Hi all, Wondering if anyone knows of a good mechanic in Perth that knows their way around a VL RB30E (especially auto transmissions). Since moving to Perth a few years back I've found a good reliable and trustworthy mechanic...only problem is VLs aren't his forte. I've recently bought a N/A VL Calais with 170,000 on the clock and at first all was running fine. Then I noticed that the transmission beginning to run rough. The problem is the whole car starts to shake and shudder (feels like coming from under the car / drive train) when shifting from 3rd to 4th (around the 70kph mark). The shuddering is not so bad when accelerating quickly through the "bad zone", but when accelerating slowly you can really feel the whole car shake like when driving on those audible road lines. The most strange part is that the problem is not too apparent when the auto trans fluid is cool, but the problem is more pronounced after a bit of driving (say 1-2 hours). My current mechanic disconnected the clutch which has temporarily solved the shuddering...for about 3 weeks. Now my car is running really strangely: revving weirdly (expected this somewhat with clutch disengaged but it's getting lots worse), stalls a lot in low revs (especially on cold starts), bad fuel consumption and occasional squealing of fan belts at startup despite having them changed/tightened recently. Any thoughts on the problem or any good mechanic recommendations would be greatly appreciated. The following was posted in another thred by Yeti: ************** The VL auto is long lived but lack of servicing will cause failure, starting usually with a slipping overdrive clutch that breaks up and destroys the rest of the transmission. A rumble that shows up at 60-80km/h during a slight incline or any other hint of auto malfunction requires immediate attention before it turns into a $2500 repair. ************** Could this (slipping overdrive clutch) be the issue?

The best thing you can do with the VL auto is fully flush the pan each 2 years and if VLT each 18 months. The filter is useless its just a mesh and aluminium oxide and bit of belt can pass through it and get lodged in the valve body, takes a couple of flushes to get it all out. ie. Drop pan, either throw away or filter *very* well the old fluid, replace with new fluid. Do again after a month. Repeat this each 18 months to 2 years, I understand you can tighten the belts when pan off when tranny still in car but dont know specifics, Your problems sound like issues with pump pressure, sticky valves etc etc So ASAP do the fluid flush thing and repeat in one month. The mounts on the tranny are known to perish after a few years, mine did and made on odd rumble at odd revs, easy to change the mounts...

20 year old auto. Without decent care throughout its life, its bound to end up like this. If it returns after flushing it as Niche suggested, you're up for a rebuild or new one. Or manual conversion. Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Quote: Originally Posted by 5spdvl 20 year old auto. Without decent care throughout its life, its bound to end up like this. If it returns after flushing it as Niche suggested, you're up for a rebuild or new one. Or manual conversion. Yeah, I've been considering changing to a manual if the trans is completely naffed. Seeing as I have no time to do any work/sourcing myself, how much am I looking at to have it converted to manual if I paid someone? A ballpark figure would be appreciated. In the meantime I'll give the flushing a go as you've both suggested. Cheers! Some original photos have not been recovered yet.