V6 Auto Problem

[Alacrity]

Can't see how the garage can wriggle out of it - hopefully he won't try, although the leisure battery wiring comment is worrying.

Black oil can be caused by severly burnt clutches (that could have been your whine that we talked of in an earlier post) or (believe it or not) aluminium in the oil due to something getting seriously hotter than it should. It it is ali then it will stink to high heaven. Either way the outcome is the same. Reconditioned box & converter & make sure the cooler is flushed out properly, not just blown through with an air line (if at all). You do not want all the muck from the dirty contaminated cooler ending up in your shiny new tranny. If a transmission rebuilder does the work then it should be OK, the problems arise when a garage or a 'mate' does the work & they are unfamiliar with fitting an auto - it ain't as simple as it sounds!

[janehancox]

Hi,

Thank's for all your post's on this subject, All the info you have supplied has for armed me with regard's to being fobbed off.
I have spoken to the garage and they are getting there (top trans guy to look at it)
also offered a car from the gaage to use while this is being sorted pretty good so far
still has not said words that totally fill me with confidance such as "sorry we will get it all sorted for you and yes it's all covered". So still ganna have to wait till there guy has had a look???
Well tuesday today lets see hoe long it will take....

Keep ya all posted

[janehancox]

Just got word back from the garage, Van has been looked at and the filters are blocked not sure what filters but pursuming the trans filters, they have ordered new filters and flushing it through.

does this sound an exceptable thing to happen????

I'm worried now about cambelts,hoses and general service of the car. should i get them to do all of this while they have it or should i take it some where else??

Awaiting advice from the Bongods

[Doone]

I don't know of any reason why he would be able to get out of accepting liability as i have only had it a week and covered about 200 miles.... The garage does have a good rep and been there for 18 years and he seems a pretty straight up guy.

still has not said words that totally fill me with confidance such as "sorry we will get it all sorted for you and yes it's all covered". So still ganna have to wait till there guy has had a look???

Van has been looked at and the filters are blocked not sure what filters but pursuming the trans filters, they have ordered new filters and flushing it through.

does this sound an exceptable thing to happen????

I'm worried now about cambelts,hoses and general service of the car. should i get them to do all of this while they have it or should i take it some where else??

I've looked back at your posts.. you seemed to have confidence in this garage before, but that's been shaken by what's just happened.
You're giving them the chance to put it right, which is a good thing to do.
If they sort it out PROPERLY with no charge to you, that should help to re-establish your confidence in them.
If the fault's still there when you pick it up, take it right back.

Regular servicing is important.
I don't know if you're asking about the general service of the Bongo because you know it hasn't been done recently... or because you suspect that it hasn't been done?
Was it supposed to have been done when you bought it?

If the garage was supposed to do it, make sure it's been done!
If they weren't supposed to do it and your confidence in them is restored, then you could ask them to check it over.
Otherwise, go elsewhere.

[Fordfreda]

Just got word back from the garage, Van has been looked at and the filters are blocked not sure what filters but pursuming the trans filters, they have ordered new filters and flushing it through.

does this sound an exceptable thing to happen????

I'm worried now about cambelts,hoses and general service of the car. should i get them to do all of this while they have it or should i take it some where else??

Awaiting advice from the Bongods

I am sorry to tell you this but there is absolutely no way unblocking the filters will cure this problem. Think of all the debris that must be trapped in the transmission from overheating components. The blocked filter, and black fluid, are signs of serious damage and unblocking or changing the filter will only sort your difficulties for a short time period. Alacrity will be back on this thread soon and he'll tell you how it is in no uncertain terms.

Cambelts and a general service would be completely unrelated work.

[mikeonb4c]

Just got word back from the garage, Van has been looked at and the filters are blocked not sure what filters but pursuming the trans filters, they have ordered new filters and flushing it through.

does this sound an exceptable thing to happen????

I'm worried now about cambelts,hoses and general service of the car. should i get them to do all of this while they have it or should i take it some where else??

Awaiting advice from the Bongods

I am sorry to tell you this but there is absolutely no way unblocking the filters will cure this problem. Think of all the debris that must be trapped in the transmission from overheating components. The blocked filter, and black fluid, are signs of serious damage and unblocking or changing the filter will only sort your difficulties for a short time period. Alacrity will be back on this thread soon and he'll tell you how it is in no uncertain terms.

Cambelts and a general service would be completely unrelated work.

My thoughts exactly. You don't want to be accepting any kind of get-you-by remedial work that lasts just until the car is out of warranty. Lets see what Alacrity says

[Alacrity]

am sorry to tell you this but there is absolutely no way unblocking the filters will cure this problem. Think of all the debris that must be trapped in the transmission from overheating components. The blocked filter, and black fluid, are signs of serious damage and unblocking or changing the filter will only sort your difficulties for a short time period

Absolutely right. If you look back to page one of this thread I mention there about a blocked transmission filter causing your issues. If it is blocked then this is a symptom of much bigger problems & cleaning/changing the oil & filter, if it gets you going again, will only be a temporary measure. Transmissions are not like engines which produce dirt as part of their operation, the oil may age & minor particles from general wear & tear will appear in it, all that is normal, but nothing that would block a filter. The most likely debris to block a filter is clutch material &, as Fordfreda says, there is only one way to get it all out. Rebuild it & the torque converter (which could also be the source of the debris).

Don't be fobbed off or you may find youself outside the 3 month warranty & back to square one on the back of a recovery truck. Transmission rebuilds are serious money & most car dealers will wriggle like hell to get out of paying. To be fair to the dealer, I doubt they made anything like the cost of a tranny rebuild in profit when they sold the beast.

[mikeonb4c]

am sorry to tell you this but there is absolutely no way unblocking the filters will cure this problem. Think of all the debris that must be trapped in the transmission from overheating components. The blocked filter, and black fluid, are signs of serious damage and unblocking or changing the filter will only sort your difficulties for a short time period

Absolutely right. If you look back to page one of this thread I mention there about a blocked transmission filter causing your issues. If it is blocked then this is a symptom of much bigger problems & cleaning/changing the oil & filter, if it gets you going again, will only be a temporary measure. Transmissions are not like engines which produce dirt as part of their operation, the oil may age & minor particles from general wear & tear will appear in it, all that is normal, but nothing that would block a filter. The most likely debris to block a filter is clutch material &, as Fordfreda says, there is only one way to get it all out. Rebuild it & the torque converter (which could also be the source of the debris).

Don't be fobbed off or you may find youself outside the 3 month warranty & back to square one on the back of a recovery truck. Transmission rebuilds are serious money & most car dealers will wriggle like hell to get out of paying. To be fair to the dealer, I doubt they made anything like the cost of a tranny rebuild in profit when they sold the beast.

I'm 'pleased' to read this. On the issue of warranty, I'd expect the dealer to have factored in one of those warranty insurance schemes into their sales margin so that they don't take a big hit when toruble strikes. Doing anything less strikes me as foolish. Or am I being naive?

I would want to get a record of events and key dates in writing to them without undue delay. Be polite and pleasant, but the buyers account of the facts should be put on record without delay, and the position in relation to the Sale of Goods Act researched etc.

[Doone]

I hope the garage will sort this out properly for you.
You have your consumer rights regardless of any warranty, and the garage will know this.

I understand that the Hold light was flashing, so HERE'S A LINK to the Transmission fault codes Factsheet in the members area.
You have to be a member to see it, so see THIS LINK if you want to join.
You'll be able to see what's going on if/when the garage tells you which fault code they found.

As I mentioned previously, if it's not sorted properly when you pick it up, take it back.

And here's a link to TRADING STANDARDS should you need it, but I hope you won't.

[Alacrity]

I'd expect the dealer to have factored in one of those warranty insurance schemes into their sales

We are dealing with these so called warranty schemes all the time. I have owners turning up with nice expensive cars with a transmission that no longer works properly, seeming not at all concerned about any potential costs & it turns out they have a used car warranty, so they won't have to pay will they? Sadly in, at a guess, 80 - 90% of cases, they do. Burnt out clutches? Wear & tear Sir & we don't cover wear & tear. They are mechanical breakdown warranties with the emphasis on 'break'. If nothing is broken (& it normally isn't) then there is no claim - & even when it is broken they still refuse claims sometimes.

I really don't know how they constantly get away with it & it has got noticably worse during the current economic climate. Sadly in most case's they are not worth the paper they are written on when it comes to serious claims like a tranny or engine.

They are not all like this, there are some exceptions, but most are really not worth it. This is one area I will be very pleased to be proved wrong on though!!!

[janehancox]

Hi,

Been to see the bong today , It was on the ramp with the oil in the bucket. Had a good look at the oil and no sign of any glitter in it, was a kind of brown colour though....
also looked at the filter funny shape thing?? But had a tear in it, did look very blocked though. So new filter has been ordered should arrive on thursday I understand what your saying Alacrity, and have no doubt you know your game but unfortunitly i am in the hand of the gods as i don't know what should be done..So my plan is to let them do what they need to do then take it in to my local ford dealer where the owner of the garage is a customer of mine and let them look at it , I saw him today and is quite happy to help, for a fee of course but to be honest that does'nt bother me i just want peace of mind that it's not ganna do it again.

I don't expect it to run like a brand new car ,I expect all cars have there issues but i will be having a full service on it ie filters, hoses and cam belt. At least i will know all of that has been done..

[mikeonb4c]

Hi,

Been to see the bong today , It was on the ramp with the oil in the bucket. Had a good look at the oil and no sign of any glitter in it, was a kind of brown colour though....
also looked at the filter funny shape thing?? But had a tear in it, did look very blocked though. So new filter has been ordered should arrive on thursday I understand what your saying Alacrity, and have no doubt you know your game but unfortunitly i am in the hand of the gods as i don't know what should be done..So my plan is to let them do what they need to do then take it in to my local ford dealer where the owner of the garage is a customer of mine and let them look at it , I saw him today and is quite happy to help, for a fee of course but to be honest that does'nt bother me i just want peace of mind that it's not ganna do it again.

I don't expect it to run like a brand new car ,I expect all cars have there issues but i will be having a full service on it ie filters, hoses and cam belt. At least i will know all of that has been done..

Make notes of as much as you can remember about how the car behaved, how it went wrong, what you saw at the garage today, color of ATF etc. Personally I would research your rights regarding this as it worries me what the stff blocking the filter is - it must have come from somewhere. All cars can go wrong and a Bongo is no exception. But normally these gearboxes are very good - you've been unlucky, but the dealer has supplied a faulty machine and owes you a proper response.

[dandywarhol]

Got to put in my tuppenceworth and say that a tear in the filter has been caused by something sharp piercing it - if I remember correctly the filter is made of metal gauze - whatever pierced the gauze must still be in there somewhere......................

[missfixit70]

Ham fisted mechanic trying to clean it?

[Fordfreda]

It would be pretty difficult to tear a filter like this by accident. I wonder whether it had been done on purpose in response to previous problems involving a blocked filter? It is a short term fix which would restore fluid flow but one that would be bound to lead to further blocking. Sounds to me that the friction plates are coming apart.

Clearly there is a serious fault with the gearbox and I think you are running the risk of being fobbed off with yet another quick fix. I would let the garage "repair it", keep a diary of key events and notes of what you have seen, and then head straight to an automatic transmission specialist for a second opinion.