Wave spring replacement KJ AWD

[DeanoTS]

Hi all, I changed the ATF in my KJ AWD and yes there was a bit of the wave spring stuck to the sump plug, no bits of the wave spring have damaged the gearbox yet as it still drives well, has anyone had the wave spring replaced in their AWD ? if so what is the cost, cheers

[Spetz]

Have a search for a thread I started a few years back.

I had mine done (in a FWD but it would be the same) without removing the transmission.

I paid $900 or so from memory and I am very happy I did as the wave spring basically crumbled upon removal. I was lucky that the entire wave spring was there.

Keep in mind that the transmission place should piece the wave spring like a puzzle, if you are lucky it will all be there, if not then the transmission needs to be removed and opened up which will really add to the price.

[DeanoTS]

Have a search for a thread I started a few years back.

I had mine done (in a FWD but it would be the same) without removing the transmission.

I paid $900 or so from memory and I am very happy I did as the wave spring basically crumbled upon removal. I was lucky that the entire wave spring was there.

Keep in mind that the transmission place should piece the wave spring like a puzzle, if you are lucky it will all be there, if not then the transmission needs to be removed and opened up which will really add to the price.

Hi Spetz, thanks for the reply. You were lucky the transmission didn't have to be removed as everyone I could find on here said the transmission had to be removed. I basically was wondering if the AWD is any different as I had the wave spring replaced in my KL Verada (5 speed auto) 3 years ago and it cost me $1800 , the transmission was still ok as the wave spring bits had not got past the filter but the transmission guy said the transmission had to come out, weather he was telling the truth or not I will never know. My KJ AWD still drives fine but I can't afford the cost to repair it, so it may have to go very cheap, has more power then my KL Verada and the KJ has a after market exhaust system , sounds good but quiet.

[WytWun]

Hi Spetz, thanks for the reply. You were lucky the transmission didn't have to be removed as everyone I could find on here said the transmission had to be removed. I basically was wondering if the AWD is any different as I had the wave spring replaced in my KL Verada (5 speed auto) 3 years ago and it cost me $1800 , the transmission was still ok as the wave spring bits had not got past the filter but the transmission guy said the transmission had to come out, weather he was telling the truth or not I will never know. My KJ AWD still drives fine but I can't afford the cost to repair it, so it may have to go very cheap, has more power then my KL Verada and the KJ has a after market exhaust system , sounds good but quiet.

I had my TJ AWD's wave spring replaced at the same place Spetz had his done, also without the box being removed from the car. Mine was done a few months after his and the price was just under the $1k mark as best I recall.

Like his, the wave spring came out of mine in pieces which the shop were able to jigsaw together and be confident it was complete. If they can't find all the bits they can't be sure whether fragments are still floating around ready to get into the pump or gear sets; the only way to be sure all fragments have been removed is to pull the box out and strip it down... If some bits have already come out via the sump plug and you've kept them then they can be included in the jigsaw, but otherwise no shop would be able to give any confidence that all the parts have been found.

The guy I dealt with said with the box in the car the replacement required about 5 hours of labour; if the box was already out of the car the replacement would require 2 hours of labour.

[DeanoTS]

I had my TJ AWD's wave spring replaced at the same place Spetz had his done, also without the box being removed from the car. Mine was done a few months after his and the price was just under the $1k mark as best I recall.

Like his, the wave spring came out of mine in pieces which the shop were able to jigsaw together and be confident it was complete. If they can't find all the bits they can't be sure whether fragments are still floating around ready to get into the pump or gear sets; the only way to be sure all fragments have been removed is to pull the box out and strip it down... If some bits have already come out via the sump plug and you've kept them then they can be included in the jigsaw, but otherwise no shop would be able to give any confidence that all the parts have been found.

The guy I dealt with said with the box in the car the replacement required about 5 hours of labour; if the box was already out of the car the replacement would require 2 hours of labour.

Hi WytWun, thank you so much for that information, that is a big help, just wondering how long ago it was and was it done in Canberra? cheers

[DeanoTS]

It looks as though the early 5 speed autos have a pretty high rate of chewing up the wave springs, Ive had 3 4 speed autos no problems and 2 5 speed autos, wave springs failed in both. I find it hard to understand how the transmission can keep working fine when the wave spring disintegrates, why is it even used at all when it just seems to cause problems.

[Spetz]

I had mine done about 4-5 years ago, and yes it was in Canberra.

What's even funnier is that the replacement wave spring is the wave spring that the 2nd gen Magna came with.
And after a 8-9 production run it seems that these were only fixed in the final couple of years.

From my research the prevalence of this happening to the 4 and 5 speed is the same and the part that fails is the same.

[DeanoTS]

I had mine done about 4-5 years ago, and yes it was in Canberra.

What's even funnier is that the replacement wave spring is the wave spring that the 2nd gen Magna came with.
And after a 8-9 production run it seems that these were only fixed in the final couple of years.

From my research the prevalence of this happening to the 4 and 5 speed is the same and the part that fails is the same.

Mitsubishi had a bad reputation with the auto in the TM and maybe the TN, was good in the TP. I thought transmission problems were behind them as I have had a few second gens and they were all great and I was expecting the same with the 3rd gens. I wonder why they changed from a good part to a bad part and took them so long to fix it. Ive had 2 5 speed autos now and both have had broken wave springs. Can you tell me the place in Canberra where you had your wave spring replaced? cheers

[WytWun]

Spetz' original thread is here with most of the info you're looking for in the first couple of pages. According to my post in that thread, mine was done in December 2014 (how time flies ). The AWD's may have a slightly higher prevalence of failure due to the ATF getting hotter in the absence of an external cooler, due to the extra load imposed by the AWD drivetrain.

[DeanoTS]

Spetz' original thread is here with most of the info you're looking for in the first couple of pages. According to my post in that thread, mine was done in December 2014 (how time flies ). The AWD's may have a slightly higher prevalence of failure due to the ATF getting hotter in the absence of an external cooler, due to the extra load imposed by the AWD drivetrain.

Thank you so much for that information WytWun, yes time sure does fly, the older I get time seems to be speeding up, I can't believe its nearly 2020, seem like people were worried about Y2K five years ago not 20, LOL. Yes you are right I think the AWD would need the external cooler, do you have one fitted to your car? has the auto in your car been fine since you had the wave spring replaced? Cheers Dean