[MaDiZm]

Hi guys, as a new Jimny owner this site has been a great help. Cheers!

I had a 2001 Auto Jimny soft top given to me after the motor was ran low on oil.
We had to tow it about 40km to get it home.

I bought a G16B and using a Ben T adapter kit have it running. Conversion went smoothly - the only hickup was when the engine was bolted to the bell housing I couldn't turn the flexplate to line up bolt holes without the Torque Converter turning also. I worked it out by using a jimmy bar wedged onto TC...
I also jacked up the transmission until it did take some weight from car.

I was all excited, jumped in to test her out - put auto in Drive and... nothing.

No gears work at all. I then replaced trans filter/fluid with no change.

There is no oil coming out of trans cooler lines.

Thinking the oil pump was not engaged I have since undone Flexplate from Torque Converter and pushed TC fully back. It probably slid back at least 50mm.
This made no difference.

Is it possible the Torque Converter is still not engaged with the oil pump?

I realise now it is a big no no flat towing a Jimny but surely it would still atleast pump trans fluid or engage some type of drive?

Would really appreciate some suggestions on what to do next!

[Gwagensteve]

Wow, that's pretty much everything you shouldn't do.

When you flat towed the Jimny, did you put the transfer case in neutral?
Whe you jacked up the transmission, do you mean when it was sort-of connected to the engine, like it cold have been side loading the converter?

There are critical measurements in the FSM for how to determine the TC is fully seated. If you've run the engine with the converter not seated on the pump drive you have most likely damaged the transmission by putting driving into to without having any hydraulic pressure in the system.

It still sounds like the pump isn't engaged. Confirm what "fully seated" is with reference to the FSM. I think you'll need to drop the transmission to do this properly.

did you fill the converter with fluid before you put the converter on?

Steve.

[Gwagensteve]

I think replacement autos from Suzuki are ~$11K, so at least it's cheap to fix.

[MaDiZm]

Thank you for the reply Gwagonsteve.

haha yeah well yeah I realise that now.. Yes the transmission was in Neutral for the tow.

The transmission was jacked up as I was lowering the engine into the engine bay as I thought it would be easier to locate the two top bolts. It went in easy, I did not realise the Torque converter was supposed to be easy to turn separately and it really did not take too much effort to stop it turning with the jimmy bar slowing it.

When the engine was fired up I didnt notice any grinding or metal on metal sounds.

I never actually removed the Torque Converter or even touched it when I had the engine out..
No I didn't fill the Torque Converter, but I did change the filter and put a few litres of fluid into transmission.

I will drop the transmission as suggested and see if I can see whats going on.

Thanks Steve I Appreciate your help mate.

[ZUZUKI]

Probably not as common an option as it could be, but sine you already have a G16B in it, why not ditch the adapter & bolt a AW-4 up to it out of a Vitara.
Can loose the Vitara T/case & retain the Jimny one with jack shaft mods & a support available from the US - as if it was going into a Sierra. Will have to work out gear box mount
There is tech on here about getting the auto to work with stand alone management or maybe there is enough already in an auto Jimny to be able to run an AW-4?
Rgs, Michael

[fordem]

Gwagensteve wrote:

When you flat towed the Jimny, did you put the transfer case in neutral?

MaDiZm wrote:

Yes the transmission was in Neutral for the tow.

Little details can make a big difference. With the transmission in neutral and the transfer case in gear, the back half of the transmission would have been rotating with no lubrication, which is why flat towing automatics is generally a bad idea. With the transfer case in neutral, nothing in the transmission would have been moving.

[MaDiZm]

As this Jimny is going to get alot of sand dune/beach work and I did want to run 235/75 tyres, I have researched a bit on how to beef up the auto.
Of course learning along the way there is no aftermarket support. Transcooler/Temp gauge being it

The Aw4 will defo be going in if this auto is cactus. 1/2 thinking I should start to source one now regardless..

But that will be a whole other thread load of questions..

[greenzook89]

Gwagensteve wrote:

I think replacement autos from Suzuki are ~$11K, so at least it's cheap to fix.

About ~$8k these days. So a bit of money left for beers.

[shep]

greenzook89 wrote:

Gwagensteve wrote:

I think replacement autos from Suzuki are ~$11K, so at least it's cheap to fix.

About ~$8k these days. So a bit of money left for beers.

Well that’s a win

[MaDiZm]

Haha yeah there aint no new auto box going in.. If this one lasts in the soft sand over here

Well a bit of an update. I ended up dropping the trans to have a squiz..

The problem ended up being the adapter plate is too thick for the auto box conversion. The extra 4mm from the thicker adapter plate made the distance from the Torque Converter tabs too far to engage.

We ended up using a x2 4mm hardened washers tacked onto the flexplate to push the TC back into place. Apparently they only engage by a coupla mm stock?

Through all the reading on the net I never read anything about needing to do this!
I was thinking maybe the adapter kit had not been used on an auto before?

I ended up emailing zukparts, who straight up pointed me in the right direction.. Legend for responding, buut it would have been great to have known beforehand. The kit makes it easy as and comes with detailed 4 pages of instructions.

Glad nothing was damaged by this backyarder, even though you guys have pointed out a few times they are cheap to replace