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Bleakley

Proven Member
403
96
Jan 29, 2017
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
This is going to be long to try and provide most of the info. Tons of work done to car recently:

-IPT reworked valvebody, included filter and gasket
-IPT end clutch kit
-Castrol ATF+4
-New throttle body gaskets, shaft seals, o-ring for BISS
-JMF ext wastegate o2 housing, o2 dump
-Tial MVS w/ coolant circulation
-New Bosch o2 sensor for the LC-2 straight from innovate.
-Autometer Trans temp sensor
-B&M #70298 Transmission cooler w/ fan

Pulled valve body off blown tranny I had sitting outside. No idea what went wrong with that one. Beat the shit out of it for a year? on 5-12 psi from EVO 16G. Was coasting to a stop sign one day, went to pull away and she just revved. That was it. Just assumed I cooked it and she had enough. Again, pulled valvebody and sent it to John. Figured he’d let me know if it was bad.

New(er) Transmission is/was used out of a convertible. Worked fine until this. Ran for couple thousand miles? Pulled pan and found the magnets pretty gunked (will post pics) and some powder residue in fluid. Filter on tranny had obviously been changed before because there was an aftermarket unit installed.
Anyway, install went fine on end clutch. Valve body wiring seemed to get in way / not wanna go through hole, but I got it by referencing manual and using my noodle.

Car fired right up. (Runs even better than before) Went to put it in park (started the car in neutral) and fricken car won’t even go in park. It’s like something’s blocking the shifter from going in park. I can force it but it won’t put the tranny in the park gear unless I really force it. I did NOT touch the linkage. Left it completely alone during the whole time car was getting worked on.
I noticed there was a spring / some linkage in bottom of transmission too? So def possible wires coulda got caught or ARE getting caught? Or maybe I messed that up? Only replaced valvebody though...
I shifted through all gears and didn’t get anything. Even AFTER going through a THOROUGH warm up / heat soak. (Did not reference trans temp though as I have yet to mount on dash and ground it). I pulled 5 quarts from drain pan during valve body replacement (and probably accidentally dumped half a quart or more on ground). So I filled it back up with 6 quarts once pan was back on. So should be enough in there to move car, without doubt. Also revved to about 3.5-4.0k in an attempt to move car. No bueno.
I quit for today / couple days. Next move is to start diagnosing tranny. Gonna pull line to see if I have circulation. Then I guess maybe test electronics, or pull pan to see if I see anything out of ordinary? Really at a loss here. Really interested in what some of you maybe have to say.

All I want to do is drive the car. Lol.
 
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Theres a chance that you didnt line up the manual valve in the valve body when you installed it, and if thats the case you very well could have broken it when you tightened the valve body down.
 
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Manual valve?
Definitely did not do that?

No one said SHIT about that. Nor was there any literature I found at quick searches.

I should go back and look at FSM. I’ll be so hot if that’s the case. Thanks sir.
 
For the record, just that thing will be broke?, not the $600 IPT valve body right?
Because I DO happen to have a spare... and that would be great...

Edit: Just watched IPT valve body video (didn’t know there was one).
That’s DEFINITELY my problem....
 
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Will update this in the morning (well, later in the morning...). I pulled the pan and immediately saw the issue. To be sure, Got out from under the car, moved shifter, got back under car and... BINGO! Not only did I find the problem, but it appears the thing is intact and doesn’t look cracked (god I hope not...).
I knew immediately something was wrong when the shifter didn’t feel right and was careful not to be TOO forceful..

Did not start the car cause it was like 2:30 a.m. and I’m currently open downpip. My neighbors would have a crapfit!!! Again, will update in the morning. For now...
P I C S !!



Edit: motomattx —> Thank you very much for the help, and taking the time to reply to the thread. I know that was probably a lot to read. And you responded so quickly! Lol.
Hopefully I don’t have any more issues. Just can’t wait to fire it up and start rippin’ it!
 

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Update:
It was in fact the manual valve. Pulled valve body out a little. Made sure seal and bushing were there / good to go. Lined up manual valve... bolted it down.
Transmission acts as it should now. Thank god. :)
 
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Have been rebuilding autos for a good while now, starting with these ones, good to hear its good now.
 
Rather than make new thread, posting this here for help. May make a new thread, idk, we’ll see how it goes.

So I’ve been fixing all the little shit with the car and then taking it out for test drives / shakedowns.
Just finished installing tranny cooler so now my car is pretty much daily ready.
Well... I’m driving to work and made a couple of pulls on the way to work, and LOST FOURTH GEAR.

Felt like it went out of gear. I pushed the OD button to put it in 3rd, then hit it again to put it in 4th. I think it held for a little til I gave it a very mild pull and that’s when she left me...
I would hit the button to manually shift it and it’d go in, but just rev. Now it won’t even go to fourth. So frustrated with this car honestly. All this money, shoulda just bought and messed with a manual because I’m not making that much power..
Again, this is after installing the IPT end clutch kit. I bought it from someone on here and it was DEFINITELY old, but still new and unopened. Could that have something to do with It? I followed that video to a fricken tee. Possibly something I did?
Should I go ahead and scoop a brand new one and reinstall with the utmost diligence?

Any and all guidance greatly appreciated..
 
Sounds end clutch related to me! either the sealing piston ring is twisted or its backwards, or the inner one is messed up, but in any event if it slipped its now junk and needs replaced anyway. Keep in mind also that some of the end clutches take more or less plates than others depending on the model.
 
Four came out, four went in. Steel plate first, then fiber plate, alternating until top plate. Inner seal for sure good. Was very careful seating piston. I noticed John had a little trouble so I knew I’d have trouble.
Outside seal on other hand, wasn’t sure which way to put on the one way it seemed to flap in the breeze and just looked backwards. So I flipped it. Pretty sure it’s right. I have another end clutch I know is OEM and untouched I’ll check to verify correct orientation.

However, new problem....
—>I’m honestly starting to think this tranny was a piece of sh*t from the getgo... I got it for $100 (or less, can’t remember actually) and it had metal powder for days in fluid and an aftermarket filter on it.
Driving home from work today. Made a couple rips (careful not to put it in OD). Car seemed great minus forth gear. Pulled up to a stop light. Felt like something bound up and broke. Went a couple blocks to house. Might have felt something pop again, can’t remember.
Pulled in the driveway and my car is DUMPING fluid. I’m like HOLY CRAP... Pulled into my spot, shut it off, jacked it up. Dude, blew a f***ing hole in the transmission. Unbelievable...

I seriously don’t see how you guys are putting 300-500 through relatively stock transmissions. There’s just NO way...
 
The loss of Overdrive highly suggest an end clutch issue. Most likely an o-ring failure as mentioned. From my experience the outer seal has been the most common failure. Cheaper brands don't fit correctly. Fluid pressure bleeds off and the clutches cant apply.

However, when the filter begins to plug... 4th gear is the first to go and causes a similar issue with free revving. Eventually, the car wont move. Since your transmission worked fine in all the other gears I believe the Overdrive assembly to be culprit.

This hole in the trans sounds like another issue. Diff?
 
The hole would be a broken diff dropping the pin through the case, are you fwd or awd? if you wheel hopped it when doing pulls then thats what finished off the diff.
 
Going to buy a used transmission. Worst case if I blow this one I’ll have tons of hard parts / spare parts. I’m okay with that.
IPT valve body I’ll transfer over. Buying another IPT end clutch kit.
Going to buy the Forced Four kit for this one also.
I have an EVO III 16G @ 16/17 psi. So I’m estimating ~250-275whp.
IMO stock trans with IPT valve body, IPT end clutch, and Forced Four 100.1 shift box w/ stock tires. Should hold all of that no sweat right?
 
Theoretically, yes. I'm running a bastard 20g on 27 psi thru mine.

Just like an engine, it does not care what bolt ons you did. That does not change the health of the engine or trans.
 
Yeah, exactly, that’s good bit more wheel torque than what I’m putting down.
And that’s a great way of putting it, thanks.

First trans was one that came in car. I inherited it 3 quarts low on fluid and some intermittent issues, so I knew I was on borrowed time with that one. Second one, the one that just went, I knew wasn’t in the best shape but MAN I had no idea it was on it’s last leg...
I texted dacowgod and he’s going to sell me a transmission. He’s always been honest and I feel I’m getting at least a better tranny than the last two I’ve had. Lol. Just feel much more comfortable buying from a reputable member here on the boards.

Once I get everything back in order I’ll try and update this thread on how I made out.

Looking forward, I know a few members here have documented rebuilding these transmissions. Anyone have a couple links / threads they can supply me with? In the meantime, while I have two inop transmissions on the ground. I wouldn’t mind taking the time and rebuilding one for a rock solid backup. Wouldn’t mind buying some new tools and learning how to rebuild an auto.
 
They're usually not worth rebuilding, hard parts are very expensive and or non existent and unless you know exactly what your looking for and doing or have a transmission dyno to test it on, its a crapshoot spending time and money to attempt a fix on them when you have a total failure on one and the price to fix it generally exceeds the replacement cost in parts alone. I've diag'd and rebuilt alot of them and those were cases where they needed to be basically brand new and the money was there but even then, a few parts had to be sourced used because they werent available any longer.
 
motomattx - you make a great point. I had a mechanic i knew rebuild a trans, lasted a year. The break-in process was brutal. Involved me back driving to Philadelphia. 7 hour drive. 450 miles. I'm ignorant. Idk why i didn't just rent a car. I rent cars now LOL.

I went thru hell and back to find a source for a trans front pump. I feel like it cost around $250. If they run too low, the gear that floats on the fluid will start riding the case. You know what happens after following that.

I definitely recall spending at LEAST $125 on some Alto rebuild kit.

Then a kiggly end clutch kit super early on because that went out. That was 1st thing to go. Furthest from pump, I was probably low on fluid. That trans lasted me around 7 years. My gma gifted me the car, so I mean, who knows how original that thing was. But I put that transmission thru a work out.


But if you catch them early. Find subtle problems like bad resistance in solenoids A and B, then you can save a lot of money trouble shooting. If you have the patience, time, space, money, and knowledge.


Bleakley - Please remember any parts you swap over are either cleaned, or replaced. Some things like coolers should just be replaced. That is one thing I forgot. I transferred over a trans cooler. Didn't think about it until practically years later.
 
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