| Author | Message | ||
     Vladimir Ivanovich Kirillov Grand Master Username: soviet Post Number: 400 Registered: 2-2013 |
Just a thankyou note to the forum for the encouragement to try something new. I had to re condition the auto trans in my evil Falcon Pano (Van) The price to get it done not fitted was $1,350 and the price to do it myself was $260 for parts - that's a major overhaul kit. It was much easier than I thought and now I feel confident doing my Camargue's Turbo 400. If I was to be asked why have I not ever tried to overhaul a transmission before even though I have been swinging spanners since late 60s I would say because I was indoctrinated early by the evil "Church of Its a Job for a Specialist" giving it the strange mystique like that of "Rolls Royce Factory Trained Mechanic" Anyway just another lot of nonsense that permeated the strange world of the motor car. Its a bit like the adverts looking for mechanics with "Cat experience only". As soon as I see the advert I know the employment agent and the employer are basically dimwitted because I have a lot of "Cat" experience and for the life of me I can't see why they don't give a chance to a chap who has experience on other makes as "Cats" are not big thing. I would really like all employment agents to fall on a sharp knife or at least go back to the USA where the dumb idea of having an employment agent to vet applications for broom sweepers came from. And they can take drug testing in the workplace with them too. | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 1893 Registered: 4-2003 |
Vladimir, As a matter of interest, did the Falcon overhaul kit include a set of instructions? The last B&M T400 overhaul kit I saw from the US did not include a set of instructions unlike the earlier kits - the US legal system and mercenary lawyers reportedly caused B&M to delete the instructions for liability reasons. Note the first clutch plate in the R-R version of the T400 is a "wave" plate and not the standard flat plate - this is NOT mentioned in either TSD2476 or the B&M instructions and can be sourced from a GM transmission parts specialist. If you would like to have a look at the old B&M instructions, please send me a message. | ||
| Vladimir Ivanovich Kirillov Grand Master Username: soviet Post Number: 401 Registered: 2-2013 |
No David, no instructions at all. I used the Falcon Workshop manual and the Ellery's Ford Transmission Repair Book 1960-2007 Being a retired lawyer myself what you say does not surprise me as the legal system in the USA has caused massive paranoia - even children's playgrounds have been closed and quite foolishly our courts here have travelled part of the way down that path without considering precisely what effect certain judgments will have on the behaviour of the business world. I believe our coal mining industry is now uncompetitive internationally because of the soviet style of bureaucracy and accompanying documentation to protect the employer from law suits brought by employees. The drop in commodity prices didn't help either. It has become quite crazy indeed. The devastation to Bowen, Moranbah, Glendon, Townsville, Mackay, Charters Towers, Emerald and many other mining towns is massively devastating as people are flung out of work and out of their homes and ancillary businesses have gone bust in a big way. Our politicians have lost the plot completely. If Australia goes into a 1930s depression very soon I would not be even slightly surprised. | ||
| michael vass Frequent User Username: mikebentleyturbo2 Post Number: 71 Registered: 7-2015 |
Hi Vladimir The last deep coal mine closed last week in UK Our town was a mining community ,now it's like an old tree rotting from the inside. Mike | ||
| Randy Roberson Grand Master Username: wascator Post Number: 614 Registered: 5-2009 |
Lawyers run away have caused major grief and economic problems in the USA; 90% of it could be stopped by sensible judges but alas some of them are worse than the lawyers for hearing stupid cases which are nothing but looking for money and power. Enviro wackos are closing the mines in the USA also; I am in the natural gas industry and we are connecting to former coal-fired generation constantly but it is expensive to retire a generating plant just because it burns coal and not because it is worn out. Amazing that all this is destroying the business environment, yet when politicians acknowledge the economy is not good they blame...business people. I want to do a Turbohydramatic sometime; I need to find an old one to practice on: like gross anatomy for Drs. practice on dead ones first.I agree the Silver Shadow at least is very repairable and partly because parts can be had though sometimes $$ the cars themselves with few electronics are understandable and repairable. Very satisfying. | ||
| Vladimir Ivanovich Kirillov Grand Master Username: soviet Post Number: 402 Registered: 2-2013 |
Looks like a world wide thing the mining game going under - it very sad as a lot of the young fellows get a job in the mine and on not unreasonable money and conditions, immediately see themselves as King Billy, purchase a huge home, new fast late model car and a few other toys and behave like money is water and bang they are out of a job and lose the lot to the bank and are then pursued to bankruptcy and sadly often depression hits them hard after they try to drink themselves out of the situation and the wives and kids leave and so a family is destroyed along with their dreams. Such a ghastly thing to behold but that's mining. Randy you should have no trouble finding a Turbo 400 stateside and I think that's not a bad idea because the two books I have contradict each other in the measuring for the front clutch pack and these manuals are not precise enough to be a reference point for putting all the parts back together in the right way. David I will check but I think you were kind enough to send that Turbo 400 rebuild manual to me before. | ||
| Randy Roberson Grand Master Username: wascator Post Number: 616 Registered: 5-2009 |
You are right Vladimir, that's the way the oil patch is in the USA. It takes off after a period of higher prices, everyone gets a good-paying job and loads up on houses toys and kids, then prices drop and the boom busts. We are busting right now. Once around the early 1980s the crash saw houses being raffled off in the Houston suburbs and the bank repo lots were filling up with pickup trucks and welding rigs. Oil field equipment was auctioned off below scrap prices and people would buy it hoping it would become valuable again. Amazing and somewhat discouraging to watch as I am hardly independently affixed myself. I was in college then. | ||
| Robert Noel Reddington Grand Master Username: bob_uk Post Number: 845 Registered: 5-2015 |
The low oil price has also wreaked the Scotish Nationalists idea of running Scotland on oil money. The environment mentals are trying to recreate a pastoral rose tinted glasses society. They want the consumer goods but fail to understand the processes that allow these goods to exist. Example a washing machine seems simple until you make 10 million of them and sell them at a reasonable price in a 100 countries. The steel and energy have to be at a reasonable price and lots of if. A few wind turbines aren't going to do it. The electric bill for a steel works is about 100 million a year. The green and pleasant land of the U.K. still exsists. 90 % of the U.K. is farm land parks etc and is not built on. When people visit Dorset they drive around in cars and it appears that Dorset is covered in roads and buildings. Some times you get a quick view of the far landscape. If one parks up and starts walking across the fields and heaths you will find miles of nothing but green and pleasant land. Prince Charles has a vision of horse drawn ploughs etc. The commercial reality is big tractors and big fields, ecomonies of scale. It's the same as a steel works, big is best. We have also just lost a very large steel works. The steel works is still there and running but if shut down the furnaces will collapse and other equipment will go wrong. To restart the steel works after say even 1 year costs an enormous amount of money. Then there's the work force they will go off elsewhere some key people will be lost forever. Making quality up to spec steel is a very skilled operation. We have all seen the steel works educational films. However on the bright side although the big car names are largely in Johnny foreigners hands the factories are in the UK. If say Tata relocated Jaguar to India the sales would collapse so the UK is de facto owner. The U.K. Is exporting loads of cars. Bentley and Rolls-Royce is doing well. Also nearly all the circuit racing cars are designed and often made in the Surrey area of the U.K. Again steel and electricity in large amounts is required to build cars. Our government is so short sighted. I used to work for a company called Shape Technology. They designed and made equipment that measured the steel as it came out of the rolling mills. They had a contract with an I Indonesian steel works. The place was a death trap with no health and safety. The signs were displayed but nobody took any notice. Fortunately in the UK our Judges smell out daft spurious claims early on and nip them in the bud. We have laws about vexatious claimants and Judges can order that the claimant or solicitors must appear before a Judge before filing a claim. A women in Wimborne Dorset continually filed against local trades people the council and neighbours. She came to a sticky end when a Judge awarded a neighbour big money costs and declared her a pest and vexatious litigant of breath taking audacity. This was over hanging baskets of flowers. We do get lawyers touting for business. Recently one firm got fined 1 million quid for making millions of automated phone calls. Some are genuine such as the payment protection insurance premiums that were illegal. If one is owed the money then legal action is justified. But when someone falls over their own feet and sues the council or property owner then they are swinging the lead. I had a women twist her ankle on the 3 steps to the office. She claimed 2 days off work. I referred her to my insurance. The insurance company said no. If she sues the insurance is legally required to assist with the big guns. She went away. Not only does insurance pay for accidents but they also protect one from people trying it on. | ||
| Robert Noel Reddington Grand Master Username: bob_uk Post Number: 846 Registered: 5-2015 |
Both manual and auto gear boxes are easier to work on than some would have you believe. Rear axles and diffs are easy as well. Apart from tight fitted bits which require a light press in general no special tools are required. I used to rebuild Mini gearboxes in 1 hour. Also 4 speed ford gearboxes. So easy to do. There is a you tube on the TH400 slush box. Key thing with gearboxes is that they only go together in one order once you know the order it's a straight forward assembly job. These gearboxes are made in the millions and are assembled fast on a production line. The 400 is robust and also a very simple gear box with no faults. It is not uncommon for these gear boxes to run for 50k miles with mere fluid top ups. The 400 will last 200k miles if driven sypathically such as lifting off to force a change up so that the engagement is not a hot shift. Get if right and the change is un detectable. Instead of a kick down hot shift on full throttle ancipate the need lift off select second and then floor it. I hate going to over take and the gearbox is in top. The gear will change down when I am pulling out to overtake which is not good. Best to be in second before pulling out. A transmission guy said that manual cars use three clutches to one auto box and convertor and if unlucky a manual gearbox as well. So money wise the service costs of manual verses auto favour the auto a bit. Maybe enough to offset the extra fuel used to heat the torque up. A bench drill press is useful to assemble clutch packs and similar. | ||
| Jan Forrest Grand Master Username: got_one Post Number: 908 Registered: 1-2008 |
Many years ago, while working for a car breakers, I was 'reliably' informed by my employers that an auto box contained a spring 'which could take your arm off' if it slipped and let go. I now know that they don't and could, with a bit of cajoling, be persuaded to strip, overhaul and reassemble the GM400 box - as long as some other mug took it off and replaced it for me. |
