I have a 3.0l auto TE Magna and I have a problem where my gearbox's keep blowing up.

I bought the car with 104,000kms on it drove it for two weeks then the gearbox blew up and both the driveshafts shattered. I then got a gearbox with 180,000kms on it installed, this lasted for two weeks then it blew up too, not as bad this time but still needed a new gearbox. After that I bought a near new gearbox with 26,000kms on it. This has been in my car for around 3 weeks now and yesterday I noticed a small crack in the base of the gearbox. I was relocating the car last night and the gearbox shattred, I was driving at a constant speed of around 60km and all of a sudden went bang and the car rolled to a stop and the sound of metal chunks flying round inside my gearbox could be heard. Its like I stripped every gear, when the cars in park the car still rolls. The entire 8l or whatever of trans fluid dropped out onto the road in less than 30 seconds!

Thats now 3 gearbox's in around the 7 weeks the car has been on the road. I dont know what to do now, another auto? 5 speed? does anyone have any ideas about the strength of 5 speed gearbox's or have any other ideas about what I can do to keep the car on the road for longer than 2 weeks without braking gearbox's?

Any help would be appreciated!

-Daniel

there is either something very wrong going on with your engine/gearbox equipment or you drive your car way too hard ie thrash the crapper of it, i have a 5spd man and have not had any probs with is at all (3rd gen) and we also have a 4sp auto Lancer VRX no probs with that either

Cheers

Heath

That's very strange... who are you getting to install the boxes? And how do u drive it?

try not to trash the hell out of it :P, after all its not a race car

all the gearbox's have all been installed by auto trans specialists.

I do admit that the car gets thrashed a bit but still 3 gearbox's in like 7 weeks, that seems a bit strange.

Could it be a problem with sumthing else in my car? eg could my engine be bolting up to my gearbox incorrectly or sumthing?

Maybe it's the way you thrash it. Or, maybe when the first one went it's damaged something else. Either way i'd be a bit more careful with it. Auto's aren't exactly thrash material

off the top of my head sounds like some serious metal fatigue like it is being subjected to way too much vibration or stress. How are you engine mounts? if the middle ones aren't holding well and the engine is being supported only by the gearbox mount and the one on the other end of the engine the weight would stress it right out.

I seriously doubt that "thrashing" it would kill 3 boxes in 7 weeks.

I give my KE a good boot alot of the time, and that gearbox has almost 250,000 on it and still runs reasonably well. I do ensure fluid is changed religiously however.

Id say take it back to where you got it fixed and scream at them, if its only a few weeks old then they should at least have a look at it for free/cheap.

Otherwise, bite the bullet and take her to Mitsu and get em to check her out.

I seriously doubt that "thrashing" it would kill 3 boxes in 7 weeks.

I give my KE a good boot alot of the time, and that gearbox has almost 250,000 on it and still runs reasonably well. I do ensure fluid is changed religiously however.

Id say take it back to where you got it fixed and scream at them, if its only a few weeks old then they should at least have a look at it for free/cheap.

Otherwise, bite the bullet and take her to Mitsu and get em to check her out.

:stoopid:
Yer i thrashed the living crap out of my TJ VR-X and it took 5 years and 170,000 on the clock to kill my auto.:badgrin:

all the engine mounts seem to be intact. I dont see how it could just be the way I drive, I do thrash the car a little but I'm sure that alot of AMC people do but dont blow gearbox's as frequently as this lol I want to see why they keep braking before I change to 5 speed or replace the auto because then I'll know exactly why they brake!

How much difference is there in strength between the 5 speed setup and the auto?

If you mean the 5 speed manual, then HEAPS. The manual is very strong, I think Mitsiman is still using the stock gearbox with the Quafe LSD in his TT Magna.

yeah I was talking about the manual.

Have many people on here blown manual gearbox's?

I have. I know ego has blown 2 standard diffs, and 2 LSD's, Megatron has blown 2, Black beard blew one, Rhino 1, ash3 and thats all i can think of the top of my head.... i' sure there's others

Are you doing neutral drops ? lol

nope, not once!

I'm starting to think theres something else wrong with my car now, I dont see how thrashing the gearbox's a little could blow them in two weeks. espescially this latest one! It only had 26,000kms on it and it blew up after 3 weeks!

I have. I know ego has blown 2 standard diffs, and 2 LSD's, Megatron has blown 2, Black beard blew one, Rhino 1, ash3 and thats all i can think of the top of my head.... i' sure there's others

-Ego smashed his 4 diffs because of the rolling diameter of his wheels and flatshifting around corners.
-Black beard's broke because of axle tramp on old engine mounts and a 260kw engine

Can't comment on the others, but I know a lot of people that drive manuals hard but sensibly and dont break them.

And back on topic, it's just unlucky you've broken two, however it's strange that the case of the gearbox cracked.

3 gearbox's in 7 weeks though, that dosn't really sound right. They would have had to have the absolute crap thrashed out of them like all the time, and I'm not doing that.

and yeah, on the latest gearbox (26,000kms) the actual case at the base of the gearbox is cracked and theres a hole 10mm by 5mm approx at the end of the crack!

How much difference is there in strength between the 5 speed setup and the auto?


Ive now got my 5th manual gearbox in my car with in 2 years...:) But i flog the living crap out of the car..:)

Has the front of the car ever copped a good hit. Something may be bent thats putting stress on your driveshafts and gearbox.
You need to check and try and identify what the root cause is thats causing you these problems.
May be worth taking it to a panel shop or mechanic so they can check out the body work and any other anchoring points on the vehicle for straighness.

Regards

Im not being silly here, but if I was in your shoes, Id be considering putting a used box in it, giving it a bath and selling it or trading her in. A problem like this doesnt sound like its gonna be a cheap fix.

Im not being silly here, but if I was in your shoes, Id be considering putting a used box in it, giving it a bath and selling it or trading her in. A problem like this doesnt sound like its gonna be a cheap fix.
:stoopid:

Has the front of the car ever copped a good hit. Something may be bent thats putting stress on your driveshafts and gearbox.
You need to check and try and identify what the root cause is thats causing you these problems.
May be worth taking it to a panel shop or mechanic so they can check out the body work and any other anchoring points on the vehicle for straighness.

Regards

When I bought the car the front left quarter had been resprayed because the spray job hadn't been done correctly and crows feet had appeared in the paint in the quarter panel and front door. Mabey the car had been in an accident which would explain the front quarter respray and the continuosly blowing gearbox's problem?

The front left is also the side of the car where the gearbox is mounted which would make sense.

When I bought the car the front left quarter had been resprayed because the spray job hadn't been done correctly and crows feet had appeared in the paint in the quarter panel and front door. Mabey the car had been in an accident which would explain the front quarter respray and the continuosly blowing gearbox's problem?

The front left is also the side of the car where the gearbox is mounted which would make sense.

Now just for a stupid newbie question:

"Did the gearboxes start blowing up once you'd brought the car?"

If so, :stoopid: otherwise I'd be inclined to check it anyway, but not set my head in stone about it.

I bought the car and the gearbox that was in it blew in about 2 weeks, the second one lasted me 2 weels and the latest one with only 26,000km on it only lasted 3 weeks! so yeah, they've been blowing since I bought the car

I had someone look at the car, This time the diffirential has shattred and the pin which holds it togeather has shot through the case of the gearbox, which explains the hole in the bottom of the gearbox lol

Im not being silly here, but if I was in your shoes, Id be considering putting a used box in it, giving it a bath and selling it or trading her in. A problem like this doesnt sound like its gonna be a cheap fix.




:stoopid: my ralliart broke its tranny once. got it replaced under warranty and let her go:D could'nt be bothered spending too much dosh on itlol

mabey it just is my driving and I need to go a bit easier on the gearbox's.

I was talking to a gearbox specialist thismorning and they were telling me that the manuals were easier to brake than the autos because they were easier to thrash, what do people think about this? because I heard from amc people the manual can take more ****

5sp conversion time.

I bought the car and the gearbox that was in it blew in about 2 weeks, the second one lasted me 2 weels and the latest one with only 26,000km on it only lasted 3 weeks! so yeah, they've been blowing since I bought the car
I putting money on the car had issues so the oldowner sold it.. now you are having the same issue..:)

mabey it just is my driving and I need to go a bit easier on the gearbox's.

I was talking to a gearbox specialist thismorning and they were telling me that the manuals were easier to brake than the autos because they were easier to thrash, what do people think about this? because I heard from amc people the manual can take more ****

First of all define your thrashing. If you're just flooring it in drive that's normal, holding it in gears using the stick past redline every day isn't good for it. Neutral dumps/burnouts/spinning the wheels often is the way to kill diffs.

My guess is the latest one that broke while you were just driving along had metal fatigue from a previous owner. Ego and black beard's diffs both broke in driveways/carparks, ie not under any load at all, but were in bad condition from previous thrashings.

Depend whats you mean by which part is easier to break also. It's easy to overheat an auto but easier to break a diff in a manual using the clutch.

What circumstances did the other gearboxes break under, and what part, ie was it the diff?

are these gearboxes being fitted by Allstate Transmissions?

they are dodgy there...

also what keeps breaking in them?

i got my TM auto rebuilt at MV automatics in blackwood... everytime i drive it, cops it and its still going strong after 2 years and nearly 100,000km

What you need to clarify is what exactly is breaking.

If it is the differnential breaking, then that is commen to all Mitsubihsi V6's although the auto's are less renowned for it, but not uncommen. The Diffs are the same manuel / auto so it makes sense that its the main weakness in the magna vehicles.

The magna's even with cusco aftermarket stronger diffs were still able to break them in the manuel vehicles. To date there was no option other than standard for the auto's.

We are trialling the Quaifes now but to date they seem everything they appeared to be and stronger than a clutch style cusco differential, and they fit an auto as well.

If you are blowing the differentials, accelerating hard round sharp corners, static burnouts are commen factors for them blowing sa well as axle tramp.

Take a good look at your engine mounts, they will directly cause transmission differential failures with axle tramp. Otherwise be considerate to the engine around corners or invest in a Quaife LSD for the extra strength and traction.

Meanwhile also look at what oil is being used in the box and consider upgrading to fitting an auto transmission cooler. If you are driving it hard then the oil will be getting very very hot and putting more stress on the box. An auto trans cooler will help that dramatically.

I can't think of anything else but it sounds like a combination of some bad luck, hard driving and possible minor issues around the car combining for one large head ache.

if thrashing ur car is going to kill the transmission i should have gone through atleast twice as much as dan has, i push my TH to the edge 6500rpms way over the red line and still she goes strong exept that it does like to stay in third when its time to go into fourth lol. racing every P plater that i line up with at the lights (winning most of the time) and constant wheel spin in wet weather????? will i survive till my car reaches 200,000kms lol

if thrashing ur car is going to kill the transmission i should have gone through atleast twice as much as dan has, i push my TH to the edge 6500rpms way over the red line and still she goes strong exept that it does like to stay in third when its time to go into fourth lol. racing every P plater that i line up with at the lights (winning most of the time) and constant wheel spin in wet weather????? will i survive till my car reaches 200,000kms lol

Pretty much falls under the same category as what I said. Wheel spin in wet weather isn't really bad at all, the stress on the differential is basically a function of the load. If it doesn't take much throttle to spin the wheels - it's not hurting the diff, as long as both are spinning.

The gearbox's didn't have any thrashing to them by the previous owners. The first box came from SYNRGY and was working fine when it came out of his car and the second gearbox came from Slamd6 and it was working fine when it came out of his car.

SYNRGY's gearbox was fitted by MV Automatics in Blackwood and then Slamd6's gearbox was fitted by JRM Transmissions in Lonsdale.

I'm not dropping the gearbox from neutral into drive at all, never been done with either of these two box's. And what I meant when I said I give them a little bit of thrashing was that I push them hard sometimes through the hills and in wet weather but not constant burnouts and redlining.

I've looked at all my engine mounts, which are fine and everything else seems to be fine. I was talking to a auto trans specialist thismorning and they said to remove the two rubber cooling lines that go from the radiator to the gearbox and blow through them to check if they're blocked.

When I bought the car the front left quarter had been resprayed because the spray job hadn't been done correctly and crows feet had appeared in the paint in the quarter panel and front door. Mabey the car had been in an accident which would explain the front quarter respray and the continuosly blowing gearbox's problem?

The front left is also the side of the car where the gearbox is mounted which would make sense.


I bought the car and the gearbox that was in it blew in about 2 weeks, the second one lasted me 2 weels and the latest one with only 26,000km on it only lasted 3 weeks! so yeah, they've been blowing since I bought the car

So the original box(as far as you know) blew 2 weeks after buying the car and there has definitely been a crash repair on one side? Sounds to me like a possible problem is that there has been structural damage that hasn't been repaired properly and everything isn't lining up as it should. Although like Mitsiman says, we need to know how each one actually failed, if all 3 boxes failed very differently then it may just be sheer bad luck.

The first gerbox as far as I know was the factory fitted gearbox which blew 2 weeks after I bought the car, The next geabox came out of Synrgy's car which was working perfectly fine when he pulled it out. The last gearbox came out of Slamd6's car, only had 26,000km on it and was working fine when he pulled it out of his car. This gearbox lasted approx 3 weeks then blew up.

The first gearbox was diagnosed as the diffirential shattering, the second was exactly the same and the third was diagnosed as the pin that holds the dif togeather snapped, shot through the case of the gearbox, explaining the hole in the bottom of the gearbox and then the diffirential shattred probably because there there was nothing holding it togeather because the pin was snapped into a thousand pieces.

Now I'm not 100% sure if the car was in an accident but when I bought it the front left quarter had been resprayed because the rest of the car was perfect but that front left guard and door had been sprayed crap and had turned to crowsfeet effetc.

The first gerbox as far as I know was the factory fitted gearbox which blew 2 weeks after I bought the car, The next geabox came out of Synrgy's car which was working perfectly fine when he pulled it out. The last gearbox came out of Slamd6's car, only had 26,000km on it and was working fine when he pulled it out of his car. This gearbox lasted approx 3 weeks then blew up.

The first gearbox was diagnosed as the diffirential shattering, the second was exactly the same and the third was diagnosed as the pin that holds the dif togeather snapped, shot through the case of the gearbox, explaining the hole in the bottom of the gearbox and then the diffirential shattred probably because there there was nothing holding it togeather because the pin was snapped into a thousand pieces.

Now I'm not 100% sure if the car was in an accident but when I bought it the front left quarter had been resprayed because the rest of the car was perfect but that front left guard and door had been sprayed crap and had turned to crowsfeet effetc.

Think about how much you've just spent on three gearboxes and labour, and the value of the car, and ask yourself why you're going to keep it.

Wheel spin in wet weather isn't really bad at all, the stress on the differential is basically a function of the load.

What you're saying is partly true. The problem with open diffs is single spinner burnouts, it's the large speed difference between the two axles that causes accelerated wear (mostly due to uneven torque loading and uneven heat buildup)

its gotta be your setup, if the gearbox that i sold you was going to blow from natural causes it would have blown when i had it!!!! (im not a granny driver either)

(im not a granny driver either)

Dave you ARE the definition of granny drivers - should change your forum name to Miss Daisy

if you take off in full lock at high speed you will damage gearboxes

if you take off in full lock at high speed you will damage gearboxes

I dont take off in full lock at high speeds though!