The Phoenix - The GP Roadster Project

Discussion in 'Car Builds, Projects, Idea's Experiments' started by BlimeyCabrio, Jun 24, 2014.

  1. cct1

    cct1 Well-Known Member
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    Not for the track.....
     
  2. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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    Just had fresh SB bushings and ball joints and PS hoses done this spring
     
  3. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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    Aisin auto transmission, separated from the engine and ready to be torn down into a zillion pieces.

    [​IMG]
     
  4. cct1

    cct1 Well-Known Member
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    Sweet. You'll be able to choose some pretty nice gear ratios for your manual swap.
     
  5. MCS02

    MCS02 Moderator
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    Your brave I would never trust myself to take apart an auto. Well I could get it apart just not back together.
     
  6. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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    #166 BlimeyCabrio, Sep 28, 2014
    Last edited: Sep 28, 2014
    Rolled the transmission out into the sun and cleaned it up good. Then put it on the bench and got started.

    First things first:
    You'd be a FOOL to crack an automatic transmission open, without the right one of these:
    [​IMG]

    It's extremely detailed, with all schematics, electrical and hydraulic testing parameters, and step-by-step tear down, inspection, rebuild and reassembly instructions. This one is 124 pages long. Here's a typical level of detail:
    [​IMG]

    About $30 on ebay and elsewhere. Or you can view it online here:
    TF60-SN ATSG Manual

    So after pulling off the pan, valve body, gear selector switch and heat exchanger, it's time to remove 21 bolts and crack open the case. Here's what you'll see:
    [​IMG]

    The book makes tear-down easy. Really no big deal. After a couple of hours, you end up with a table that looks like this:
    [​IMG]

    I took GREAT CARE to follow the directions in sequence, and lay out the parts in the sequence removed to aid in both identification and reassembly.

    All the hard parts (gears, bearings, etc.) looked perfect. My suspicion was that one or more clutches were toast. Especially the K2 clutch, which is pretty much what always fails. I took apart all the clutch and brake assemblies and inspected them thoroughly.
    They all looked pretty much like new, except for this one (the K2):
    [​IMG]

    The first clue was the discoloration of the steel pressure plate on the top of the stack. That should be clean and shiny... not looking like it's been on fire...

    Disassembled:
    [​IMG]

    And, sure enough, most of the friction plates showed obvious wear, with some surfaces completely lacking any friction material... looks like it had been running metal-on-metal for a while. Here's the worst friction plate surface (should be a textured black surface... NOT shiny...):
    [​IMG]

    And a typical steel plate looked like this:
    [​IMG]

    So that's a good reason why my transmission pan magnets looked like this:
    [​IMG]
    Lots of metal dust being created...

    One common reason why this happens, is that a press-fit sleeve that the whole assembly rides on can spin on the case, and block some fluid ports, making the whole thing FUBAR. I haven't tested this sleeve yet, but I suspect that's the problem.
    [​IMG]

    There's a better-then-new replacement part available that won't spin, I have one on order, along with all new seals and o-rings, new friction plates for all the clutches and brakes, and replacement steel plates for the K2 clutch. When all that gets here, we'll go in the reverse order.
     
  7. cct1

    cct1 Well-Known Member
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    Nicely done (or nicely started)!

    One question--fourth picture down, those instructions on the wall--where does that kid operated transformer robot dude attacking that well-hung Bowie-esque vampire thingy with his purple laser finger fit into all of this?
     
  8. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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    The Transformer is going to put it all back together, when I fail. And the vampire is gonna punish me for thinking I could DIY.
     
  9. MCS02

    MCS02 Moderator
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    Great post! I hope to see the new parts and reassembly.
     
  10. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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    Did the rebuild this weekend. Decided to writeup the process and all the supporting info in a separate thread, for the library.

    Here.
     
  11. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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    #171 BlimeyCabrio, Oct 19, 2014
    Last edited: Oct 19, 2014
    Been a while since I did an update.

    Took a weekend off last weekend. Today, worked on the engine.

    Pulled the flywheel and timing cover. Replaced front and rear main seals, oil pump sealing rings, timing chain, chain guides, timing cover seal. Also replaced the leaky oil filter housing gasket.

    Interesting that, after 151k miles, my chain guides looked like new with no visible wear. I've heard of other folks who have had them completely worn out at lower mileage. I replaced them anyway... already had new ones.

    All the seals were like hard plastic... no wonder it had started seeping from various places. Should have a nice leak-free engine for a while when all this is done.

    One of my intake rockers is missing its lash cap, so ordered a replacement rocker.

    I also took the opportunity to perform the "flapectomy" on my JCW airbox. Since the car isn't a daily driver, I don't really care now if the throttle whistles a bit. More intake air is better. I also removed the circular plate blocking the lower rear inlet to the box, and removed all the various vacuum gear related to the flap. Saved a few ounces, and one less Rube-Goldberg thingy to break. Installed a new Amsoil filter in the box. Figured after 5 years on the old one, it was due. Should breathe better now.
     
  12. abuzavi

    abuzavi New Member

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    So, it's going well, right?
     
  13. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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    Yep. Rocker replaced. Newer torque converter installed, tranny and engine bolted back together, and stuffed back into the car. Had my stomach stapled 10 days ago, so I can't push the car around the garage right now to finish it.... But soooooon.

    Did replace all 4 driveshaft CV boots this weekend. Might get it all back together next weekend...
     
  14. old81

    old81 Club Coordinator
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    Nice work, you must really want to go faster with the MINI, hope those staples work for you. :)

    I am not a fan of that surgery, never had it, hope I don't need it in 10.

    Take care of yourself.

    Don
     
  15. cct1

    cct1 Well-Known Member
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    Good to see you back! Stapling is ok, gastric bypass, not so much, good luck with it, take what they tell you with regard to the do's and dont's as your new religion, as you know stapling isn't the entire answer, it's part of the answer...

    Between you, Dick and Nate, all this Stuart Smalley self-improvement stuff is beginning to frighten me, I'm falling much further behind, and I was pretty far behind to begin with.

    Ok, enough of that, back to your MINI--ironic that as soon as you get well, it's going to get sick!
     
  16. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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    Picking this thread back up.

    If you followed the Auto DIY Rebuild thread, you know that was a FAIL. But my engine is running great!

    I'm working right now to secure a donor car to do a major organ transplant, to convert Blimey to MANUAL. Parts start arriving tomorrow, and hopefully I'll win an auction on a donor car tomorrow.

    Then the fun continues :)
     
  17. Canusrufis

    Canusrufis RMW Powered R53
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    Good Luck!
     
  18. TheModFather

    TheModFather Well-Known Member

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    That sounds like a better plan! :D
     
  19. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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    So to catch up a bit:

    * I rebuilt the tranny. It kinda sorta works. But not really. So I'm punting and doing a manual conversion.
    * After reinstalling everything, the engine started on the FIRST TRY. That was a fantastic feeling. I didn't miss anything.
    * Even though the tranny is crap, the engine is running fantastically. I've been flogging it in third gear.
    * My top isn't working. Discovered this several months ago. I'm going to dig into it this weekend.

    I'll state the obvious. If you are thinking about transmogrifying your MCS automatic into a manual, you are most likely INSANE. Certifiable. Seek help. Seriously. The only rational way to do this, is to sell your car, and buy a different car with the right transmission.

    If you are still reading, then you're INSANE. But you may be in a position like me, where you are pathologically and incurably addicted to a very specific MINI, or you've invested in making your Mini one-of-a-kind, and it's just not practical to either sell it, or start over from scratch. So, onward with the conversion.

    First, if you're planning to do an MCS auto-to-manual conversion, good luck finding info. The Justacooper CVT-to-manual conversion is a pretty well known process. But the MCS is a different beast. Because the Aisin is much fatter than the CVT or the manual 6 speed, Mini shifted the engine over to the right about 5/8" (if memory serves). And that meant replacing a lot of parts.

    You can fire up RealOEM for your car, and then browse all the categories to see where different parts are listed for the Automatic. They include (not a complete list):
    * Clutch and all related hardware and hydraulics.
    * brake and clutch pedal assembly
    * shifter assembly and cables
    * both axles
    * engine and transmission mounts
    * supercharger inlet duct
    * throttle mounting bracket
    * brake booster vacuum line
    * fuel tank breather line
    * main air intake hose
    * plastic airbox snorkel
    * heater / heat exchanger hose assembly and various related parts
    * engine oil heat exchanger and related hard lines
    * radiator coolant hoses
    * lots of related hardware
    * ECU coding

    While you could certainly figure out all the parts and buy them new, it really isn't cost-effective. The most rational way to do this very irrational thing, is to buy a parts car. Then you can park them side-by-side and move stuff over as needed to make it work. You might even consider moving an entire engine-and-transmission from the donor car to your car, if you happen to find a good one with significantly fewer miles on it.

    So that's what I'm doing - getting a donor car. At a minimum, I recommend installing a new clutch while you're at it, along with new seals. And replace the bushings, etc. on the clutch control assembly. And a new slave cylinder.

    If I'm successful, this will actually be less expensive than buying a remanufactured automatic transmission and torque converter. But will be covering some uncharted territory, so there will be some figuring-it-out to be done. YOLO.

    More to come as this unfolds.
     
  20. MCS02

    MCS02 Moderator
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    glad your back. I was pulling for the auto working. What about RMW / Sadev sequential transmission?:D
     

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