like I predicted! We all will have to rebuild!

[eternal21]

We got lots of people on this forum since me with total failure of their trannys like I predicted! We all will have to rebuild!

Not those of us w/5 forward gears