Well I have another one then !

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Stickyfinger
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Re: Well I have another one then !

Post by Stickyfinger »

happy to take all the advice I can get on this, I literally have no clue about Auto Boxes.
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Re: Well I have another one then !

Post by Mandrake »

Stickyfinger wrote:happy to take all the advice I can get on this, I literally have no clue about Auto Boxes.
Without being able to drive the car legally on the road there isn't much you can do to try to diagnose the box, especially when its a purely mechanical/hydraulic box like a 4HP14, hence no ECU to read fault codes from.

Auto boxes can be quirky and only when you drive them and become familiar with their behaviour can you spot quirky behaviour. Putting it in gear with the wheels off the ground won't exercise all the valves in the valve block (for example the torque converter won't lock up at lower speeds) and without a load you can't really test anything.

I know that box reasonably well to drive as my first Xantia was also a 2.0i petrol with 4HP14, and Dad had one as well that I drove regularly. I bought mine at 86k miles and after using it as a daily driver sold it 4 years later at 113k miles. The gearbox oil was black when I bought it although as far as I can remember the gearbox was functioning normally without any symptoms. I did 3 changes of Castrol Transmax M to get the oil nice and red again. The gearbox did 27k miles until it was sold without the slightest hiccup and to be honest I preferred the simplicity and predictability of it to the quirky "autodaptive" 4HP20 in the V6...

Dad's 4HP14 also had the oil changed and was also flawless and 11 years later my sister is still driving it...and from what I've read its a pretty reliable box that doesn't suffer from the common failings of the AL4.
xantia_v6 wrote:If the transmission is "slipping into neutral", unless the fluid level is low, it is very unlikely that it will be fixed by any number of fluid changes, as the transmission is suffering from wear or internal damage.

It is fairly common now for these older ZF transmissions to have odd symptoms caused by leakage past the governor seals, which is relatively easy to fix (usually) without needing to remove the transmission.
If its never had any oil changes it could also be suffering from sticky valves, in which case something like Lubegard Red (in addition to oil changes) might help. If the alternative is a big strip down of the gearbox or chucking it its certainly worth a try.

I know some people are skeptical of additives but depending on what the cause of the problem is the right additive can help - Lubegard Red is the real deal and I've used it on two 4HP20's now with significant improvements in their behaviour, even on the first one that was initially behaving really badly and turned out in hindsight to be overheating due to a blocked heat exchanger.

Helping with sticking or poorly sealing valves in the valve block is one thing Lubegard Red specifically claims to be able to do, both freeing their movement and improving the sealing of the seals, and it does it without using a "seal swelling" agent that some of the other additives use. (which can cause damage long term)

But all of this is a bit moot until you can get it roadworthy as you need to be able to drive it to study the symptoms as well as to do proper oil changes.
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Re: Well I have another one then !

Post by CitroJim »

Door shuts and sills look good on that car Alasdair ;)
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Re: Well I have another one then !

Post by Stickyfinger »

It is Jim, I cannot find any rot on this thing anywhere.
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Re: Well I have another one then !

Post by CitroJim »

Stickyfinger wrote:It is Jim, I cannot find any rot on this thing anywhere.
Too good to cut up then ;)
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Re: Well I have another one then !

Post by Stickyfinger »

I will cut it up Jim if a simple box fix (no engine out ect....and I do not need another car) does not work....I am a brute and the car is a good source for parts.

It is a hard old world out there for such cars
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Re: Well I have another one then !

Post by CitroJim »

True Alasdair...

There's some bits I need ;)
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Re: Well I have another one then !

Post by Stickyfinger »

and you can take your pick mate......
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Re: Well I have another one then !

Post by furriegurrie »

A c4ap car very seldom provides good quality parts....

When I ran my 2 Xms I bought a very good Xm which just needed some welding to the sills. Not expensive or complicated. But I stripped the whole car to have spares for the other 2. I needed the autobox and the interior anyway and kept the rest for spares. Very handy if you've got everything to fix your car if something goes....
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Re: Well I have another one then !

Post by CitroJim »

furriegurrie wrote:A c4ap car very seldom provides good quality parts....
Yes, a good point :)
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Re: Well I have another one then !

Post by Stickyfinger »

Yep: To be honest, if |I bent my good one this one could supply very good structural parts as much as a few bits and bobs.....not planning that however :)..touch wood
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Re: Well I have another one then !

Post by CitroJim »

Gosh no...
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Re: Well I have another one then !

Post by Stickyfinger »

1st drain, clean ATF is a little obvious I think.
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Re: Well I have another one then !

Post by superloopy »

Ugh.

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Re: Well I have another one then !

Post by CitroJim »

That's how it looks after it's been in use for years.... Like old engine oil but very thin and lacking in body...
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