I somewhat disagree with Binder123's input with regard to diagnosis and failure correction. I think the causes of catastrophic failure are usually obvious (bad front pump, severely worn clutches, broken bands/struts/servos), at in least the handful of trannys I have autopsied. I am sure there are some that have valve body issues that I couldn't figure out, but with enough parts to swap in and enough time, even those can be fixed. And there's always somebody to ask...

Rick

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80 300SD (129k mi) 82 240D stick (193k mi)77 240D auto - stick to be (153k mi) 85 380SL (145k mi) 89 BMW 535i 82 Diesel Rabbit Pickup (374k mi) 91 Jetta IDI Diesel (155k mi) 81 VW Rabbit Convertible Diesel 70 Triumph Spitfire Mk III (63kmi)66 Triumph TR4a IRS (90k mi)67 Ford F-100 (??)