Gearbox etc...

[bam_bam]

Mine had a MRC stage 1+ and i needed a new TCU which i relpaced(while advertised for sale ) and only waited for a couple of days for the part to arrive and then be fitted. My box was fine and still is to this day as my mate bought the car and has no problems with it since.

Finally, a good box story.

[Special K C5]

Especially good if you take into account the symptoms i had with the problem, basically it would stay in one gear and the lights would be off on dash for gear selection and then they would come back on and the car would change gear with a rather worrying slam(best description i can think of). So as you can imagine i thought damage would be occuring but had the box serviced and all was well and still is, gutted thinking about it to this day the fact it was for sale and was saving for house purchase but it could have been a TCU and box i suppose so was lucky. What i would say is that although the box was fine after this and still is it wasn't the same not being mapped.

[blm70]

Mine had a MRC stage 1+ and i needed a new TCU which i relpaced(while advertised for sale ) and only waited for a couple of days for the part to arrive and then be fitted. My box was fine and still is to this day as my mate bought the car and has no problems with it since.

Finally, a good box story.

Then I live in hope...

[blm70]

although the box was fine after this and still is it wasn't the same not being mapped.

So your car retained the stage 1 engine map but after swapping the TCU it lost the gearbox map. How did it affect driving?

I wonder whether MRC would be prepared to transfer their gearbox map from one TCU to another for a nominal fee. I have the original invoice/receipt so might give them a call...

[blm70]

had the box serviced and all was well and still is

Fluid change or anything else?

[Special K C5]

I had fluid and filter changed.

If i had been keeping mine i would have been to MRC for it to be sorted again its just a much nicer driving experience with it mapped also, its hard to explain why and maybe some one else will be able to put it into words but i definently felt a difference.

[blm70]

Update: JT phoned to say they'd fitted the replacement TCU which has fixed the 'checksum error', although the TC issue is still present so it will require a rebuild.

Hopefully ready in about 10 days or so.

Chap also advised that the shift points were a bit odd i.e. a big gap between 2nd and 3rd with the replacement TCU, although I suggested that this might be down to the MRC map on the old one. He asked who had rebuilt the 'box previously although I don't have any paperwork to confirm this has ever been done.

We'll see what they find...

[Mɐʇʇ]

Gearbox - 2 days out, a day of "doing stuff" and 2 days back in. Less if you have a proper lift, 2 blokes doing it, and have done it before. More if you've not, are flying solo and only have a pair of axle stands.

While it's out, can't stress enough how important it is to do a few other jobs:

• 1st on the list is the Bufkin Pipe. Sooooo cheap & easy to do with the motor out
• Then Primary Lambda and maybe EGT's (FWIF, I did the lambdas as they're cheap but not the EGTs as they're $$$)
• Check the condition of the turbos - if the car has 85+K on the turbo seals will be a bit worn, evidenced by oil in the intercoolers.
• Consider rear crankshaft oil seal

Cos all of these are a right ballache, or impossible to do once it's back in!


Also check they replace the driveshaft & propshaft bolts, plus also the TC bolts, which are all one time use.

[blm70]

Appreciate the advice Matt - I'll ensure I pass it on

[Mɐʇʇ]

They probably won't know what the Bufkin pipe is. It's this and goes under the oil->water cooler bolted onto the RH side of the engine block. Bufkin is just the name of the dude that makes the replacements - 10x better than OEM.

[blm70]

Nor did I, but Google came to the rescue

Cheers!

[Shoppinit]

Don't forget the goatse mod.

Any dealer will be happy to provide.

[bam_bam]

Brilliant. TBH it's how most punters look after visiting a stealer.

[blm70]

You guys...

[blm70]

Collected car today. Was due to pick it up two weeks ago but the day before they called me to say after getting the a/c re-gassed it started leaking transmission fluid so it all had to come apart again... They did road test it several times before and it was fine. Just one of those things I guess.

Turned out the torque converter had a tiny split in a weld, so one replacement later and so far so good.

Also had the front engine mount replaced as it was shot, plus the second time the engine was removed they noticed one of the vacuum hoses (T-connecter) was missing - now fixed.

Minor negatives - inside is now somewhat grubby (I always keep my interior clean), and when I dropped it off it had about 1/3 tank of fuel but on collection it was literally empty and I had to put Morrisons nasty fuel in (until I could find a Shell garage)

Still, it's nice to have access to all the gears/modes now

Did notice something whilst driving home though - now when I accelerate (light or heavy) there's a new noise from the engine bay that sounds somewhat like a mixture of a manic heater fan and a dying fan belt. Not as screechy as a fan belt but unpleasant all the same. Unfortunately they shut midday so I'll have to ask them about it Monday but does anyone have any suggestions as to what it might be? Should I still drive it? No warning lights are on and all the gauges are reading fine. Performance feels very strong on boost although I'm getting a bit of stuttering sometimes when off boost which wasn't there before.

It has also had a replacement TCU (old one threw a checksum error) and the small forest of leaves has now been removed to allow rain to exit the correct way

Hmm..