Keith Browning Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 I had a valuable reminder this week. Don't assume new is good. I repaired a Torqshift that had a bad fluid pump which sent debris throughout the unit resulting in a slightly burnt up overdrive clutch among other things. The repair included of course a NEW fluid pump and a re-man torque converter. After the repair, the TCC failed to apply, flashing Tow-Haul light and Check Engine light. "Wonderful." I said. "What did I screw up?" Just to be sure it wasn't a solenoid issue, I swapped the OD and TCC shift solenoids. No change. Out comes the unit again. Out comes the pump. I disassembled all of the valves in the pump and checked them for binding, incorrect assembly missing/broken pieces. All good. Run it by the Hot-Line (Hi guys!) and it was decided to Service Install a converter. I get the converter and proceed to re-assemble the pump to reinstall it. And there it was. Evidence of some rough handling. Not one, but two marks on the aluminum control body of the pump. One actually created a flat spot in the outer diameter of the pump and distorted the sealing surface... right at the TCC hydraulic circuit causing a leak between the pump and the case. A closer look at the gasket confirmed that a seal was never made. I was concentrating on the valves so intently that I failed to observe the rest of the assembly missing what should have been obvious. If you are still with me, the point here is to remind us all that just because a part is new does not mean that it is good or otherwise undamaged. To add to that, the correct part. How many times in our daily routine do we pull a part from a box and just install it without really giving it any scrutiny? In this case, I know I did not drop the part. I do not recall the packaging damaged in any way. In fact I recalled how well it was wrapped in plastic and surrounded with the anti-corrosive paper and cardboard. This was a quality control error on Ford's part for sure but mine as well. Needless to say this is a reminder to me and hopefully to you to make it a point to look at things a little closer. Complacency. - The monkey wrench in the gears of success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Warman Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 Stercus accidit. You caught it... you found it... you fixed it. I doesn't get any better than this. Mistakes aren't there to be prevented... they are there to be made... and make them we will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbudge Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 New is just new. If new is so good why am I spending so much time fixing new cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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