VIDEO: DYNO TESTING A TH350 TRANSMISSION

We take our project Torana's TH350 gearbox to BBE Auto's transmission dyno

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WE’VE SEEN plenty of engine and chassis dyno tests over the years, but this is the first time we’ve ever seen a transmission dyno. We check out how it all works at BBE Auto in Melbourne.

Transmission dynos aren’t especially new, but they are reasonably rare. There are only a handful of the units here in Australia.

Most transmission shops just rely on making sure all the bands and clutches are new, and that they have all the right clearances before they sent them out the door. Get it right and the transmission will deliver years of service life, but get it wrong and you’ve got an unhappy customer. John at BBE Auto in Elsternwick in Victoria makes sure that all his customers are happy by testing his transmissions on a special transmission dyno before they go out to the customer.

Unlike an engine or chassis dyno which test for horsepower, the transmission dyno allows the operator to test all the operating parameters, such as line pressures, flow rates, gear engagement and converter lock-up before the trans goes into the vehicle. As any gearhead knows, there’s nothing worse than removing a transmission that you’ve just fitted.

For modern electronic transmissions, like the 4L60E, the dyno can automatically run the unit through a pre-programmed set of operations to assess their readiness. But for an old transmission like our TH350 things are a bit more hands on.

Watch as BBE Auto tests the TH350 that they rebuilt for our giveaway Torana project. We’ve also got a full breakdown of the whole build in our March issue; on sale February 25th.


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