the wheels turning opposite directions IS normal when off the ground, that is the differential doing its job. don't worry about that.

 

if the trans has fluid in it, then the cooler line isnt at fault. if a clamp was loose at the cooler line then you would have seen trans fluid everywhere when it poped off, and it couldnt be missed. when you take the radiator out to do a t-belt job, very little fluid is lost. even if they didnt put some back in, it wouldnt have made a difference, unless the fluid was already very low to begin with. dealerships have people almost everyday come back and say that they did something wrong and caused their vehicle to break down. alot of people are after something for nothing. i dont think they are bieng cold on purpose, its just the nature of the game. i hope it works out for you.

 

Second opinion completed, same result, need a new tranny.

Input / Output Sensors Fine, TPS - Fine, All Solenoids - Fine. - All electrical checks passed.
Manual Reverse, Neutral work, after disconnecting the battery, so if any of you get into a fail-safe mode, disconnect battery, if you want to reverse the car.

I am getting a used tranny into it, parked in the garage for now, waiting for the tranny.

Used tranny was : 1500.00 with about 40k Miles.
Installation: About 500.00+.

Will keep you posted..
This board has been of great help, thanks again.

Many of you have suggested not to blame the dealer but I still think overheating of the tranny caused this, how what and why, I am not sure what happened.

The overall analysis was , AT/Temp Light On, 02 Clunks, Tranny Out.

History on the tranny :
4 Wheel Lights - Flashing, changed the solenoids at 58K. ( 400.00 USD)
Orange Light Flashing - Changed all the switches on the Tranny ( 950.00 USD) 60k
Transmission Flush - Mitsu Dealer - at 60K ( 180 USD)
Timing Belt - Mitsu Dealer - at 70k
Tranny out - 70k+50 Miles

Keep up with your tranny oil changes !,
Transfer Case, Differential(Front & Rear) and the
Transmission. - use only Mitsu Oil.

Cheers
Rxr.

 

Thanks jgbrules.

 

the transmission in your car is NOT built by aisin-warner, as someone else had mentioned. It is 100% mitsubishi built.

and as I said, ive worked for mitsu for 17 years. regardless of manufacturer, montero trannies almost NEVER fail.
ALMOST. I myself purchased a montero sport (which has a nearly identical transmission as your montero) due to the fact that the trans had failed. It was not overheated... quite the opposite. in the EXTREME cold (-20f), the fluid is very, very thick. the owner of the car took it out and pushed it very hard in those temps. The fluid, not yet being correctly warmed up, didnt allow for correct lubrication. The planetary gearset suffered a catastophic bearing failure. The car ONLY had 1st and 3rd gear until repaired.

as I said.... its NOT common, but if something does fail its almost always a catastrophic mechanical failure that is not common, nor predictable.

 

rxr:

Sounds like you're getting close to being back on the road. Too bad about the $2k surprise but hopefully you'll have much better luck with the next tranny.

I hope they don't need to be reminded of this but since overheating was one of the first alarms, you might want to make sure your mechanic flushes out the ATF cooler. I don't know how/if they can tell if the flow is normal (ie no blockage in the tubes) but it would seem to be a good thing to check before closing everything up.

Ron

 

You guys are awesome here, the truck's in the shop today, plan to take some pictures, but lets see.. tranny's being removed and waiting for the used one.

One of the used parts guy suggested to add an external oil cooler to the tranny, he even says autozone/pepboys/advance carries that stuff for like 50 bucks, any idea on this ?

Has anybody done this before, adding an external cooler to the tranny ?

 

The tranny is off the truck, now there's some play in the front wheel drive differential, i have to rotate it like 1/2 inch for the differential to engage., where as the rear wheel drive differential engages the wheels as soon as I start moving the differential flange.

Is this normal ? or do I need a differential now ?
The tech is suggesting, its almost time for the front differential and it should work just like the one in the rear and there should not be any "play" in the differential.

Your thoughts and advice - highly useful, so please respond.

Thanks
R.

 

I am not a technician, nor an experianced mechanic.

But I do know that when I twist the rear driveshaft on my 02 Sport (113K miles) there is a bit of play in the shaft. 1/2 inch does not sound like alot to me...and at 70K miles I would not be replacing the diff. I recall reading on one of the Montero forums that a bit of play was normal. That's just my (inexperianced) $.02

 

youre really overthinking all this.

yes, play is normal. on any car.


you unfortunately have suffered a catastrophic failure of the trans... that doesn't mean you need to worry about every other piece of the driveline, however. You are one of the very few that has had a trans failure, which sucks. But the trucks ARE reliable and rock solid.