Story time
What's important to note is that the images you see above were taken yesterday and not on the day I took the car (because it was night time when I got home)
The reason they were taken yesterday is because the car has not been with me since about the time that I got it. The very next day after buying the car, the transmission did a slight jerk and shudder on the highway and threw the car into limp mode.
After limping the car home, I plugged it in for a diagnosis and I saw the last thing any ZF gearbox owner wants to see... EGS: Ratio monitoring, clutch A - Translation: I hope you didn't intend on buying Christmas gifts this year.
Above this, there were a few other codes that made the situation much worse - EGS: Turbine speed sensor and EGS: Output speed sensor.
This unfortunately meant catastrophic issues, if we were in the 1800s, I'd have taken the car out back and shot it in the back of the skull. Instead of this, I took it to a friend of mine, Mr Sav himself. His first reaction to me explaining what was wrong was that I was about to make him a very rich man.. He advised me to take the car to ZF themselves. The next day, I did exactly that. I went to ZF in Germiston and flashed my VIP identification (I told them I was a forum member) they told me to fill in the book.
Upon speaking to the lady at the front desk, Aaliyah, she was quite knowledgeable about what was going on, even she relayed to me that I was in hot water. She brought out a mechanic to substantiate her claims. I showed him the codes from ISTA and he said, and I quote "Oh shit". Not exactly what you'd like to hear from the guy who is supposed to fix your car.
Besides the clutch(es) slipping, the speed sensors pointed toward mechatronic failure... ZF quoted me R99 000 before VAT to do a complete rebuild. A partial rebuild was half of that before VAT but the partial rebuild does not include mechatronic, which was the main failure point on my transmission. ZF was now advising me to go elsewhere.. no one wanted to touch the car in its state. They advised that I straight up buy a 2nd hand box - they referred me to Japan Auto in Boksburg - I phoned them and asked for a 6HP19 but specifically for a diesel. The lady that helped me on the phone said they had in stock, but when I was transferred over to a floor worker, they said they didn't have.. only for a petrol car (which cannot be used - different torque metrics).
I phoned around to a handful of places and no one had a transmission for me. That was until I stumbled across a place in JHB.. I know, I know.. JHB is not the place to be getting spares, but at this point, I needed to get this car that I have owned for less than 24hrs running again. I paid a visit to a place called Samco Engines in Booysens (not directly in JHB CBD which is a bonus) I asked if they had a 6HP19 for a diesel and they said no. Desperate, I asked to see it.. they took me to the box and I ran the part number – it was indeed for a diesel. I told them I was willing to take it but what guarantee did I have that it was working? They told me that I had no guarantee whatsoever. The gentleman that helped me offered to show me the oil by tipping it over and stripping the oil pan but more than that, he couldn't do. He also informed me that once I received an invoice from them, I was not to return again - it was a risk that I was taking.
Who am I if not a gambling man. I paid for the box and immediately took it to ZF. They took it to the back room where they were doing a diagnosis on it. I waited in the parking lot like a virgin waiting for marriage. I paced up and down for what seemed like hours, as if I was waiting outside of a surgery ward at NetCare.
They wheel out my transmission on the tray they loaded it on and the two mechanics looked me dead in my eyes, shook their heads and told me "it's not looking good". The house had won.
They told me that although the mechatronic on the new box wasn't throwing an error, the clutches on this box were also slipping. I had two boxes with slipping clutches - just to remind the reader, a partial rebuild (for this exact issue of slipping clutches) was about R50 000+
One thing about me is that my spirit can't be broken.
I told them to just put the transmission back in my car and that I would make another plan. I took my car to a place 5 minutes from my house, Executive Transmissions in Eastleigh. I spoke to a Mr. Mike there who apparently used to work for ZF many moons ago but left due to politics. The man is a guru. I explained to him what the issue was and why I had a boat anchor in my boot and he told me he would sort me out.
Almost a week (and R36 000) later, I have a fully rebuilt and refreshed transmission that doesn't throw a single code and shifts beautifully. I finally had the opportunity to enjoy the car.
