International Lancia Forums

Dear Friends Lancisti, hello, I am new to this forum and just signed in, I want to say hello to all of you, and ask for some informations regarding Lancia Thesis with automatic gearboy unit.
I am proud owner of Lancia Lybra 2.4 JTD with a manual gearbox, 2003 year, and the car had been with no problems what so ever, I owned Alfa Romeo for over 10 years, and they are much sportier, Lancia is a real refreshment in terms of comfort and style, where you drive in piece.
However the time had come for a new car in a family, and it is going to be Thesis 2.4 Jtd with a unit from 175 BHP and more, but i have so much information about this automatic japanese gearbox that had been installed in thesis, and on forums i have found that it has lousy construction, that it is not that well built and there is a service that has to be made every 30.000 KM, when a whole unit is to be set apart and oil changed, following the procedure..
Now I would invite you all to participate with your, opinions, suggestions and general experience from everyday use, what exactly is that gearbox like, to drive, maintain and everything you have to add, please do...
Thank you in advance..
Viva di Lancia
Tomislav

I would definitely not call the gearbot "not that well built". The same Aisin gearbox has been in use in several Volvos, so it's widely used and therefore well known. It's true that there have been problems, but it seems that there should be no problems before 500.000 km or so if the transmission oil is changed frequently enough. I'd propose changing the oil every 100.000 km.
In my understanding, the problems arise when the debris is the oil clogs the hydraulic valves.
Then again, if you consider a Thesis for your daily driver, I'd be much more worried of the parts supply in general than any potential problems with the transmission. Especially the body parts are hard to find, like some other model specific parts. Interestingly, the suspension parts seem to be well available and even very reasonably priced.

Well, thank you for your reply Isola, I have heard way too many stories so far, anyway i will look out and it a well kept Thesis model comes my way I will buy it, as far as other parts go, yes they are hard to find but still not impossible, there are some Lancias that have been put apart purely for a parts sale in my country and you can find those parts such as bonnet, side skirts and doors..etc, engines are common so no worries there, it is only the gearbox that is making me itchy,...but now dilemma solved..
Thanks
Tommy

That's interesting. I have contacted several junkyards in Germany and Poland that sell Thesis parts on various web sites, but they all (except one that has closed down) refuse to ship any parts to Finland. I cannot really understand why. Within the EU, there are absolutely no problems with international shipping. They just don't want to do that but prefer to keep the parts for sale for eternity.
As for the automatic transmission, it's the same Aisin AW55 as in many, many Volvos, some Opel Vectras and Signums and some US built GM cars. You should look for Volvo forums for more info. I have also some documents regarding its service that might be of interest. You can find my email address in the boot sector topic.