Thought I would give an update on changing the broken thrust washer on my 2.5 V6 auto.
The removal of the gearbox was a fairly straighforward if messy process. Oil lost out of the cooler pipes till you "swap" the ends over and out of the torque convertor which came loose.
It most definitely helps if there are two people. I am very,very grateful to Omegatoy for his assistance and support. There seems to be endless wires and tubes attached to the gearbox which need detaching or unclipping. For example the breather tube is located at the rear of the box on top and is very hard to get at.
After a good clean up of the exterior it was into the workshop and off with the two pans to empty them of any dirt or bits. Omegatoy thought the oil was a little black. Ever the optimist I thought it was pinkish!
Next the bell housing end of the box was dismantled(once it was securely held upright) using Sassanach's
excellent
how to in the maintenance guides. The faces of the components are damaged where the long since removed broken thrust washer should be. Worse the oil, although only changed relatively recently (mileage wise), is a dark pinkish colour.
I do however have the necessary parts to reassemble the gearbox tomorrow thankfully. At this stage the pessimist in me says even if I ever get it all back together it will be too far gone to work properly. The optimist in me says sure it will be fine. Time for another beer!
Plan B is to obtain a S/H AR35 and get it over here and fit it...... First lets see how Plan A goes. All for now more beer beckons..........
Can you believe that such a small part can cause such a lot of trouble?
The Sonnax thrust washer part no is 54701-03K and the large rubber washer is GM part number 96017189. You can get the washer washer from JPAT.
varche