In the midst of the PAACE Automechanika trade fair in Mexico City this past July 9-11, Sonnax hosted a technical seminar for nearly 650 interested customers and transmission rebuilders.

Presented by Reese Blalock, former Technical Speaker with ATRA , and Joseph Lombardi, Director of International Sales at Sonnax, this years seminar focused on how to identify and solve common automatic transmission complaints.

The show itself was extremely well attended as was the Sonnax booth. A stready stream of customers, rebuilders and other interested visitors stopped by over the 3 days to see samples of the latest torque converter , Transmission Specialties® , Allison® replacement , Driveline and PowerTrain Saver® parts and to speak with Sonnax representatives Joseph Lombardi and Joan Kainz.

Posted: July 24th, 2008 under News, Torque Converter, Transmission Specialties.

Sonnax was in attendence at the 2008 Automechanika Middle East Trade Fair, which was held June 1-3 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. This year’s event, the largest automotive trade fair in the Middle East, was attended by more than 18,000 visitors from 45 countries. As one of more than 900 exhibitors, Mike DeFelice (pictured, on left) Sonnax International Account Representative, visited with both existing customers as well as many other show attendees interested in the Sonnax line of torque converter and transmission parts .

Sonnax wishes to thank Dexol for their generosity in allowing Sonnax to share booth space during the show. With over 14 locations throughout the Middle East, Dexol is a full line distributor of Sonnax torque converter and transmission parts.

Posted: July 2nd, 2008 under News.

AutoTransTech recently held an automatic transmission technical seminar in Kiev, Ukraine on 23-25 May. As part of the technical presentations given over 3 days, Dr. Bill Henney presented rebuilders with the latest Sonnax Transmission Specialty® products and solutions as well as other useful diagnostic and repair information.

Also included in the seminar was a demonstration of the Sonnax valve body reaming tool (VB-FIX ), which Dr. Henney (below, in black shirt) shows to an interested group of Ukranian transmission rebuilders.

Posted: June 24th, 2008 under News, Transmission Specialties.

On the weekend of May 3rd 2008, Karway Remanufactured Transmissions in Phoenix, Arizona hosted a TASC Force meeting with close to 50 attendees. The meeting brought industry rebuilders together for a one-day hands-on training seminar on diagnosis and rebuilding tips for a variety of units including AW55-50SN, Mercedes 722.6 and 5R55N/W/S. The following day’s discussion focused on industry challenges, new product ideas, and new unit failure modes. Sonnax would like to extend a special thank you to the employees of Karway for opening their facility and graciously hosting the gathering.

The Sonnax TASC Force was formed 10 years ago to provide a forum for discussing industry concerns as well as for developing and testing innovative solutions.

The on-going work of the TASC Force ensures that small shops, production remanufacturers and distributors can have great confidence in Sonnax products, which have been tested and approved by their industry peers.

Posted: June 5th, 2008 under News, Transmission Specialties.

Jasper Engines and Transmissions, a leading production remanufacturer of engines and automatic transmissions, has named Sonnax as a Preferred Partner for the third consecutive year.

In a letter presented by Jasper along with the award, the company congratulated Sonnax for achievements in quality, service, technical assistance, billing, shipping and packaging.
“This award is much more than just a quality award or one based on sales volume,” said Jasper President Doug Bawel and Vice President Mike Schwenk. “It is based on ‘Doing It Right’ and delivering excellence. Sonnax is a company set apart from the rest of our vendors for its outstanding performance.”

“One of the things that separates Sonnax from others is that when we need a new product that is not readily available, they just design and make it,” said Bob Goodman, a quality support engineer at Jasper. “And they make it with improvements that makes it better than when it was new."

“I am very proud of the entire Sonnax Team for winning this award,” said Sonnax President and CEO Tommy Harmon. “Jasper tells me that they have over 2,100 vendors and that only six vendors were selected for the award. Of the six vendors selected this year, only two are suppliers for the transmission rebuilding business.”

Posted: April 19th, 2008 under News.

Sonnax is pleased to have won 10 Top Product and Top Tool awards in a contest sponsored by an industry-leading trade publication for the automatic transmission aftermarket.

These annual awards are voted on by top industry rebuilders, distributors and technical specialists, who have many products and tools to choose from. Sonnax appreciates this vote of confidence and continued support.

 

The 2008 winners in the Top Products category are:

 

47RE, 47RH (A618), 48RE Heavy-Duty Input Shaft, 22121B-01

Get the ultimate performance with the Sonnax heavy-duty input shaft with an improved one-piece design that eliminates the weak link between the shaft and forward clutch hub. No machining or modifications are required. The Sonnax shaft can be used with the OEM seals and torque converter.

 

4L60 & E 4th Gear “Super Hold” Servo, 77767K

The Sonnax servo features 40% more apply surface area for greater holding power, and can be used with OEM, Corvette or Sonnax performance 2nd gear servo assemblies. This servo is easy to install with the transmission still in the vehicle.

 

4R44E, 4R55E, 5R44E, 5R55E Baseline Rebuilding Kit, 37947-EZ

This kit can be used in lower-mileage units that do not show bore wear in critical bore locations, and corrects a variety of shift complaints, pressure problems and trouble codes. This kit, 37947-EZ, is a combination of service items that improve valve control and reduce oil loss. No tooling required!

 

Sonnax Sure Cures

Cure a multitude of shift complaints in your GM, Ford, Chrysler or import unit with one of our Sure Cures, featuring the best Sonnax products in one box. These kits offer rebuilders a convenient and cost-effective way to address common transmission problems.

 

 

5R55N, 5R55S, 5R55W TCC Conversion Plate, FD-DA-17PB

Many transmission and torque converter rebuilders are well aware of “mystery rattle” noise complaints that can occur immediately after rebuild, or well within the warranty period in these units. Frequently, the noise can be traced to the OEM TCC piston and damper assembly. Sonnax offers the FD-DA-17PB clutch conversion plate so that torque converter rebuilders can eliminate the source of the noise with a forged billet clutch piston.

The 2008 winners in the Top Tools category are:

 

Sonnax Valve Body Reaming Fixture, VB-FIX

 

The patent pending VB-FIX allows you to salvage valve bodies in a wide variety of Chrysler, Ford, GM and import applications. The fixture provides an external rigid pilot bore for the reamer and guide pin, and can be used on multiple valve bodies with consistent reaming results.

 

Sonnax Valve Body Training DVD

Learn to identify and solve common valve and pump body failures with the technical training DVD from Sonnax. Narrated by Sonnax Vice President of Technical Development Bob Warnke, the Valve Body Training DVD covers valve and pump body wear, inspection, reaming procedures and testing. Learn the basics of visual inspection, Wet Air Tests, vacuum and deflection testing, along with step-by-step demonstrations on bore sizing, reaming, test stands and more.

Click here to order your FREE DVD.

 

Sonnax Transmission Specialties™ Volume 7

Transmission Specialties™ Volume 7 is available in both print and CD versions. The catalog includes information about new root-cause solutions that will save you time and money, as well as a wealth of technical information and troubleshooting techniques from some of the experts in the industry.

Click here to order your FREE copy or CD.

 

Sonnax Web Site, www.sonnax.com

Sonnax has completely redesigned and restructured its Web site, www.sonnax.com, to provide our customers with the latest, most complete information on cost-saving solutions, technical information and troubleshooting tips. You can quickly access information on all our product lines any time of the day or night.

 

 

4L80-E AFL Valve Tool Kit, F-34200-16K

This kit consistently aligns the reamers with the actuator feed limit valve bore for complete wear clean-up. Variables such as casting circuit length, bore concentricity and process control contribute to inconsistencies in reaming this bore. Used in conjunction with the valve body reaming fixture VB-FIX, the AFL valve tool kit allows for consistent reaming and ease of us, and allows installation of the 34200-16K AFL valve kit.

 

Posted: April 18th, 2008 under News, Torque Converter, Transmission Specialties.

Sonnax is committed to being a responsible corporate citizen and leader for our employees, local community and the planet. The company has launched a “Green Initiative” to identify and implement energy efficient an environmentally friendly solutions for its buildings, work processes and the workplace in general.

Some of the goals of the Sonnax Green Initiative are to protect the company’s most valuable assets – the safety and health of our employees – as well as to reduce or eliminate waste that drive up costs and pollute the planet.

Efforts to date include

• Installing ‘’bottleless” coolers throughout all Sonnax facilities. These coolers eliminate the wasteful use of fossil fuel used in processing and transporting bottled water.
• Reducing the number of fluorescent light bulbs we use while still maintaining a well-lit and comfortable workspace.
• Offering employees a chance to check their own homes for possible energy efficiencies by allowing them to use an electricity meter called the WattsUp Pro. The meter measures electricity usage on any 110V appliance.
• Distributing canvas shopping bags to all our employees in order to cut down on the number of plastic bags that end up in our nation’s landfills.
• Adding plastic to the list of materials the company already recycles, including paper and cardboard.

“Some of the improvements are fairly easy and straightforward,” said company President and CEO Tommy Harmon. “Other ‘green’ changes are more challenging. They often require a change in habits, a financial commitment and a reduced convenience factor. I believe that if every member of the Sonnax Team works hard toward achieving this goal, we will establish Sonnax as a leader whose model for success can be followed by other organizations in their efforts to be green.”

Posted: April 15th, 2008 under News.