Borgwarnerspecialist Reviews 2

Dave supplied a Borg Warner 35 gearbox and everything I needed to convert an MGB from manual to automatic,he even delivered it to Coventry himself.He has always been on the end of the phone to provide help and advice when needed.I can’t recommend them highly enough.
Tony Clarke (Coventry).

Refurb of a Borg Warner 35 gearbox by Borg Warner Specialist of Letchworth and Leeds (also on Ebay as daveash1963 and Canningmax4). On the evidence, the service was substandard and failed twice to fix a major leak problem. Another engineer eventually fixed all of the problems and provided evidence of serious shortcomings in the work of Borg Warner Specialist.
My Borg Warner 35 box was "reconditioned" by Dave at Borg Warner Specialist in 2020. It was working, but had a major leak (continuous line of fluid) from the hatch between the box and bell housing, and general sweating.
The box was returned, certified by Dave as "refurbished", and refitted. It worked (like it had before I sent it), but the major leak and sweating persisted.
After a few months the box was removed and sent back to Dave at Borg Warner Specialist. I also sent the torque converter for refurbishment, because Dave thought that could be the leak source. Both items were returned with assurances they were in order.
A few months later the box and converter were refitted. The box worked, but the major leak, and the sweating, persisted.
Given Dave's assurances and suggestions of possible external causes the oil cooler was flushed and checked; the filler pipe was removed and replaced; the box was emptied and refilled to ensure it wasn't overfilled; the dipstick length was rechecked in case of false readings. The major leak persisted.
After a few months I contacted Dave with a suggestion from a mechanic that the continuing leak may have been from the kickdown cable. He expressed surprise, but supplied a replacement (it was the wrong size and wasn't fitted).
I was left with an inexplicable leak from a box that was fully refurbished and certified as in order. Dave did not follow up to see if the problem was solved. I felt the problem was mine to sort.
In 2022 I contacted another engineer on the off-chance he might know where the leak was coming from. His response: It sounded like the pump was worn out, but he would have to dismantle the box to find out. After a delay I removed the box early in 2023 and had the second engineer work on it. The car had done less than 200 miles since before Dave had done the original unsuccessful job.
The engineer fixed the gearbox. The leak was gone, and so was the sweating. The performance was markedly better. However, he also reported the following worrying findings and backed them up with notes, photographs - and the worn out parts:
1 Oil pump body and gear bushing worn out (stator showing pump wear).
2 Converter bushing worn out.
3 Front seal badly fitted (the worn out bushing contributed to this).
4 Internal oil cooler supply pipe bent out of shape and disconnected.
5 Wrong front Flexi band fitted.
6 Forward clutch drum not cleaned or prepared for correct operation.
7 Forward clutch pack had new frictions fitted, but was below tolerance, because steel plates were used and were worn too thin.
8 Rear clutch pack had new frictions, but was out of tolerance because incorrect steels were fitted and they were worn.
9 Front servo and piston not properly cleaned or reworked for correct operation.
10 Rear servo and piston not properly cleaned or prepared for re-use.
11 Sun shaft was the early type with a groove, and only for use with a non-grooved forward clutch drum - a grooved forward clutch drum had been fitted.
12 Selector assembly had not been removed to clean the case thoroughly and to replace seals correctly (there were build-ups of deposits).
13 Selector seals badly damaged by the selector shaft, which was worn to a sharp edge.
14 Selector shaft threads damaged.
15 Sump pan lips badly bent, and would not form a correct seal with the cork gasket.
16. Tail section gasket not new.
17 Pump gasket not new.
18 Rear sun shaft ring not new.
19 Piston seal (forward clutch pack) not new.
The engineer said 1-4 would have caused the major leak, and 15 the sweating.
I contacted Dave laying out the evidence, and asking for a professional explanation. I was not asking for a refund. In summary he said:
It was "unfortunate" the problem had persisted, but I was not getting a refund - I had waited too long;
the opinions on tolerances, the wrong flexi band, front pump and gear bushing being worn were "subjective";
everything was stripped, cleaned and reassembled to factory standard and pressure tested;
the box would have been run prior to inspection so there wasn't a clean surface;
he confused the unattached internal oil cooler pipework with the external pipes and said it was "not... our responsibility";
he gave no explanation for the persistent major leak or why the bent sump was fitted.
On the evidence Dave did a bad job and never got to the bottom of the leak problems. In my opinion Dave's work, and his response, have been substandard.