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Ford Laser - Re-Condition Gear Box


Jimmy

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Dear Friends,

Need a big help. I have a Ford Laser BJ5 model. I ve been having issues with my auto gear transmission. In the morning when the car is put to Drive mode, it takes a lot of time for the car to be moved. I usually put the gear to D and wait in the car for about 5 to 10 minutes before it starts moving. Not only in the morning,  also if the car is switched off for a little while for about 4  to 5 hours, when tried to put Drive, I face the same issue. However, once the car is moved, rest of the gear transmits without an issue during the journey. Only problem is when the car is parked for a while and then start. Do you guys have any advice as to what may cause this problem. Some of the mechanics I went to, advised me to change the Gear Box and see. If so,do you know any place that I can find a reconditioned Gear box at a reasonable price. Many thanks in advance.

 

Dinushan 

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What have you done so far on the transmission that didn't work and convinced you to go for a replacement? 

Have you done a proper ATF change at least?

When oil seals inside the transmission harden due to age or if your transmission fluid is bad, these symptoms can happen. A proper automatic transmission expert should be able to overhaul yours for you.

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Thank you very much for you comment.

Yes, I have changed the ATF and the mechanic apparently cleaned up the Gear Box too. (Sump etc.). Just after the cleaning up, the gear box was doing Ok for couple of days and then started the issue again. Now even worse.  Would this be fixable problem if I go to an expert like Nilwala ( as stated in threads). Or is it to do with the temperature of the engine as usually D starts working when the car is started and when the temp. moves to the half way point of meter. 

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My CE110 had similar issue and Nilwala fixed it. The cost was about 25k including Toyota ATF. They took 1 day to complete the task. After doing the work, the shifting problem was fixed. But later I heard some sound like metal parts hitting each other inside the GB. They fixed this problem for free.

This was done about 3 years ago and up to now shifting seems OK. However, soon after the repair was done, I had to go aboard and for last 3 years car was used for less than 15000km.

First day afternoon, they removed gear box and stopped work. I asked them the time they will start work next day and went there about a half hour early. But when I go there, they already done the repair and was half way assembling the GB again. That was the only thing happened to me that I don't like during the repair. If they told me that they would start work 6am, I will be there at that time. (there was no other work at that time too)  They probably start early because they have to replace small parts and could not justify the charge. I felt that way during the conversations and body language for my questions during the assembly. (I had no problem with the charge and paying for the expertise they have. Just wanted to see everything myself because I'm mechanical engineer too.)

   

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@Jimmy; Hope you won't mind me hijacking your thread to post my issue. I’m also having a similar problem with my Mazda Familia BJ5P. On cold starts; it hesitates/delays to shift to the second gear and often the ‘HOLD’ button indicator keeps on blinking in the dashboard when this happens. If I don’t start the journey immediately after startup early in the morning and keep the engine idling for 2-3 minutes; the shifting happens fairly smoothly. Once the engine is at its optimum temperature, gear shifting appears to be smooth. Although at times I feel a slight delay in shifting to the second.

I have not done any major transmission repairs for the 7 years I have owned the car and the last gear oil change was done around 20,000Km ago. However, few months ago about 2000Km’s back there was a slight gear oil leak from the Sump and I repaired it immediately at Ma**a motors who have been taking good care of the car for the last 7 years. But, this problem started to develop after that repair. It’s hard to find any direct connection to that but I’m just wondering whether they mixed up old oil with new oil when re-filling the gear box. The gear oil appeared clean and pinkish before the repair but now it’s black and burnt.

When I took it back to them, what they told me was that some controller which aids the oil pressure to build up during cold startups (Oil pressure solenoid or something but I can’t remember the exact name though) is busted and it would cost around 36K for the full repair. When I asked about the burnt oil; they told me that the oil is burnt as I have accelerated the engine at cold startups to shift the gears and it might have burnt the oil but it’s hard to believe as I have been very careful with acceleration on cold startups after this problem appeared. They have also been selling me the idea to go for a new gear box but I’m not convinced with that since I believe this should be a minor issue based on the mileage of the car. So, I did a scanning from another place to find any error codes; and it gave the result ‘INCORRECT GEAR RATIO’.

Later on last friday, I took it to Nilwala for further diagnosis, but unfortunately the owner who is also the main technician was not there at that moment. But one honest looking mechanic at the premises took the car for a spin to diagnose the error but he could not replicate it as the engine temp was optimum at that moment and transmissions happened smoothly. He checked the condition of the gear oil and told me that one or two gear wheels might be broken. He advised me to leave the car with them on an evening so that they can replicate the error next morning. When I asked him whether I should go for a gear oil change he told me it want solve the issue and he had no idea of the error code ‘INCORRECT GEAR RATIO’ and told me that they have to re-scan it with their scanner.

So, now I’m in a bit of a dilemma on what to do. Does any one of you guys have any idea on this ‘INCORRECT GEAR RATIO’ error? What might be causing this transmission problem?

I would like to know details on any kind of experience, knowledge you guys have on this problem before deciding to go ahead with any of the mechanics.

Edited by LashNeo
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OK. Did some research and the P0730 – INCORRECT GEAR RATIO error can occur due to one of the following reasons.

- Low transmission fluid level

- Dirty transmission fluid

- Shift solenoids

- Transmission mechanical problems

 - Transmission hydraulic control circuit

 

That list includes my suspicion, as well as the reasons suggested by the experts which I have visited. So, I decided to visit Nilwala again when their main technician is available and see what he has to say. Based on his diagnose I’ll decide what should be done.

In the meantime, any type of expert advice from you guys is dearly welcome J

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@LashNeo No worries for stealing the thread.Any new idea is mostly welcome. This is the same kind of problem I've been facing. On cold starts mine also shows the " Hold" button. Then after sometime it switches off automatically. Since my ford also BJ5, could this be a common problem for BJ5s, I hope not. My only option left is to go to Nilvala Motors and see. Worst case scenario, changing the gear box. Since I will be out of the country for two weeks, wont be able to go to Nilwala for 2 weeks. @LashNeo , Could you please update and share your experience with Nilwala after your visit. It will help me immensely. Good luck bro, lets hope they will be able to fix it.

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@Jimmy, sure! i'll keep you posted on the progress. By the way, after this problem came up, you have mentioned that you changed ATF. What kind of oil did you use and from where did you did the change? 

 

Edited by LashNeo
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  • 2 weeks later...
On 7/20/2016 at 11:42 AM, Jimmy said:

@Lashneo, Since I live in Gampaha, I did the change at Jayasinghe Auto Engineering in Naiwala. Not excatly sure about the oil, will go home and check and let you know tomorrow

This car has the F-4EAT gearbox, same as the mazda bj5p. For  Mazda bj5p (basically the same car underneath) you need to use Mazda mV (v as in Roman number 5). Generic Atf has different chemical composition and most importantly higher viscosity. Unfortunately unlike other Toyota branded Atf etc there are no substitute products in the market from generic brands that matches the chemical properties. 

Do not confuse this with mercon V Atf as that is different (discussed before on a thread by JDnet). Dextron iii is not suitable for this car as it's too thick, you have to use this specific oil or the performance will be sluggish. Asiri motors, rainbow motors and new rainbow in Panchi has this oil and so does mazna Lanka (3rd party garage specializing in mazda cars). A can is around 11-12k, mazna takes around 16k-18k for an Atf change including labour. 

Edited by The Stig
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  • 2 weeks later...

Well.. Had a hectic time during the past few weeks and didn't got a chance to take her to a mechanic.
Therefore i've been sparingly using her. However, i had to take her out for few trips during the last few days since there weren't any alternative transport methods. Surprisingly, the issue has improved significantly.
there was a slight delay in shifting at startup but after few up-shifts and downshifts things were nearly perfect. The HOLD indicator did not blink either.
Therefore most probably i will start with a complete gear oil flush(manual flush) and refill and then decide on what to do from there onward based on how she reacts. :-)

Edited by LashNeo
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@LashNeo Great to hear that!! Hope that will fix the problem.

Well in my case, I went to Nilwala on Saturday afternoon. The owner ( or the chief Mechanic) Chandana took it for a spin and said he will fix it but will cost around 35K. Apparently it's a common issue for this model  (BJ5's). He said he will fix it and return to me on Monday cos Sunday they are closed. I wanted him to fix the car and leave it for a while so the engine could cool down to see whether drive will work. As promised he had fixed it by Monday. So when I started it temp was at lowest and to my great Joy it was working finally. Problem was fixed amazingly. I took it for a test drive and even the rest of the gear transmission was better than before, and he said the fuel consumption should also improve. So my advice is to you brother, if the complete oil flush wouldn't work, go meet him and get it it fixed. However, it may cost you double for the oil as Chandana will also replace the ATF.. So good luck and keep us posted..Oh BTW he charged me 33K. Cheers!

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49 minutes ago, Jimmy said:

@LashNeo Great to hear that!! Hope that will fix the problem.

Well in my case, I went to Nilwala on Saturday afternoon. The owner ( or the chief Mechanic) Chandana took it for a spin and said he will fix it but will cost around 35K. Apparently it's a common issue for this model  (BJ5's). He said he will fix it and return to me on Monday cos Sunday they are closed. I wanted him to fix the car and leave it for a while so the engine could cool down to see whether drive will work. As promised he had fixed it by Monday. So when I started it temp was at lowest and to my great Joy it was working finally. Problem was fixed amazingly. I took it for a test drive and even the rest of the gear transmission was better than before, and he said the fuel consumption should also improve. So my advice is to you brother, if the complete oil flush wouldn't work, go meet him and get it it fixed. However, it may cost you double for the oil as Chandana will also replace the ATF.. So good luck and keep us posted..Oh BTW he charged me 33K. Cheers!

Glad you got it fixed, however you could have bought a recon gearbox for around 40k. I would have gone the recon way though. 

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1 minute ago, The Stig said:

Glad you got it fixed, however you could have bought a recon gearbox for around 40k. I would have gone the recon way though. 

Well I guess you are right, but I was so desperate to get it fixed fast and couldn't wait to look for a reconditioned gear box. I got it fixed yesterday..Lets see how long it will hold... Thanks for your inputs @The Stig

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@Jimmy. So glad that you managed to fix the issue.

Did he explain what kind of changes he did? I guess he may have replaced some solenoids and gear wheels. Does he have the Mazda M-V gear oil type with him? If so, how much does it cost?

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  • 7 months later...

Guys just to give you a update on my gear box...

Fixing did not sort the issue. I kept on getting the same problem again and again. So I decided to change my gear box and did it. Chandana hooked me up with a Gear box for 55k. He deducted the initial 35K I paid him to repair and charged only 20k. Its now been running ok for one month....

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  • 1 month later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Hey sorry for the delay mate. Being out from the forum lately. I was able to run about One or Two months with the repair. That too with few visits to Chandana for minor repairs. So I would not guarantee that, instead go for a Gear box it self. It will save your time and stress.   

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