4wd Auto Stagea On Dyno

[psi]

My mate is an automatic mechanic.

he was asked to fix an auto from a 4wd stagea. apparently the car is making over 300hp at the tyres on the dyno and then the auto gave up and fried.. Cos i drive an import he thought i would know all..

but i don't. Do any of you?

To save time can you guys help?

1: can you run an auto 4wd stagea on a 2wd dyno without pulling front shafts out?

1A: what if anything does it kill? Some one told him that u can pull a fuse...?

2: anybody out there had same auto problem? what did you do to fix it?

3: what size converter stall do most of you guys (that don't have a stock turbo) run in RPM?

4: trans cooler size.

From many years of playing with auto's he has a pritty good idea, however he would like to crossreference that with people in the feild to get a good strong setup first time.

Thanks.

Aaron

Edited March 12, 2008 by psi

[MRO]

I dont know much but pulling the fuse wont help and he will need a 4wd dyno - 2wd is no good. Someone will be able to tell you this in a more technical manner.

[mike40sydney]

My mate is an automatic mechanic.

he was asked to fix an auto from a 4wd stagea. apparently the car is making over 300hp at the tyres on the dyno and then the auto gave up and fried.. Cos i drive an import he thought i would know all..

but i don't. Do any of you?

To save time can you guys help?

1: can you run an auto 4wd stagea on a 2wd dyno without pulling front shafts out?

1A: what if anything does it kill? Some one told him that u can pull a fuse...?

2: anybody out there had same auto problem? what did you do to fix it?

3: what size converter stall do most of you guys (that don't have a stock turbo) run in RPM?

4: trans cooler size.

From many years of playing with auto's he has a pritty good idea, however he would like to crossreference that with people in the feild to get a good strong setup first time.

Thanks.

Aaron

4wd dyno is best if not you must remove the front drive shaft.4 bolts and out it comes

[GoldZilla]

Like Mike and MRO say, you HAVE to pull the driveshaft out to run an AWD Stagea on a 2WD dyno. Pulling the fuse is useless, because the Stagea's ATTESA system (being R33-based) doesn't work like the R32's one where there is no mechanical/hydraulic connection once you remove the fuse.

AFAIK, Stageas use the RE40-series boxes, which are (or should be almost) identical to those units used in auto Skylines, 300ZXs and other RWD Nissans.

I dunno, I bought mine because it had already been converted to manual anyway.

[_Ryan_]

Like Mike and MRO say, you HAVE to pull the driveshaft out to run an AWD Stagea on a 2WD dyno. Pulling the fuse is useless, because the Stagea's ATTESA system (being R33-based) doesn't work like the R32's one where there is no mechanical/hydraulic connection once you remove the fuse.

AFAIK, Stageas use the RE40-series boxes, which are (or should be almost) identical to those units used in auto Skylines, 300ZXs and other RWD Nissans.

I dunno, I bought mine because it had already been converted to manual anyway.

that is what the guy who did my shift kit said.

[psi]

Yea i wasn't there.. but I was 99% sure there was no quick fix to turn it back to 2wd from 4wd.

maybe y it spat the auto out?

anybody else dropped a stock auto at 300ish hp?

I don't think the dyno guy/owner is telling the whole story..

[Stinky Rooster]

Well, as others on here will tell you from previous experience if you take the fuse out and try to tun it up on a 2wd dyno, you will completely fry the clutch packs in the tranfer case. As this is directly fixed to the side of the auto, I can only imagine bad things would ensue...

Due to the large amount of loading on the std gearbox due to the atessa system, i find it pretty hard to believe that the auto wouldn't handle 300hp, but I may be wrong (hey, it happened once before ) but as with all things mechanical, this would depend entirely on previous service history.

[ssshonky]

so was it a 4wd or 2wd dyno?

[Sydneykid]

Pulling the drive shafts is the ONLY answer for a 4wd Stagea on a 2wd dyno. same as for R33 and R34GTR's and GTS4's.

Aee you sure it is the gearbox and not the ATESSA that is screwed?

Cheers

Gary

[psi]

Thanks guys.. you have all confirmed what I was 99% sure about.

Looks like he might be having a gawk inside the the transfer case as well. ohh the insanity.

Auto is now in 20billion bits on the surgery table.. all looks ok, bar the converter. Converter is totally dead. multi-coloured and not at all a happy looking thing anymore. It was on a 2wd dyno, and i cant for the life of me figure out how the heck this story fits together..

If a 4WD car is on a 2WD dyno.. wouldn't it climb right off the dyno? The story goes that a fuse was removed and ramped up to do power figures. so, now we all know that the mighty stagea was still in 4WD mode.. would/could it spin the fronts? might explain the fried converter!

If the rears spin on the rollers, an overly power hungry dude on the loud pedal, then I would think that it would either spin the fronts or climb itself half way to a ski resort..

perhaps neither could happen, perhaps the converter was the weakest link?

Its all a bit odd? Anyhow.. I'll pass the info onto the surgeon. He can fix her up, and let them at it for round two. Maybe they'll be back looking for a new front clip after it launches off the rollers at 180kph!

Thanks guys.

[psi]

Hey SK, emtpy your inbox! just typed u half a book and cant send it!

[Stinky Rooster]

Nah - the transfer case is a very low torque device, and if the car was strapped down with the fuse pulled, what would happen is the clutch packs would only get a little of the pressure they need (transfer clutch packs, that is) from the ATESSA actuator and the clutch packs wouldn't grip, just rub together at very high speed and it would fry them very hard. This in turn would put an absolute crapload of pressure on the torque converter as the tranny would have nowhere to offload the massive amount of torque. Kinda like what happens when people in a 2WD auto try to load up and "flash" the converter to do a burnout. Which, funnily enough, sounds exactly like what has happened

[psi]

I suspect that nothing else has let go. All other parts seem good. The converter wore the brunt of it and gave up on the job. At least the car had the box pulled before any other nasties could happen.. All the info has just confirmed exactly what I already thought and suspected.

Wrong info and a heavy foot has destroyed the poor thing..

The box goes back to the owner in a few days. wonder what happens next?

Ohh, box cant go back, need a filter kit. All the part numbers and pics on the nissan list dont match the box..?? the listed filter is a stand alone item. the box has a kind of half filter with 15 (i think) bolts and is only the bottom half of a filter, the other half is cast into the valvebody. Anybody got a part number that matches what i'm talking about?

Thanks guys.

Edited March 23, 2008 by psi

[chuckie]

G`day all i have got a kit & have a contact in perth who stock`s them ,ok the company is MALTILDA AUTO PARTS,EMAIL [email protected] , Albert chong ,phone 08 9356 2922,or 08 9451 4955,fax 08 9356 2960.hope this will help some one out,cheer`s chuckie.

[psi]

Thanks Chuckie!

That looks right. I will print the foto out and show my mechanic mate on Tuesday morning. Thanks for including the part-number. He will be over the moon..

May golden rose petals fall from the sky and make you a very rich man.. and may they also stop global warming and sease povertyworld wide! LOL!

Thanks again..

[psi]

ok, really tech question..

The owner is now after a shift kit..!

but all our books list the 'A' transmission. Which started the whole filter problem..

Looking for a PDF file or similar on the 'B' coded transmission.

Got heaps of info to mod the 'A' code box, but very little is the same on the insides, so no info can be crossreferenced to mod the 'B' code gearbox. He is starting to take a dim veiw of imports.. I just cant let that happen, he does to much good work!

The other problem is that while he (and I) searches for info, time is marching on and the owner wants his box back(understandable). Even though he keeps changing his mind and changes his power target and box requirements.

Anyhow, If you can help with the info for the 'B' code box, PLEASE PM me ASAP.

[Duncan]

do you have a japanese reader? I have the jp stagea workshop manual. not sure if it covers both gearboxes though (I already had a problem with ECU pin outs, the manual only covers the first of the 3 they were released with)

[psi]

dont have a jap reader..

do u?

[chook]

Ive got a Jap reader...my wife.

Ive also got the Stagea manual, covers RE4R01B and A models, in Japanese but plenty of pics, should be easy enough for a mechanic. Also my NISSAN FAST program can display all the part numbers from the B box.

What is the problem with the shift kit? I sent my B valve body to MV in Adelaide, done no probs.

[psi]

Lets talk..

PM sent chook!