Catera Transmission revisited
The Catera transmission I installed back in December failed suddenly for its owner recently. I towed the car back to the shop and pulled down the transmission.
I found the front pump seal blown completely out of the housing and up on the neck of the toque converter. It had pumped out all the fluid as well.
I had my suspicions about the replacement seal when I put it in. However I had been assured by the supplier that it would work fine. The proper seal has three bolts that hold it in. The replacement was simply a press fit. Apparently this transmission makes more pressure than most and just forced the seal right out.
After some research, I found the proper seal on ebay. It took a few days to get but after it arrived I was able to quickly put the car back together. Luckily I had saved the screws from the last time I had the car in the shop.
I refilled it with fluid and it seems good to go again. Hopefully this time it was last a while before it returns to the shop.
