TD200811[1].pdf

VOLUME 28, NO. 3 NOVEMBER 2008

The Automotive Powertrain Industry Journal

D I G E S T

AWF21 (TF-81SC) TF60-SN (09G/09K/09M) NV 245

More information is available at www.sonnax.com

1. 56947J-05KOversized TCC Control Valve Kit

Helps cure: Excess TCC slip, Code 741 TCC lining comes off Overheated convertersNote: Requires tool kit F-56947J-TL2& the VB-FIX reaming fixture

2. 56947J-15KTCC Modulator Valve & Sleeve

Helps cure: Excess TCC slippage Codes 741 & 1783 Transmission over temperature conditionsNote: Requires tool kit F-56947J-TL15 & the VB-FIX reaming fixture

3. 56947J-03K (Increased Ratio)4. 56947J-01K (OEM Ratio)

TCC Modulator Sleeve & Plunger Assemblies

Helps cure: High TCC slip RPM at increasing load Slip codes Elevated fluid temperature

1.

2.

3.4.

or

Automatic Drive P.O. Box 440 Bellows Falls, Vermont 05101-0440 USA800-843-2600 802-463-9722 F: 802-463-4059 www.sonnax.com [email protected]

2008 Sonnax Industries, Inc.

5. 56947J-19KVFS Modulator ControlSleeve & Valve Kit

Helps cure: Line pressure concerns Slipping upshifts Low line pressureNote: Requires tool kit F-56947J-TL19& the VB-FIX reaming fixture

6. 56947J-09KPressure RegulatorSleeve & Clip

Helps cure: Delayed engagements High line pressure in reverse Soft shiftsNote: Requires tool kit 56947J-TL9

6.

5.

Circle No. 16 on Reader Card

2 Transmission Digest

CERTIFIED

VOLUME 28, NO. 3 NOVEMBER 2008

PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.

Transmission Digest (ISSN 0277-8300) is published monthly by M D Publications, Inc., 3057 E. Cairo, P.O. Box 2210, Springfield, MO 65801-2210. Advertising inquiries are welcome, by mail or telephone,(417) 866-3917; Fax (417) 866-2781; [email protected]. Advertising rates furnished upon request. Advertiser and agency agree to indemnify and protect the publisher from unauthorized use of anypersons name, photograph, statement or copyrighted material. Copies available by subscription: One year (12 issues) United States and U.S. possessions $39; Canada $48; all other countries via IPA $81 inU.S. funds only. Single copy price $4.75 plus shipping for current or back issues (as available) except the Annual Buyers Guide which is published as the March issue. Copyright 2008 by M D Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Advertisements and Signed articles do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Transmission Digest or its management. Editorial contributionswelcome, but return of manuscripts, models or other artwork not guaranteed unless accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. Information contained in Transmission Digest has been carefullycompiled from industry sources known for their reliability, but M D Publications does not guarantee its accuracy. Other M D Publications: Undercar Digest, Tech/Talk, and Short Line. M D Show Division: UNDERCAR/TRANSMISSION EXPO 2009, March 26-28, Louisville, Ky. Periodicals Postage paid at Springfield, Missouri, and additional entry offices. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to Transmission Digest, P.O. Box 2236, Springfield, MO 65801-2236.

D I G E S T

News & Previews

From the Publisher ..........4

Information Source....48-49

Powertrain Products..................52-53

Industry News Highlights.................54-55

Marketplace .............57-63

Index to Advertisers .......63

In Their Fathers FootstepsCharles Perkins, owner of Perkins Transmission, is a third-generation transmission rebuilder.Page 6

Technical

Technically Speaking: . .10Solenoid control in theTF60-SN (09G/09K/09M)

Tech to Tech . . . . . . . .18Tips and tricks for dealingwith some common problems

Torque Converter Tech Tips . . . . . . . . . . .24

Off-center TCC frictionstraced to wear in bonder

Shift Pointers . . . . . . . .26Failure of the C1/K1 clutchin the AWF21 and TF60-SN

TASC Force Tips . . . . . .30Dealing with wear in thevalve-body-linkage pivot inRWD Chrysler units

Up to Standards . . . . . .40Design, operation anddiagnosis of the JeepGrand Cherokees NV 245transfer case

Business

Its Your Business . . . . .35Prospering in tough eco-nomic times

On The Cover

Continuing the MissionUnder new ownership, RaybestosPowertrain continues its mission ofserving a global aftermarket cus-tomer base with broad product lines.Page 14 Features

Manual/Transfer Cases (The Other Gearboxes) . . .38

Suppliers of Manual Transmissions/Components . . . . . . . . .44

Manual TransmissionSpotlight . . . . . . . . . . .50


Its nearly time to do thegiving-thanks banquet,and were all reluctantlyadmitting that well need tospend an additional 15 yearsor so attending ATSG, APRAand TCRA seminars andwatching each other age. Ourpension plans have dwindledto the point where a night onthe road at a Quality Inn inMarion, Ind., with an ex-pense-account dinner at BobEvans seems like a windfall.

Still, there appears to bethe glimmer of a flicker of ahint of good fortune. If no-bodys buying or leasing newvehicles, theres going to besome repair work. For open-ers, theres bound to be someadditional transmissionwork. Our ultimate customer,Joe the Driver, plans to keephis vehicle longer. Hes goingto want to buy more mainte-nance and preventive servic-es. There will be oil changes,the insurance of transmis-sion-fluid servicing and anynumber of opportunities fortransmission shops to pro-vide service for fees.

From thePublisherBy Bobby Mace

Heres an industry image:Hank Williams Jr. is standingin front of the shop wantingto know: Are you ready?Are you ready for some ac-tion? Its a Monday morningoverhaul, so lets get the partsstarted.

What a great opportunityfor automotive-service shopsthat havent traded wrenchesand lifts for racks of Twinkiesto grab some customer loyal-ty and market share. Relateyour promotional efforts, bethey big or small, to the con-cerns that Joe the Driver isfeeling. Can you deliver bet-ter fuel economy or sell theidea that an ounce of preven-tion is worth a pound ofcure? Transmission-fluidmaintenance is perhaps themost-underperformed after-market service.

Todays opportunity is re-alized through reaction to re-ality. Were not buying anymore shares of WachoviaBank this month, and werenot going to rely on lastyears promotional conceptsto support this years prof-itability! TD

ExecutiveCarol Langsford

President

Michelle DickemannVice President

Bobby MacePublisher

[email protected]

EditorialGary Sifford

[email protected]

Wayne ColonnaTechnical Editor

Terry GreenhutManagement Editor

Mike WeinbergContributing Editor

Art DepartmentJay Young

Creative Director

Lonnie BoldingArt Administrator

CirculationDudley Brown

Circulation Manager

Mike TurnerStacy Bays

Advertising SalesMike Anderson

[email protected] Martin

[email protected] Birchfield

Sales Assistant

Accounting/CreditMuriel Lincoln Credit Manager

Donna Blackburn

Showpower 2009March 26-28

Louisville, Ky.Bob Jacobsmeyer

Exhibit Manager

FounderLes Langsford,

19281993

TRANSMISSION DIGESTM D Publications, Inc.

(417) 866-3917

What about Joe the Driver?


Perkins Transmission inEl Dorado Springs, Mo.

It was almost a foregone conclusion that CharlesPerkins would own a transmission shop someday like his father and grandfather before him. Fouryears ago, at the age of 18, Charles opened PerkinsTransmission in the southwest Missouri town of ElDorado Springs.

Like his father, Harold Perkins Jr., Charles practicallygrew up in a transmission-repair shop. While still ingrade school he began helping his dad by doing choressuch as putting up parts and sweeping floors, graduat-ing later on to tasks such as tearing down transmissions.A few months after Harold sold his business, Charlesopened a shop of his own in a new location in town, andthe two of them now work together there.

Charles sells jobs, removes and reinstalls transmis-sions, does the teardown and rebuilding, orders partsand maintains the building.

Regarding his role in his sons business, I kind ofthink of it as semiretirement and letting him do thestressful day-to-day dealing with customers, answeringthe telephone, paperwork, Harold said. So I kind of

The two-bay shop opened about four years ago.

continues page 8Harold Perkins Jr. (left) works with his son, Charles,who owns the shop.


think of my role as being some-what a mentor, I suppose, but moreor less semiretirement.

Harolds father, Harold PerkinsSr., began his career as a general-repair mechanic in the 1940s in theKansas City, Mo., area. And thenwhen the automatic transmissioncame to be popular in the early 50sis when he got involved in it.

Harold Sr. worked for dealer-ships in the Kansas City area andthen moved to Warrensburg in theearly 1960s and started an auto-matic-transmission shop. Afterschool, on weekends and duringthe summer months, Harold Jr.worked for him, starting withsweeping the floors and moving upto R&R and teardown and then torebuilding. I pretty much grew upin the shop, you might say.

The family moved to Californiain the late 1960s to be with relativesliving in the San Jose area, HaroldJr. recalled. Although Harold Sr.didnt have his own business there,he was working in a shop, buildingtransmissions. Thats what he didall of his life, basically.

In the early 1970s, the Perkinsfamily returned to Missouri andHarold Sr. opened a shop in ElDorado Springs. Harold Jr. fin-ished high school in 1975 and tookover the business a couple of yearslater.

And now, basically, Charleshas taken over where I have leftoff, he said. Im still here andhelp him and work with him, butthis is his.

In addition to repairing auto-matic transmissions, Charles workson differentials, occasionally re-pairs manual transmissions andperforms some other services suchas brake replacement if a customerasks him to, but he doesnt solicitnon-driveline repairs. Here latelyIve been so busy doing just trans-missions I really havent taken inanything else, he said.

He doesnt work on many man-ual transmissions because repair-ing them is so expensive and timeconsuming, he said. If they have abad one, people really dont want itfixed because they cant afford it.

Most of his customers are fromthe local area, but he occasionallygets work from as far as KansasCity, about 110 miles north, andfrom Fort Scott, Kan., about 40miles west. The majority of thework comes from repeat customersand referrals, and business hasbeen steady since he opened theshop, Charles said.

Basically how I get them tocome back is do a good job, andthen they spread the word.

Getting involved in automatic-transmission service when the in-dustry was in its infancy, Harold

Jr. noted that he has witnessed a lotof changes in the business fromthe day of four-speed Hydros, cast-iron Jetaways, Dynaflows, cast-ironPowerglides and, of course, the in-famous Turboglide that we werereplacing with the reliable cast-ironPowerglide. We used to take outTurbo 200s or 700s and put in 350s.

And, of course, I also remem-ber things like a 56 Packard thathad the torque converter that couldbe unbolted and you could look in-side of it and repair it. Theywerent sent in for machine work.Of course, you have to have lathesand welders if you open them upnow. But the 56 Packard had a bigclutch in it; it looked like a clutchdisc out of a car with a standardtransmission, and that was thelockup clutch. So lockup clutcheshave been around a little longerthan people realize.

Whenever Chrysler started it in77 and then everybody soon fol-lowed, theres a conception thatthat was a new thing, but it reallywasnt, because Packard had it inthe mid-50s.

Repairing automatic transmis-sions was difficult at first becauseof the lack of technical information,got easier as information becamemore readily available and nowhas become more challenging be-cause of transmissions complexity,Harold said.

Things, I think, in the earlyyears were pretty difficult noknowledge and no informationeasily obtained, and the transmis-sions were somewhat crude. In themid-60s, late 60s, everything actu-ally got fairly easy I mean, alu-minum-cased Chrysler Torqueflites,C4s, C6s, 350s, 400s. It got a lot eas-ier for a few years, and then tech-nology advanced to the pointwhere thats no longer true transaxles, overdrives, computercontrols and so many variances oftransmissions. Weve got an 03Saturn in here with this continu-ously variable technology in it, andits just one of the many transmis-sions that are out there today. TD

Charles Perkins handles teardownand rebuilding of transmissions.

Harold and Charles are the second and third generations of the Perkinsfamily involved in automatic-transmission repair.


Technically Speaking

Subject:Use of counterbalance pistons in clutch drums

Unit:TF60-SN (09G/09K/09M)

Vehicle Applications:Audi, BMW, Volkswagen

Essential Reading:

Rebuilder

Shop Owner

Center Manager

Diagnostician

R & R

Author:Wayne Colonna, ATSGTransmission DigestTechnical Editor

Solenoid Control in the

TF60-SN (09G/09K/09M)

Starting with a few four-speed automatic transmis-sions, increasing with thefive-speeds and more so withunits having six or more speeds,it is interesting to see the use ofcounterbalance pistons in clutchdrums that drive the planetarysystem. Since drive-style clutch-es are rotational, there is a ten-dency for centrifugal force tocreep the clutch on when it is notin use, which could cause pre-mature damage to the frictions.

As a preventive measure,there is a balance area in each ofthese clutch packs infront of the piston. Aslight amount of fluidpressure is supplied tothis area to balance cen-trifugal head oil behindthe apply piston, neu-tralizing its effect. In ZF6HP26-style transmis-sions this feature is re-ferred to as dynamicpressure balance.GMs 6L80 operates in asimilar manner, and thecircuit used to providefluid into these balancepistons is called thecompensator feed fluid.

This feature of theclutch assembly is real-ly a by-product or anadditional benefit towhat is really the mainreason for the strategy.And that is that it givesthe computer greatercontrol over the en-gagement and disen-gagement of the clutch

1

2

Clutch-Application Chart

GearComponent

K1 K2 K3 B1 B2 F11st X X* X2nd X X3rd X X4th X X5th X X6th X XRev X X

* The B2 clutch is applied in Tiptronic mode 1stgear only for engine braking.

K3 K1 B1 F1 B2 K2

continues page 12



GAU6A06894

DCB6A09064

FBX6A08574

ABY6A09412

CCP6A09214

CCP6A09212

917

3917

3T5

EO

3

pack through the solenoids, which ulti-mately improves gear-shift comfort.

The six-speed TF60-SN (Figure 1) usedin BMW, Audi and Volkswagen vehiclesmakes full use of this strategy.Interestingly enough, lube pressure isused as a feed into the counterbalance-piston area. Figure 2 provides a clutch-application chart, and Figure 3 identifiesthe solenoids used to control the shifttiming as well as clutch-pressure controland shift overlaps. Figure 4 provides anoverview of the solenoid shift strategy asit compares with the clutch application.

With the exception of the N91 convert-er-clutch-apply solenoid, all the other re-maining pressure-control solenoids (N90,

N90 controls the K3-clutch applyN91 controls converter-clutch applyN92 controls the K1-clutch applyN93 controls main line pressureN282 controls the K2-clutch applyN283 controls the B1-clutch apply

N88 and N89 are alternately toggledon and off to control the fourththrough sixth shifts.

N88 and N89 also control B2-clutchapply in Tiptronic first gear forengine braking.

T = On in Tiptronic modeTo = Solenoid is toggled On to Off

5

Solenoid Identification

May/June 2004 and earlier models have B1 (left) and K1 (right) clutch-pressureswitches in these locations.

N91(#4)

N93(#6)

N92(#5)

N282(#9)

N283(#10)

N90(#3)

N89(#2)

N88(#1)

Gear Shift

Position

Solenoid Shift Sequence

Clutch ApplicationChart

On/OffSolenoids

Pressure-Control Solenoids

Clutch andFreewheel

ComponentsN89SV-2

N88SV-1

N92SV-5

N282SV-9

N90SV-3

N283SV-10

N93SV-6

N91SV-4

K1 K2 K3 B1 B2 F1

Park Off Off On On PWM

Neutral On On On On PWM

Reverse On On Off On PWM On On

1st Gear T T Off On On On PWM On On

2nd Gear Off On On Off PWM PWM On On

3rd Gear T/To To Off On Off On PWM PWM On On

4th Gear T/To To Off Off On On PWM PWM On On

5th Gear T/To To On Off Off On PWM PWM On On

6th Gear On To On Off On Off PWM PWM On On

4

continues page 32

Since 1959USED PARTS INVENTORY SPECIALISTS

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We are the REAL Transmission People

1155 N. McKinley AveLos Angeles, CA 90059

For quick, effective and direct delivery service, call TOLL FREE today!

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Earlier this year, two longstanding brand names, Raybestos and Allomatic, wereacquired by the investment company Sun Capital Partners. The new owner-ship of both OE and aftermarket product lines has resulted in few changes forthe companys appearance and operations in the transmission aftermarket.

John Butz, president and CEO of Raybestos Powertrain (af-termarket products with Raybestos or Allomatic brandname), says the company continues to supply aftermarketcustomers with a variety of parts including automatic-trans-mission friction and steel plates, torque-converter wafers, so-lenoids, filters and bands. Maintaining full-line coverage forthose lines calls for design and development, manufacturingand, in several instances, strategic partnering to source com-ponents directly from non-competing OE manufacturers.Beyond the passenger-vehicle business, RaybestosPowertrain supplies heavy-duty wet-clutch, torque-converterand brake components for both on- and off-highway applica-tions.

Raybestos CEO andPresident John Butz

November 2008 15

Al Avila, the companys vice president of sales andapplications, describes the market position of thecompanys two flagship brand names: The Raybestosbrand is comprised of premium-quality components,while the Allomatic brand has the reputation for de-livering good components at excellent value.

Butz explains that the acquisition is resulting in im-proving the efficiency with which aftermarket cus-tomers are served. He says most products suppliedunder contract to OEMs carry the Raybestos brandname but are the responsibility of a Sun-owned sistercompany, Friction Holdings Inc., with plants inCrawfordsville, Ind., and Greenwood, Miss.Aftermarket operations include three manufacturingfacilities in Sullivan, Ind.; an international sales officein Floral Park, N.Y.; and a sales and product-develop-ment center in Crawfordsville.

Martha Slopsema, opera-tions manager for RaybestosPowertrain, says: Really,there is no visible difference toour customers. We are a com-pany that was in good shapewhen it was purchased bynew owners. Those ownershavent seen the need tochange things to any great ex-tent.

Suns approach has been,You are doing well and we want you to continue todo well. They provided us some resources that let ustake advantage of what the larger organization wasdoing in areas like control of freight costs. With themany other companies Sun owns, theres an advan-tage to our total size that allows us to negotiate somevery advantageous arrangements. For instance, wetake advantage of the corporate contract for corrugat-ed products. Whether a company supplies transmis-sion parts or crackers, the product needs a box. Sunspurchasing power results in cost savings for us and

lower prices for our ultimatecustomer.

Avila explains the compa-nys philosophy: Our goal isto improve all of our capabili-ties, to provide the very bestproduct were able to manufac-ture and to continue to pursuemarkets in which we believewe have profit and growth op-portunities. Were particularlyconcentrated on expanding inoverseas markets. We seek to improve the service andproduct that we deliver to the core business thosemarkets and segments weve served for many years while identifying new opportunities that will enableus to grow as a company.

There are a number of beneficial aspects to our fa-cilities here in Sullivan. The main plant is well estab-lished with a great workforce. We dont experiencethe high turnover rates that plague a lot of manufac-turing companies. People who work here tend to stay

Martha Slopsema,operations manager

John Peffley, manufacturing manager, and AlAvila, vice president of sales and applications,at one of the three Raybestos Powertrainfacilities in Sullivan.

For heavy-duty application, steel plates and frictionrings are stacked and then heated in the bondingprocess necessary to manufacture a clutch plate.

Precision manufacturing is required for modern transmissions.The Raybestos Powertrain facilities use both CNC and lasercutting machines to form metal components.

Frank Slocum, vicepresident of salesand marketing


with us. There are a number of plant employees whohave been here since we acquired the plant in 1990.

The Powertrain aftermarket facility inCrawfordsville houses salespeople, customer-servicefunctions and a couple of engineers who handle appli-cation and development duties. Avila describes theengineering functions: Chris Horbach supports allsales and manufacturing for all applications andproduct lines. He gets pretty closely involved in qual-ity issues as well. He wears a lot of different hats soits hard to give him an accurate title!

Irvin Gers has multiple re-sponsibilities related to new-product development,cataloging and field-testingproduct. Anytime we field-test products in vehicles, Irvinwould be the person oversee-ing those procedures. We re-cently were doing someproduct testing in conjunctionwith a major customer thatcalled for both of them to bedown there for several daysinstalling different plates and conducting actual roadtests to evaluate the performance of various frictionmaterials.

Just as Friction Holdings is contracted to supplycomponents for a transmission to the OEM, RaybestosPowertrain is viewed as one of those OE customers,placing orders with the factory and taking delivery ofthose parts. In such cases, we are the aftermarket dis-tributor for our sister companys OE products.

Other products in our lines that arent manufac-tured for OEMs at Friction Holdings are the responsi-bility of the product-development team. We have aprocess that works very well for us. The developmentteam understands our library of options, looking atand testing the OE component. Then we can fall backon our experience base, the library of friction materi-al, and say that the combination of one of our frictionmaterials bonded to one of our steels will offer theproper fit and shift characteristics to do the job. Mostoften for new product, the engineers will specify ma-terials for both an Allomatic aftermarket product anda premium Raybestos brand aftermarket product thatfeatures more durability and performance.

Because we know our materials, and the materialsused by other companies that supply the OEMs,were able to specify which material in our line would

Irvin Gers is the engi-neer heading up prod-uct development forthe company.

Inspecting for flatness is part of a quality-controlfunction requiring that a few samples from everyrun be subjected to tests that prove componentsmeet the companys specifications.

After manufacture, bands are hand finished and given a lastvisual inspection.

Raybestos Powertrain engineer Chris Horbach supportssales and manufacturing functions and often fills therole of educator by participating in industry seminars.

November 2008 17

After inspection, clutch plates are packaged for ship-ping to Raybestos Powertrain customers throughout theglobe.

provide satisfactory charac-teristics and performance foreach application. Recently wesubmitted an OE bid for aparticular transmission. Wehad all the pertinent informa-tion and specifications as re-quired by that automaker.While we didnt win the con-tract in that particular in-stance, we have completed allthe work necessary to startproduction of those clutchplates for our aftermarketlines.

John Peffley, manufacturing manager, adds, If itsa part we didnt bid on as an OEM supplier, we stillhave the internal capabilities to develop an aftermar-ket version through reverse-engineering procedures.

Slopsema explains: Such is the case with a lot oftransmissions found in import vehicles where the OEmanufacturers are overseas. In order to assemble acomplete line of aftermarket clutches or bands orwhatever, we have to be able to fulfill demand be-yond the domestic nameplates.

Other operations here include manufacture oftransmission filters and a factory line that providesprivate-label packaging services. We manufacturebands that are OE components to General Motors aswell as a full aftermarket band line. Many of the steelplates we use come through our strategic alliancewith Means Industries, but for low-volume part num-bers we do the stamping and processing ourselves. Ina similar fashion, we distribute filters manufacturedby Filtertek alongside our own manufactured filtersthat round out whats needed to supply our cus-tomers with a full line of replacement components.

Something less evident to the ultimate customer isthat we make a lot of the tooling necessary to support

our various manufacturingprocesses. The tool shop al-lows us to make whatever weneed for the production linesin such a way that we cancontrol the cost of developingand fabricating those produc-tion-line tools.

Our facilities here inSullivan contract to bond ourfriction material with torque-converter pistons for a cus-tomer that remanufacturesconverters for one of the OEM service-parts opera-tions.

On the bypass-filtration side we have formed anew strategic partnership with NTZ. This is a compa-ny that is the OE supplier to Ford on the 5R110W andgrowing to be the OEM bypass-filtration supplier ofchoice for more and more European vehicles. As a re-sult we will become the aftermarket distributor for agreat number of filters that are due to show up inBMW, Volkswagen and other European nameplates.Its not a huge market yet, but it is always good tohave those OE sources of supply to feed our distribu-tor customers and ultimately to fill orders from thetransmission shops.

Avila concludes by observing that the company hasenhanced its flexibility to react to a continually evolv-ing market of retail and production-rebuilder cus-tomers. Summing up for the management team, hesays the company will continue to improve service toits customers by assembling a full range of manufac-tured products with those it takes to market under thestrategic partnering arrangements. The resultingproduct assortment does a superlative job of support-ing the network of specialty distributors that ulti-mately supply rebuilding operations domestically andthroughout the world. TD

Kim Stevens man-ages office functionsat the RaybestosPowertrain facility inCrawfordsville, Ind.

Nancy Irvin overseescustomer-servicefunctions forRaybestos.

A portion of the main plants finished-products holdingarea


Tech-To-Tech

Subject:Tips and tricks for dealingwith some common problems

Essential Reading:

Rebuilder

Shop Owner

Center Manager

Diagnostician

R & R

Author:Brian Manley

Tips, Tricks that WorkShortcuts and quick fixes from one technician to another

Lets face it: Sometimes badthings happen to good techni-cians. Have you ever foundyourself in the situation where youare trying to fix a problem, only tocreate a new one? I have popped thehood to check for a vacuum leak and,in the process, created a vacuum leakby snapping a plastic port off. In thismonths column, I will share a hand-ful of cool tricks and tips that Ivepicked up over the years from co-workers, classes and forums.

First up: Broken plastic fittings. Ihave used this one successfully sever-al times. On older vehicles, plasticgets brittle and vacuum lines harden,often leaving me with a two-piece nip-ple (Figure 1).

Sometimes vacuum valves are hardto find and/or very expensive. In thiscase I find metal tubing close to theouter diameter of the plastic fitting(used brake tubing in this case) andrun a die over it to create a fewthreads (Figure 2). I then drill theopening in the valve and run a tapinto it (Figure 3). Be careful not to gotoo deep with either tool. A dab oftwo-part epoxy and the repair ends upstronger than the original (Figure 4)!

TIP: If you want to be certain youwont break the plastic fitting or dam-age the heater-core fitting, slice the

4

1

2

3

Broken vacuum valve

Tube installed into valve with epoxy

New threads cut into the brake line

Drill and tap the vacuum valve.

continues page 20

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Additional Distributorships available: Call Jim Slimp at 800-544-7520 ext.171.www.certifiedtransmission.com

The Certified Transmission Program is unique; designed exclusivelyfor professional transmissionshops looking to increase profits. More than just a Reman unit, Certified transmissions are installed by the people who build and test them and by professional shopsthroughout North America.

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Our outside and shop sales have increased due to new products and improved availability since becoming a proud Certified Transmission distributor in January 2008. Technician productivity at our install shops is through the roof!

Doing business with Certified is simple and their people are fantastic! Certifieds look-up system, online ordering, tech support, core return and warranty processes are outstanding.

Mark NilsonPresidentFreeway Transmissions, Inc.Salt Lake City, Utah



Tech-To-Tech

hose along the fitting and peel itaway. Shorten or replace the hose.Its cheaper than the alternative. Ifthe hose is still pliable, I havetaken a pick, pulled the hose awayand sprayed penetrant into thegap. Practicing finesse whileloosening the hose in a twistingmotion is the operative wordhere.

Have you ever run across wiringconnectors with broken retainers? Iknow; its always the other guywho does that. Figure 5 shows a

General Motors Corp. manifold-air-pressure (MAP) sensor connec-tor with a missing clip. I was facedwith two options here: Replace theconnector or retain it with heat-shrink tubing. Since this one is aGM connector, it is fairly easy tofind a new one, but that is not al-ways the case. If you find yourselfneeding a quick, clean means of re-taining a connector into its hous-ing, use some really bigheat-shrink tubing (Figure 6). I get

mine at the discount tool store fora good price, but it is one of thefew things I buy there. Cut the tub-

ing to length, insert connector andheat until done (figures 7 & 8). Itlooks better than zip ties and pro-vides excellent weatherproofing!

Have you ever blown the fuse inyour digital volt/ohmmeter(DVOM)? Does yours cost $8 likemine does? I grew tired of forkingout money for expensive fuses, es-pecially when apprentices use mymeters. So I decided to use a tip Idheard about a while ago: Fuse mymeter. I purchased a $5 fuse holderfrom the parts store and put it inline to my positive meter lead.Now I blow much-cheaper fuses.Since my meter has a 20-amp ca-pacity, I use a 10-amp in my safetyfuse (Figure 9). Most Fluke meters

have a 10-amp capacity, so I wouldfuse it to 5 amps or 7.5 amps.

When repairing wires, I tradi-tionally strip the wires, slide someheat-shrink tubing down one side,twist the wires, solder and then in-stall the heat-shrink. However, Ihave been using heat-shrinkablebutt splices on some occasions, andI find them simple to use and verydurable. The walls in this heat-shrink are very thick, and it evenhas epoxy in the tubing in somebrands, ensuring a weather-tightseal around the wire (Figure 10).

When I am faced with a stub-born, rusty brake rotor or drum,and hitting it with a hammer wontcrack it loose, I can always getthem loose with the followingprocess: Penetrating oil, vibratinghammer and heat (Figure 11). The

5

6

7

8

Heat-shrink installed before heating

Heat-shrink in shrunk mode

Differing sizes of heat-shrink tubing

Broken GM MAP sensor

10

11

Heat-shrinkable butt connector

Penetrating oil first when dealingwith rust

9

Cheaper inline fuse to protect myexpensive DVOM fuse

continues page 22


Tech-To-Tech

13

14

15

16penetrating oil we currently useworks very well and has savedparts and pieces I thought wouldhave to be destroyed and replaced.I find that penetrating oil and pa-tience work for most situations,but if it doesnt, I use my air ham-mer with a dull bit to vibratearound the hub flange. In virtuallyevery case the rotor or drum willgive up, but in tough cases I usethe oxyacetylene torch to heat theedge of the drum/rotor. I find thatthis method is kinder to the hubflange and bearing than a 10-pound sledge!

Speaking of rotors and drums,before pulling them off the vehicle,index them to the hub with amarker to maintain the same orien-tation. In addition, I use a surface-conditioning disc to clean the rustfrom the flange and from the rotoror drum mating surfaces. The toolpictured is actually a GM essen-tial tool: a hub-reconditioningdisc. The one you have in yourtoolbox for gasket removal shouldwork just fine. Runout can be cre-ated in these assemblies if youdont follow this process (Figure12).

When it comes to rotor retainingscrews (Figure 13), I have brokenall the bits in my impact driver setand have had to get new ones. Butthat was before a friend told methe following tip: Place a ball-peenhammer against the screw (Figure14) and strike that hammer with asecond hammer. This will shockthe screw and will often push

mushroomed edges back down, al-lowing a better purchase with myimpact driver (Figure 15). SinceIve done this I rarely break tips offof my impact driver tool!

How many times have you lo-cated a faulty power-windowswitch? Have you ever repairedone? I have discovered, throughcuriosity, that when I take theswitches apart, most of them faildue to dirty, darkened contacts

(Figure 16). On several occasions Ihave disassembled the switch, re-moved the contacts, cleaned themwith abrasive cloth and reassem-bled the switch. I can often put anextra little bend into the arm fora more-forceful contact. A fun re-pair, and it often begins as aquick fix to get a customer afunctioning drivers window untilthey need a new switch, and it lastsfor a long time.

As always, safety first! Some ofthese tips arent recommended forevery situation but often can be theright thing to do at the time andcan often save the customer moneyand aggravation.

Brian Manley is a vocational automotiveinstructor for the Cherry Creek schooldistrict in Aurora, Colo. He is an ASEmaster certified automobile technicianand a former member of the NationalAutomotive Technicians EducationFoundation (NATEF) board of trustees.You can reach him [email protected].

This copyrighted article is reprint-ed with the permission of AutoInc.,the official publication of theAutomotive Service Association(ASA). To learn more about ASA andits commitment to independent auto-motive-service and repair profession-als, visit www.ASAshop.org or call800-272-7467.

TD

Ball-peen hammer to strike screw

Impact driver loosens screw.

Disassembled power-window switchwith dirty contacts

12

GM essential tool: hub-recondi-tioning disc

Rotor-hub retaining screw


Centerline Issues: TCC Frictions Bonded Off Center

For several decades the importance of the torque-converter centerline has been hammered homeby Don Randolph of DACCO Inc. Dons senti-ments on this subject have been echoed by the torque-converter original-equipment manufacturers (OEMs).In fact, every OEM torque-converter print starts witha true axial centerline, which serves as the referencepoint for all axial measurements.

Robert Nankervis, owner of Nan TorqueConverters in Belford, N.J., has been aware of the im-portance of the torque-converter centerline for sometime. Roberts watchful eye for centerline issues drewhis attention to some lockup frictions that were slight-ly off center. Since all their clutch bonding was donein house, he began to examine their bonding process.

The technician responsible for the bonding processassured Robert that the TCC pistons were properlyprepared and the friction material was properly cen-tered on the piston when they entered the bonder.Robert decided to recheck the time, temperature andair-pressure parameters and bond the next run of pis-tons himself. When he was satisfied that everythingwas correct, he began the new bonding run. The firstcouple of clutches that came out of the bonder had thefriction material centered properly, but after that thefriction material was slightly off center. A closer in-spection of the clutch showed a wider glue stain onone side, suggesting that the friction material wasbeing pushed to the side (Figure 1).

Edited by Ed Lee2008 Sonnax Industries Inc.

Robert was now convinced that the problem was inthe bonder. He allowed the bonder to cool and thenstarted his inspection. The first thing he looked at wasthe bonder plates. The bonder plates were tightenedproperly and the mating surfaces were parallel. Henext turned his attention to the bonder dies and thepiston ram. The dies were removed from the bonder,the ram was stroked to its downward-most position,and the air pressure was released from the cylinder.At this point Robert discovered that there was almost38 inch of side-to-side motion in the shaft of the ram(Figure 2). This movement was caused by a wornlower bushing.

There are two important things to note: 1) whilethere was air pressure in the cylinder, the piston heldthe shaft and no side-to-side motion could be felt, and2) the air pressure remained on the up side of the pis-ton so there was no telltale leak at the worn bushing.As the adhesive turned to a liquid (the flow zone) thefriction material would slowly shift from left to right.A new cylinder was bought from a local supplier andthe off-center problem went away.

There are a few good reasons to make sure that thefriction material is centered properly on your TCCpiston. First, the piston and damper assembly can be

1

2

38 inch of side-to-side motionin the shaft of

the ram

November 2008 25

balanced more easily if the friction material is cen-tered. If the friction material is bonded off center,Robert will mount the piston or damper assembly inthe lathe and trim the inside and outside diameters tomake them true. Second, the TCC application willfunction much better if the friction material is cen-tered. The normal operating stresses of the torqueconverter force the pilot area of the cover forward,

making the reaction surface of the cover taper inward.Properly centered friction material will contact the re-action surface of the cover evenly and conform to themating surface, resulting in a smooth TCC applica-tion. When the friction material is off center, the TCCapplication is quite different. The edge of the frictionmaterial that is the farthest from the centerline touch-es the reaction surface first, and lockup does notapply smoothly.

Remember to maintain your bonder properly bymaking sure that 1) a vapor separator is in the air sup-ply line and 2) an air lubricator with the correct lubri-cant, maintained to the proper level, is also in the airsupply line (Figure 3).

Special thanks to Robert Nankervis from Nan TorqueConverters in Belford, N.J., for recognizing this problem,finding the root cause, supplying the technical informationand pictures for the article and, most important, sharinghis finding with the rest of the industry.

Ed Lee is a Sonnax Technical Specialist who writes onissues of interest to torque-converter rebuilders.Sonnax supports the Torque Converter RebuildersAssociation. Learn more about the group atwww.tcraonline.com.

TD

3



Shift Pointers

Subject:Failure of C1/K1 clutch

Unit:Aisin Warner AWF21 (TF-81SC), TF60-SN(09G/09K/09M)

Vehicle Applications:Ford 500, Audi/VW, Mini Cooper

Essential Reading:

Rebuilder

Shop Owner

Center Manager

Diagnostician

R & R

Author:Wayne Colonna, ATSGTransmission DigestTechnical Editor

A

Balanc Act

If you just read theTechnically Speaking ar-ticle in this edition ofTransmission Digest you mightrecall that we spoke a littleabout how balance pistonsare being used in rotationalclutch drums, and their pur-poses. This article covers oneof the problems we have seenwith the C1/K1 clutch(Figure 1) as it relates to theAWF21 (Aisin TF-81SC, usedin the Ford 500) and the TF60-SN (09G/K/M, used in MiniCooper, Audi/VW) transmis-sions.

Figure 2 shows the balancepiston sitting on top of theclutch-apply piston. You willnotice that this style of bal-ance piston has a molded sealon only the outside diameter.There is not one on the innerdiameter. This may remindyou of a similar piston in the41TE transmission. The ideawith the 41TE is to keep thedouble-action overdrive/re-verse-clutch piston centeredwhen not in use. Residual oilbehind the apply piston isneutralized by the oil sup-plied to the balance piston,known as the dribbler circuit.So this type of technology hasbeen with us since as early as1989.

Getting back to the prob-lem we have seen with thesix-speed TF60-SN unit, theoriginal-design drum in atransmission known as theAF40-6 (similar to the one inthe Ford 500) had center slotsin the drum (Figure 3) andthe apply piston was solid

2

1

3

Balancing

November 2008 27

5

6

7

8

metal (Figure 4). When this drumwas fully assembled and placedinto the transmission, a needle-bearing race was placed on thedrum, covering the center slots inthe drum. Sitting in front of thisclutch-drum assembly is the frontplanetary assemblys internal ringgear, which has the needle bearingthat rides on this race. When thevehicle is being driven, the C1/K1-

clutch drum rotates with the frontplanetary assemblys internal ringgear 1-1 in first through fourth. Butwhen the clutch is released in fifthand sixth the clutch drum and ringgear rotate at different speeds.

Now here is where the problembegins: With the slots being cov-ered by the needle-bearing race onthe C1/K1 drum, the oil behind thebalance piston cannot exhaust suf-ficiently past the slots in the drumwith the bearing race over the top.When the apply piston comes onduring a 6-4 or 5-4 downshift, theoil between the apply piston andbalance piston causes the balancepiston to flex forward, pushing itinto the backside of the internalring. Since these two parts are tem-porarily turning at different speedsthey rub together, and the metal-to-metal contact causes damage(figures 5 and 6).

Through the years the drum,

apply piston and counterbalancepiston have had moderate changesmade to them in an attempt to cor-rect this condition. Despite thesechanges the problem persists.

What we are doing now, whichseems to be working well, is to usea Dremel tool and make littlenotches around the inner diameterof the balance piston (Figure 7). Donot overdo it, as too much willcause a new problem for you. Ifyou look at the area where thenotches are placed you will see oneof the modifications made by themanufacturer. They made recessesin the piston so that this oil couldhave an exhaust. They also elimi-nated the slots from the drum(Figure 8). However, with the snap

TRANSMISSION DIGESTTECHNICAL

FIELD FIX

4

continues next page


Shift PointersShift Pointers

ring sitting over the top of theserecessed slots in the balance pis-ton, the exhaust made by theseslots must not be sufficient to al-leviate the problem, as the fail-ure continues. So by adding justa little help with a Dremel, theproblem is solved.

There is yet one more item tocover, and that is to reset shiftadapts after any type of repair.This is a must-do procedure; oth-erwise, you will experienceharsh and/or flared shifts afteroverhaul and you may think youhave a problem when you reallydo not.

The problem in setting theshift adapts is in having a toolthat will accomplish the task.The VAG-COM does, and it does

9

10

11

12

The Bottom Line:Tell us your opinion of this article:

Circle the corresponding number on the free information card.

93 Useful information.94 Not useful information.95 We need more information.

it easily. To dothe reset youmust go into theECM, not theTCM (Figure 9).There you willfind the adaptation menu(Figure 10). When you are thereselect the Read button (Figure11) and a 000 will show up inthe Test value window; then,select Save (Figure 12). Thenext screen will ask you whetheryou are sure, and you select Yesand you are finished (Figure 13).Now drive the vehicle, and in afew drive cycles the transmissionshould shift well if there are noreal problems. No doubt, its alla balancing act. TD

13

08-M01 Profit Structuring: Installing Winning Formulas, Part IIn this Automotive Management Institute-accredited seminar, MaylanNewton enables shop operators to understand, install and use a set offormulas in conducting business that helps them achieve financialgoals.

08-M02 Profit Structuring: Installing Winning Formulas, Part IIIn Part II of this seminar, Maylan Newton continues with formulas tohelp shops set the correct flat rate, conduct business based on thecost of doing business, work on formulas to measure productivity, workparts-markup formulas and plan growth strategies.

08-M03 Sids Steps for SuccessMotivational speaker Sid Hurlbert teaches you coping mechanisms toleave exhaustion and cynicism behind, particularly when dealing withcustomers, co-workers and even family members. He teaches you howto take control and make your workday more enjoyable.

08-M04 Performance Parts & the Magnuson-Moss ActUndercar Digest Management Matters Author Tom Langer, Larry Norrisof MagnaFlow and Muffler & Pipe Advice author Ed Hanson discussthe dos and donts of aftermarket performance parts and how theyaffect a vehicles manufacturer warranty.

08-M05 Dealing with Those Pesky Telephone Price ShoppersTransmission Digest Business Editor Terry Greenhut shows you thebest techniques to handle price shoppers over the phone and per-suade them to set up an appointment so a technician can determinewhat is actually wrong with their vehicle instead of quoting a price foran undiagnosed service.

08-M06 Business Management for Automotive Service BusinessesUndercar Digest Management Matters author Tom Langer sets theframework for shops to help you set up a business plan that reallyworks.

08-M07 Cashing In on ClassicsManagement Matters author Tom Langer, Muffler & Pipe Advice authorEd Hanson, Huths Joe Becker, Eaton Leonard Toolings Paul Howard,Packard Industries Fred Kanter and vehicle restorer and museumowner Dennis Moran discuss how classics and muscle cars can pro-vide an additional profit center for shops.

08-M08 5 Seconds to SuccessMotivational Speaker Sid Hurlbert shares some secrets that very fewbusinesses understand. In less than 5 seconds you can determine howcustomers, co-workers and even family members are going to view andtreat you. Sid combines humor with remedies that can make your busi-ness prosper.

TRANSMISSION UNIVERSITY

U.S. Orders:Includes Postage & Handling

Allow 4 to 6 weeks for delivery

International Orders:Please inquire for shipping charges

Phone: 417-866-3917800-274-7890

Fax: 417-866-2781Mail: PO Box 2210

Springfield, MO 65801-2210E-mail: [email protected]

08-T01 ZF 6HP Factory TrainingDirect from ZF, Tony Price brings diagnostic and operating knowl-edge on this emerging and popular family of transmissions.

08-T02 Chrysler 62TEWayne Colonna from ATSG gives the industrys first comprehensivelook at the unique workings and technology of this unit destined tobecome a regular in your shop bays.

08-T03 Voltage Drop TestingJerry G Truglia gives plenty of advice and hints on successfullyand efficiently locating the electronic gremlins that haunt the mod-ern day transmission retailer.

08-T04 Toyota U Series TransaxlesNobody can cram more knowledge into a seminar session thanATSGs Pete Luban. Here is the definitive builders guide to workingon these popular units.

08-T05 Scoping Late-model FordsBernie Thompson from Automotive Test Solutions discusses how totest and interpret the Ford data stream. This session is valuable toanyone working on these vehicle powertrains.

08-T06 The Builders Bench 2008John Parmenter moves through a number of units that have chal-lenged rebuilders this year. John identifies the problems and thenserves up solutions to both diagnostic and rebuilding issues.

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Chrysler RWD

Valve-Body-Linkage Pivot Wear

The basic design of the internal shift linkage ofChrysler/Dodge rear-wheel-drive transmissionshas not changed since 1967 (Figure 1). As move-ment, vibrationand wear taketheir toll overtime, looseness ofthe internal link-age becomes a bigproblem. Whenthere is excessmovement in themanual lever, themanual valve isnot held preciselyin position, re-sulting in fluidleakage, crossleaks and unitfailure. Even asmall amount ofpositional errorbecomes a prob-lem on these units, because of the narrow width of thelands in these Chrysler valve bodies.

There are established repairs available for wherethe internal shift linkage passes through the case andwhere the detent ball wears into its bore in the valve-body casting. Fixes for these two locations tighten thelinkage, but the lower linkage pivot point in the valvebody is one more area that wears.

Shops have triedvarious approaches torepair the lowerpivot, but typicalbushings do not workwell. The biggestproblem is the flat onone side of the casting(Figure 2). If the boreis machined oversizeto accept a typicalbushing, the wall

By Gregg Nader2008 Sonnax Industries

thickness of the bore ends up too thin and the castingwill crack. What follows is a method any shop canuse: installing a very thin plastic Delrin sleeve to sal-vage worn castings. Delrin is a high-strength, flexible,impact- and abrasion-resistant plastic material oftenused for bushings and thrust washers. The materialused here is very reasonably priced. Items requiredfor this repair include:

A 0.522-inch reamer

Strips of 0.010-inch-thick Delrin shim stock

An older linkage pivot with the lever portion re-moved

A 516-inch-diameter x 8-inch-long steel rod

See the source list below.

Cut the 0.010-inch Delrin into small rectangles0.730 x 1.5 inch as shown in Figure 3. The bore in the

valve-body housing needs to be machined oversizedto accept the plastic sleeve. There is a small unwornarea in the bottom of the bore that can be used for cen-tering. This process can be done in a mill, or even in adrill press. Figure 4 shows the reamer and the earlysplined/crimped-type internal linkage with the lever

1

2

3

Shift-selectorshaft

Housingbore

TV lever

Explodedview

Thin wall section

Sheet material

Description Source PartNumber

Phone #

0.5220-inchreamer

MSC MetalWorking

67123653 800-821-9520

0.010-inchDelrin

1 inch x 5 feet

McMasterCarr

8738K11 609-223-4200

November 2008 31

Sponsored by

portion removed and attached to the 8-inch-long 516-O.D. steel rod with Loctite. This will be used as analignment pin to establish a centerline, prior to ream-ing.

With the alignment pin in a chuck, clamp the cast-ing in place in a drill press or mill so the pin is cen-tered in the unworn portion of the bore. Replace thealignment pin with thereamer and machinethe bore oversized. Rollthe rectangle of Delrininto a cylinder and in-sert into the bore asshown in Figure 5.When installed, theplastic sleeve materialis held captive at bothends: on the top by the

5

4 Reamer and guide

Repaired bore

shift-selector shaftand on the bottomby the TV lever(Figure 6).

The result is awear-resistantthin-wall sleevethat corrects thelooseness in thisproblem area. Therepair restores thelinkage to like-new condition,which will once more ensure precise positioning ofthe manual valve.

Gregg Nader is a Sonnax Technical Specialist and a memberof the Sonnax TASC Force (Technical Automotive SpecialtiesCommittee), a group of recognized industry technical special-ists, transmission rebuilders and Sonnax Industries Inc. tech-nicians.

TD

6 OEM assembly




N92, N93, N282, N283) supply full pres-sure when they are in the off state. Whenthey are pulsed fully on, they block pres-sure from entering their respective circuits.The N88 and N89 solenoids are typicalon/off solenoids; however, during certainshifts the computer toggles them rapidlyfor a short time.

The use of these solenoids in conjunc-tion with balance pistons provides greatlycontrolled shift feel. When these balancepistons lose pressure, harsh shifts usuallyresult, since the balance control of the pis-ton is lost. And this is the type of drivabili-ty complaints we will become morefamiliar with as these types of transmis-sions begin to visit the shops for repair.

To take a closer look at the computerstrategy of these solenoids we hooked up alaptop-based program called the VAG-COM from Ross-Tech, of Lansdale, Pa.When it was up and running (Figure 5), weselected the control-module mode. Thenext screen (Figure 6) allowed us to selectthe TCM. Once we were in (Figure 7), weselected measuring blocks. The measuringblocks allow you to observe data stream ofvarious inputs and outputs and to have theability to record (log) data while driving.

When we entered the measuring-blockarea (Figure 8), you will see that measur-ing-block group 004 provides some datarelated to gearshift position and TPS per-centage while groups 007 and 008 presentall the pressure-control solenoids in amps.The N88 and N89 are shown only as off bya 0 number and on with a 1 number. Whenyoure looking at the amperage of the pres-sure-control solenoids, 0.100 amp indicatesthat the solenoid is off, applying pressureto its respective circuit. When you see1.000/0.990 amp, it indicates that the sole-noid is turned on, blocking pressure fromits respective circuit.

In Figure 8 we can see that we are inPark. Both the N88 and N89 solenoids areoff. N92 and N282 are off while N93 andN283 are on. N93 is the pressure-controlsolenoid, so when that solenoid is on, linepressure is down. N91, the PWM TCC-con-trol solenoid, is off so converter-clutchapply is off. Figure 9 shows the transitionfrom the Park position into Drive. Onlyclutch-pressure-control solenoid N92 is off,applying the K1 clutch for a first-gear en-gagement.

6

7

8

continued from page 12

November 2008 33

10

Figure 10 is a solenoid amp chartshowing what the VAG-COM revealedthroughout all the ranges. When yousee the letter H next to the gear it meansthe converter clutch is off. When yousee the letter M it means the converterclutch is applied. Be sure to read thenotes provided for Figure 10.

When it all makes sense to you,Figure 11 (next page) is a recordingshowing all the activity of each of thesolenoids as we shift in Tiptronic modefrom first all the way to sixth gear, in-cluding the converter clutch being ap-plied and released. The highlightedareas provided in the movie point outsolenoid shift transitions as the trans-

9

1. Solenoid valves 3, 5, 9 and 10 are normally applied;when these solenoids are off, the components theyare in charge of are applied. They are energized(turned on) to turn off the components they are incharge of. These solenoids are also modulated tocontrol both apply and release rates. Consult theclutch-application chart in Figure 4 and comparethe amperage to clutch/brake application.

Example: Solenoid valve 10 (N283) is pulsed off during the1H-2H transition, and the amperage will drop from0.980 in 1H to 0.690 to 0.300 to 0.100 when theshift is finally completed into 2H to control theapply rate and shift feel of the B1 brake.

2. Solenoid valve 6 (N93) is modulated onthe basis of engine load. Low line pres-sure will indicate amperages of 1.0 to0.980. Amperage will drop to increaseline pressure.

3. Solenoid valve 4 (N91) is modulated tocontrol torque-converter apply rate but isdependent on solenoid valve 2 (N89) toapply the TCC. There will be situationswhere during manual shifts in Tiptronicmode, SV4 (N91) amperage will indicate0.500 to 0.700 and the TCC will be off assolenoid valve 2 (N89) is 0, which indi-cates off.

Solenoid Amperage Chart

Solenoid

Range Gear

Park Reverse Neutral Drive 1H

Manual1H

2H 3H 3M

4H 4M

5H 5M

6H 6M

SV5-N92 (K1) 0.100 0.980 0.980 0.100 0.100 0.100 0.100 0.100 0.980 0.980

SV9-N282 (K2) 0.100 0.980 0.980 0.980 0.980 0.980 0.980 0.100 0.100 0.100

SV3-N90 (K3) 0.980 0.100 0.980 0.980 0.980 0.980 0.100 0.980 0.100 0.980

SV10-N283 (B1) 0.980 0.980 0.980 0.980 0.980 0.100 0.980 0.980 0.980 0.100

SV6-N93 (LP) 0.980 0.980 0.980 0.980 0.740 0.860 0.980 0.980 0.740 0.740

SV4-N91 (TC-PWM)

0.200 0.200 0.200 0.200 0.200 0.2000.2000.990

0.2000.990

0.2000.990

0.2000.990

SV2-N89 0 0 0 0 1 03H=03M=1

4H=04M=1

5H=05M=1

6H=06M=1

SV1-N88 0 0 0 0 1 0 0*-1 0*-1 0*-1 0*-1

Description of terms:

100A = very-low-amperage solenoid off

0.980A = very-high-amperage solenoid on

SV1 & 2 N88 & 890 = off1= on

0*-1= off or on during shift transitions

3H = 3rd gear TCC off3M = 3rd gear TCC on

(This applies to gears 3-6)

continues next page

The Bottom Line:Tell us your opinion of this article:

Circle the corresponding number on the free information card.

96 Useful information.97 Not useful information.98 We need more information.

Group A: 004 Group B: 007 Group C: 008

DrivingMode TIME

SV 5(N92)

SV 9(N282)

SV 3(N90)

SV 10(N283) TIME

SV 6(N93)

SV 4(N91)

SV 1 SV 2

1H 1H 0.53 0.1 0.98 0.99 0.99 0.01 0.74 0.2 11 N88-on N89-ondriving 1H 1.33 0.1 0.98 0.99 0.99 0.79 0.74 0.2 11driving 1H 2.11 0.1 0.97 0.99 0.99 1.58 0.74 0.2 11driving 1H 29.98 0.1 0.97 0.99 0.99 29.45 0.74 0.2 11

1H 1H 30.78 0.1 0.97 0.99 0.99 30.24 0.74 0.2 11transition 1H 31.56 0.1 0.97 0.99 0.69 31.04 0.75 0.2 0 N88-off N89-offtransition 1H 32.36 0.1 0.98 0.99 0.3 31.83 0.65 0.2 0

2H 2H 33.14 0.1 0.97 0.99 0.1 32.62 0.8 0.2 0driving 2H 36.29 0.1 0.97 0.99 0.1 35.76 0.86 0.2 0driving 2H 37.09 0.1 0.97 0.99 0.1 36.55 0.86 0.2 0driving 2H 37.88 0.1 0.97 0.99 0.1 37.36 0.86 0.2 0driving 2H 38.66 0.1 0.97 0.99 0.1 38.14 0.86 0.2 0

2H 2H 39.46 0.1 0.97 0.99 0.1 38.92 0.85 0.2 0transition 2H 40.25 0.1 0.98 0.69 0.69 39.72 0.85 0.19 0transition 2H 41.06 0.1 0.97 0.55 0.99 40.52 0.8 0.46 0

3H 3H 41.84 0.1 0.97 0.1 0.99 41.31 0.83 0.51 03M 3M 42.64 0.1 0.97 0.1 0.99 42.1 0.82 0.98 10 N89-on-tc

driving 3M 43.42 0.1 0.98 0.1 0.99 42.89 0.82 1 10 N88-offdriving 3M 44.23 0.1 0.98 0.1 0.99 43.69 0.81 1 10driving 3M 48.21 0.1 0.98 0.1 0.99 47.69 0.8 0.99 10

3M 3M 49 0.1 0.72 0.72 0.99 48.46 0.8 1 10transition 3M 49.79 0.1 0.56 0.99 0.99 49.26 0.65 0.33 1 N88-on N89-off

4M 4M 50.58 0.1 0.1 0.99 0.99 50.06 0.79 0.48 0 N88-offdriving 4M 51.36 0.1 0.1 0.99 0.99 50.84 0.85 0.52 0driving 4M 52.14 0.1 0.1 0.99 0.99 51.61 0.78 1 10 N89-on-tc

4M 4M 52.93 0.1 0.1 0.99 0.99 52.4 0.78 0.99 10 N88-offtransition 4M 60.07 0.65 0.1 0.67 0.99 59.54 0.81 0.99 10transition 4M 60.88 0.97 0.1 0.67 0.99 60.33 0.56 0.45 1 N88-on N89-off

5M 5M 61.68 0.97 0.1 0.1 0.98 61.15 0.6 0.49 0 N88-off5M 62.48 0.97 0.1 0.1 0.99 61.95 0.67 1 10 N89-on-tc

driving 5M 63.26 0.97 0.1 0.1 0.99 62.74 0.68 0.99 10 N88-off5M 5M 67.98 0.97 0.1 0.1 0.99 67.46 0.73 0.99 10

transition 5M 68.78 0.98 0.09 0.34 0.99 68.25 0.74 0.99 10transition 5M 69.58 0.97 0.1 0.99 0.72 69.04 0.81 0.2 1 N88-on N89-offtransition 5M 70.38 0.98 0.1 0.99 0.1 69.85 0.81 0.2 1 N88-on N89-off

6M 6M 71.17 0.97 0.1 0.99 0.1 70.65 0.92 0.51 0 N88-off N89-offdriving 6M 71.97 0.97 0.1 0.99 0.1 71.43 0.94 0.54 0driving 6M 72.77 0.98 0.1 0.99 0.1 72.22 0.94 0.58 0driving 6M 73.58 0.97 0.1 0.99 0.1 73.04 0.94 0.61 0driving 6M 74.37 0.98 0.1 0.99 0.1 73.85 0.94 0.65 0driving 6M 75.17 0.97 0.1 0.99 0.1 74.63 0.9 0.67 0driving 6M 75.97 0.98 0.1 0.99 0.1 75.44 0.86 0.69 0driving 6M 76.78 0.97 0.1 0.99 0.1 76.24 0.86 0.72 0driving 6M 77.59 0.98 0.1 0.99 0.1 77.05 0.84 0.74 0driving 6M 78.37 0.98 0.1 0.99 0.1 77.84 0.73 1 10 N89-on-tc

mission is shifting through each ofthe gears. Compare this with thetime column so you can see howquickly the computer can controlthese solenoids. Considering thisalong with the drive-clutch drumsbeing equipped with balance pis-tons, the clutch apply and releasecan respond more rapidly to these

commands than they could with-out them. TD

11

Transmission Digest34


November 2008 35

Subject:Prospering in tough economic times

Essential Reading:

Rebuilder

Shop Owner

Center Manager

Diagnostician

R & R

Author:Terry Greenhut,Transmission DigestBusiness Editor

Its Your Business

Last month I wrote about the im-portance of putting forth an out-standing outside-sales effort.Before I proceed to this months topicId like to give you a quick update andfollow-up. If you recall, I mentionedthat I had been helping my daughterwith her dog-training business by doingher outside-sales calls one day a week,mostly to the veterinarians who mightrecommend her to their clients.

A couple of days ago she received acall from the franchise home office. Thegal asked whether it was OK to list hername in their monthly newsletter thatgoes out to all 900 franchisees world-wide as being in the top 10 in sales forthe month of August. In the top 10 outof 900, and the only action that hadchanged in her business was the out-side-sales effort.

We checked the figures for Augustand found that Septembers numbersare significantly higher with a few daysstill to go in the month. She might verywell be the top-grossing trainer in thefranchise for September. Keep in mind,this is all taking place during a timewhen the economy is horrible and whenmany of her potential clients are linkedto Wall Street and the banking business.

Compared with the auto repairs thatyou guys sell to customers who needthem desperately, her dog training is aluxury that many are still buying dur-ing the toughest of times because of thestrong recommendations they are re-ceiving from people they trust. All thattrust came from the outside-sales workthat we did and will continue to do. Sotheres the proof outside sales works.

What about these tough times? Arethey tough for everyone? Apparentlynot; it depends on what business youhappen to be in and what you make ofthe current economic conditions.

If you look into the history of anevent like the Great Depression of the1930s you find that not everyone wentbroke and not everyone lost their jobs.Some companies, in fact, flourished.They did better because the publicneeded their products or services moreduring such times and wouldnt stopbuying whatever they were selling.

We are in such a situation right now.With the banking industry virtuallyhiding under a rock, loans arent beinggiven anywhere near as freely as theywere only a year or so ago. Those whoonce qualified with questionable creditscores cant anymore. Only top-rated,low-risk applicants are securing loans,not only for houses but also for vehicles.

The customers favorite excuse fornot buying a transmission for his 5-year-old car that hell trade it in for anew one is fading fast. He may stillwant to do it but many times wont beable to, either because he wont getcredit approval or because he fearsbeing locked into another three, four orfive years of payments when he isnt inany way certain that he will have a joblong enough to complete the contract.

Although everyone would love tohave a new car that burns far less gaso-line, many will find themselves havingto keep and fix what they have now.Lots of these vehicles will soon come offwarranty and will become available formajor repairs in addition to the servicesnormally performed. Numerous compa-nies, some having large fleets, will optto keep their vehicles far longer thanthey might like. Time and mileage willdictate the need for major repairs, butthese companies have all once more be-come qualified as prospects.

Although some retail work will cometo you through warranty insurance

Making a Go of It in the

Toughest of Times

continues next page


Its Your Business

companies, much will be cus-tomer-pay. When it comes to com-pany-owned or leased fleets, mostif not all the work will be cus-tomer-pay, as many of these vehi-cles will be past the time ormileage that would allow theirowners to even buy extended-war-ranty coverage.

With consumers trying to stayaway from new-car purchases theused-car business is making aresurgence. The only problem isthat there arent enough cars beingtraded in on new ones to feed thatmarket another reason you mightsee more major repair work withstill more drivers holding on towhat they have.

Some points of interest aboutthe current market for your servic-es:

New-car dealers are hiringtransmission rebuilders again. Thisis something we havent seen inmany years. Some of us thoughtwe never would again, but rumorhas it that their supply chain of re-built units in some instances is notable to meet the demand so thedealers are again trying to repairtransmissions in house.

The problem they face is thatthere arent that many rebuildersout there looking for work. If theydo find and hire one the beancounters at the dealership mightpretty soon decide that there isntenough work to keep him busy allthe time and want to let him go.Does that sound familiar? Its a re-curring condition. We saw it a lotabout 20 years ago. Its the old re-volving-door syndrome and one ofthe reasons mechanics have wheelson their toolboxes.

Thats where we come in. If thedealerships cant find rebuilders ordont have quite enough work tokeep them busy, they will again belooking for a source of rebuilttransmissions. And well havethem, but we need to be smartabout the way we handle those re-lationships.

First, to minimize comebacks,its important to take control of the

entire process from diagnosis to re-moval, to rebuilding, to installingand to testing. A missed diagnosisat the dealership or any othergarage will lead to costly mistakesor a lot of head scratching, tryingto find a transmission problem thatreally doesnt exist.

Next, we need to realize thatthere are dealerships and othermedium-to-large businesses thatwill not make it through these eco-nomically challenging times. Somemay go out of business, leaving aslew of unpaid vendors in theirwake. Dont be one of them.Although you may be very excitedabout starting to get work from acompany you have been trying toland for years, dont let it cloudyour judgment about prudentlyhandling your accounts receivable.

In other words, dont let themget too far out ahead of you. Set alimit on how much credit you arewilling to extend. Keep in mindthat five jobs can easily have acompany owing you $10,000 ormore. Also recognize that anycompany that contacts you with-out your soliciting their businessand suddenly gives you lots ofwork could be doing so becausethey owe another shop so muchthat they need a fresh supplierwith whom they can run up a bill.

Next point: Its time to promoteyour business. I know that whentimes are tough its hard to workup the enthusiasm to spend moneyon promotion or to go out knock-ing on doors. Many of us take theattitude that it isnt worth doingsince nothing much can come of itbecause of so many companies andindividuals holding back. Well,think about this: If you feel thatway, so do your competitors. Ifthey arent promoting, you espe-cially should be. They are leavingthe playing field wide open foryou.

If you go out selling you willprobably find that none of yourcompetitors has anyone out doingit. Even in good times most shopswont put a salesperson on the

street. They think business willsomehow automatically come tothem because they are there. Theonly two things that are automaticin business today are most of thetransmissions you work on and thefact that if you dont do enough topromote, you wont be in businessvery much longer.

I started my first shop in 1975,right in the middle of a huge reces-sion. How did I know we were in arecession? Because 5,000 other peo-ple and I got laid off by a companythat hadnt laid off anyone in 60years. They werent the only oneslaying off; lots of companies were.Maybe I was too nave to realizethere wasnt supposed to be anybusiness out there, so I went outand promoted the heck out of myshop. I did it mostly in person be-cause I didnt have much money,but I also bought little ads in localpublications to at least get peopleto stop in. Maybe its better not toknow or realize how bad thingsare and to just go forward as ifeverything were wonderful, be-cause thats how you make it won-derful.

Last point: Dont make up yourown price objections. If customerswant to object to your prices theywill, and youll need to be verygood at handling those objectionsso you can get your price, butdont get it into your head that youshould be asking less becausetimes are tough. Theyll get a lottougher for you if you start givingaway all your profit dollars. Afterall, nobody is charging you less foranything you need to buy, so howcan you afford to charge customersless?

Consumers more than ever needto do business with people theycan trust. You gain their trust bydoing an excellent job and givingthem a level of service they didntexpect, not by lowering yourprices. All that leads to is inferiorquality and worse service. It alsotends to bring in the kind of cus-tomers you dont want to dealwith, the ones I call the

November 2008 37

Something for Nothings.Its funny how, in good times,

I tell you to get out there andpromote and do your best job ofselling. Then when times aretough I tell you the same thing,but to kick it up a notch, aschef Emeril would say. Thatsbecause business is always busi-ness and some basic rules alwaysapply. You have to promote toget them in the door, and thenyou have to sell to get yourprice.

Will consumers want to payless? Of course they will, andtheyll use the recession as an-other objection to try to get youto lower your price. Rememberto always go into empathy withcustomers, not sympathy.Empathy means you understandtheir problem and will try tohelp with a solution. Sympathymeans that you understand andwill become a part of their prob-lem by lowering your price, put-ting yourself in the same toughposition they are in. Dont dothat. Offer to do more, give themmore and better services for themoney, but keep the price prof-itable. That will ultimately be thebest way to weather this reces-sion.

Terrys 450-page book, How toMarket and Sell Automotive andTransmission Service and Repair, foronly $98.32 will teach you all thetechniques you need to make prof-itable sales and retain your customersfor future business. If youve beenthinking about ordering yours, nowwould be a good time. You can thenget additional copies for your employ-ees, friends and competitors for only$49.16 each. Or for a free 45-minuteaudiocassette or CD that will intro-duce you to Terrys philosophy of theindustry and selling concepts pleasecall 800-451-2872 or visitwww.TerryGreenhut.com, where youcan order any of Terrys trainingmaterials or take your 20-questionself- and business-evaluation test.Although no one can see the resultsbut you, its a real eye opener.

TD



By Mike Riley

It would be fitting to address some of theevolutionary changes and improvementsthat have occurred to sticks (manualshifts) and 4x4 transfer cases.

Unlike in Europe, and to a lesser extentJapan, the vehicle population in the U.S.equipped with sticks has for decades hov-ered around 13% to 15%. (Americans mustbe lazier than Europeans, since Europeansare shifting gears manually most of thetime.) Transfer cases, on the other hand,have grown substantially in numbers andmodifications in the U.S. because of increas-es in SUVs and trucks over many years.

Manual transmissions were the first gear-boxes to be used in production vehicles.Automatics popped up just a bit later andinitially met with some resistance. Peoplewere somewhat reluctant to change. Theearly manual transmissions were, to say theleast, bangin, clangin, straight-cut-gearwhinin heavy chunks of iron. The only bear-ings were for the main components (e.g.,input, output, cluster etc.). Gears rode di-rectly on the mainshaft, and the gear lubewas the viscosity of lard. The drag coeffi-cient of the transmission had to be compara-ble to that of pulling a house trailer at 10below zero.

Early transfer cases did not fare much bet-ter, although some improvements in compo-nents and oils had started to take place bythen. The increased use of caged and thrustbearings along with using thinner fluids likeATF certainly helped.

The first transfers for four wheelers werepretty basic, though, in that some modelsmerely had a simple planetary gear set forhigh/low range, a chain and a couple ofsprockets for two-wheel/ four-wheel drive,all of which were engaged manually throughshift rods. Some transfers did not even have

chains, just gear-to-gear drive. Failure rateson both sticks and transfers were just a tadhigher than today.

But along came progress!Because of the energy crunch and quality

issues of the 70s, things started to change.Even transmissions from overseas started tohave an influence in the states, such as usingcaged needle bearings between gears and themainshaft.

Standard transmissions developed overthe past few decades barely resemble theearly dinosaurs. Gears have changed for themost part from straight-cut to helical to sup-press noise. Cases and extension housingsare aluminum, not cast iron, to reduceweight. Transmission oil used is ATF or aspecial synthetic to reduce drag, and materi-als, heat-treat methods and machiningprocesses have all improved to provideoverall durability. One big improvementthat would impact shifting a manual trans-mission from one gear to the next is the syn-chronizer. There was a time when grindinggears was the norm during a shift. The cut ofthe synchronizing teeth on a gear and thesynchro sleeve was not that great, and ifthere was a synchro ring involved, no oneknew it.

As synchronizer technology improved theamount of grinding and pop-out dimin-ished. Even durability was impacted becauseof smoother shifting. For a long time synchrorings were traditional brass with normal ta-pered teeth and friction grooves cut into theinside diameter that act as a brake to mo-mentarily stop the gear. With changes thatoccurred on units like the BorgWarner T5World Class and New Venture 4500, ease ofshifting got even better. The synchro ring ac-tually went to a three-piece design com-

November 2008 39

Quadra-Trac, the vis-cous coupling wouldprovide some move-ment, which wouldultimately feel like aslipping transmis-sion. Oh, joy!

More recently, be-cause of shift on thefly (SOF), torque ondemand (TOD) andother catchy phrases,transfer cases havenow been electrifiedand actually glow inthe dark. The WarnerGear 4405/6 series,for instance, has acouple of variationsto choose from,which makes diag-nosing and parts or-dering a real treat.The electric shift hasa rather large coil(Figure 2) to controlspin, whereas a TODuses an entire clutchpack just like an auto-matic (Figure 3). ANew Venture NV 247also uses a clutchpack, but this packhas a pump built intothe housing. Its a fairly compactunit. From a product standpoint,rebuilding a standard or transfercase today is much more difficultbecause of the proliferation of partnumbers, including kits.

So, the next time an automatic

transmission doesnt cooperate,dont flame out; it could be theother gearbox!

Mike Riley is technical director forTranstar Industries Inc.www.transtarindustries.com

TD

prised of an inner ring, outer ringand center cone. The center conehas paper attached just like a fric-tion plate in an automatic. Anotherdesign that Toyota uses is basicallytwo brass synchro rings with a steelcenter cone. Other designs havesprung up as well (Figure 1).

As with automatics, standardsreceived more speeds as time wenton, going from simple three-speedsto three-speeds with overdrive, tofour-speeds, five-speeds and evensix-speeds. Aside from fuel econo-my and performance, more gearsmeans less boredom while driving.

Whats funny is that certainmanufacturers are now producingpedal-less clutches, in effect mak-ing a stick car into an automaticcar. One might question this logic.(The new BorgWarner Dual Clutchtransmission is one example.)

Another area of noticeablechange has occurred with transfercases. The old-design SUVs andtrucks with front-wheel lockinghubs are gone, and good riddance!How great was it to get out of aChevy Blazer to beat and twiststuck lockout hubs in a -20 bliz-zard. Ouch!

Some of the OEM fixes to thisissue over the years have not metwith rave reviews, either.Changing from mechanical shiftingrods to vacuum diaphragms and allthe little vacuum lines and switchesthat went with it made for somegreat diagnostic opportunity.Later, electrical motors were addedand required even more stuff todeal with.

Another wonderful item addedto transfer cases was the viscouscoupling like the one used in JeepQuadra-Tracs in the 80s. If four-wheel engagement was not com-pleted because of a deficiency inthe vacuum system, normally a ve-hicle would not move. But with a

3

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Up To Standards

Subject:Design, operation and diagnosis

Unit:NVG 245 transfer case

Vehicle Applications:Jeep Grand Cherokee

Essential Reading:

Rebuilder

Shop Owner

Center Manager

Diagnostician

R & R

Author:Mike Weinberg,Rockland Standard GearContributing Editor

Trail Tested: The NVG 245 Transfer Case

Jeep is the originator of four-wheel-drive vehicles, and even thoughthe brand has been owned by nu-merous corporations, it is still the cen-terpiece of four-wheel activity. Thetop-of-the-line Jeep model is theGrand Cherokee or WK series, inJeep speak.

Jeep was once the dominant player,but Escalades, Expeditions, RangeRovers and other brands are crowdingthis lucrative market. To avoid beingleft behind, Jeep redesigned the Grand

Cherokee in 2005 with new interiors,suspensions and engine combinations,and improved drivelines. Part of thatredesign was the introduction of the245 transfer case produced by NewVenture Gear, a division of MagnaInternational.

The Grand Cherokee as of 2007 hasengine options of a 4.7-liter Hemi V-8,a 3.7-liter V-6 and a 215-horsepowerMercedes diesel capable of 376 lb.-ft.of torque. The V-6 uses a Mercedesfive-speed automatic transmission

NV 245 Transfer CaseCourtesy of DaimlerChrysler Corp.

1 Clutch assembly2 Rear case3 Clutch lever4 Oil pump5 Rear output seal6 Spline seal7 Rear output flange8 Damper9 Shift rail

10 Roll pin11 Sector roller12 Anti-rotation bracket13 Shift motor and mode sensor14 Front output-shaft drive sprocket15 Front output seal16 Front output shaft and flange17 Drive chain18 Range fork

19 Low-range planetary20 Input seal21 Input gear22 Range sleeve23 Differential24 Front case25 Mainshaft26 Mainshaft drive sprocket

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November 2008 41Circle No. 15 on Reader Card

(W5A580), and the Hemi is backedby a Chrysler 545RFE five-speedautomatic. Jeep also has added a5.7-liter Hemi engine to this line-up.

The new suspension designs in-clude independent front suspen-sion and a five-link rearsuspension. These vehicles can beequipped with Dynamic HandlingSystem (DHS), which hydraulicallycontrols body roll, and an electron-ic stability program (ESP), whichhelps the driver maintain direc-tional stability during hard corner-ing or drifting (intentional orotherwise) on any surface. Sensorsthroughout the car feed input tothe computer, which adjusts brak-ing and throttle opening to keepthe vehicle on its intended path be-fore the driver can react. Inputsfrom sensors that measure yaw,steering angle, brake-pedal forceand position, wheel speed andthrottle opening are all comparedwith a computer model to keep thedriver alive and well and on theroad by applying brakes, deacti-vating cylinders and activating thetransfer case, all without driverinput.

Vehicles equipped with theNVG 245 transfer case have twofinal-drive systems: Quadra Trac IIand Quadra Drive II. Quadra TracII uses the full-time operation ofthe 245 to send torque to the axlethat needs it while simultaneouslyactivating the Brake TractionControl System (BTCS), which willselectively apply brake force tostop wheel slippage. This systemalso uses Throttle Anticipate,which measures a quick throttlemovement to prevent wheel spinunder hard acceleration.

Quadra Drive II is a step up,with electronic limited-slip differ-entials for electronic control of thefinal-drive differentials. This isdone through outboard clutchpacks on the front and rear axlesthat electronically provide differ-entiation between the wheels dur-ing turns and tire slippage. Thissystem is similar to the Honda

Pilot system I wrote about a fewmonths ago. This system uses theclutch packs between the differen-tials and the axles, the transfer case

and the computer to allow axle slipor lock the axle, depending onneed. This system will release the

Steel side of clutch plates Lined side of clutch plates

continues next page


Up To Standards

front-axle clutches to allow com-plete differentiation between thewheels in turns, like a rear-wheel-drive car, to prevent tire scrub andcrow hop normally present in 4WDvehicles.

The NVG 245 transfer case is afull-time, active four-wheel-drivesystem. The transfer case splitstorque 48% to the front axle and52% to the rear axle through aplanetary-type center differentialcoupled to an electronically acti-vated clutch pack. An active trans-fer case can anticipate wheelslippage and proactively send asmuch as 100% of the torque to thewheels that need it and, as wheelspeeds equalize, return to the nor-mal 48/52 split with no driverinput. There is a 4W Low rangethat can lock the clutch pack, dis-tributing torque 50/50 for off-roaduse, and a neutral range to allowthe vehicle to be flat-towed behindanother vehicle. A straight-cutplanetary gear provides low reduc-tion, and the low ratio is 2.72-1.Using low range on anything butdirt, sand, grass or other loose ma-terial will cause the transfer case tocrow hop because of drivelinewindup.

The Grand Cherokee uses afinal-drive control module (FDCM)to control the transfer-case activetorque-biasing clutch and centerdifferential and to communicatewith other systems via the CAN Cbus. The computer reads wheelspeeds from sensors on all fourwheels and interprets differencesin wheel speeds as a slip. The com-puter program includes a completemodel of the vehicle dynamics,

which the computer compareswith sensor inputs for vehiclespeed, throttle positio

Documents

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