How Long, How Bad? (5MT)

[lostinthe202]

'96 OBW, 5spd, 199K

 

So the bearings on the main shaft of my trans have seen better days. It's making a lot of noise, but so far it's just been noise. I haven't been having a hard time shifting or having it pop out of gear or any other bad behavior.

 

I plan on replacing the bearings (front and rear) on the main shaft using Gloyale's excellent write up on front seal replacement as a guide (with the FSM for additional help), but I can't get to it for another few weeks. I can take this car off the road until I do the work, but it would really suck as I have a 100 mile round trip commute and the current backup vehicle gets 12 mpg ('86 chevy scottsdale).

 

So my question is, how much damage am I doing to the other interior parts of the trans? I know that loose bearings are hard on gears, but are we talking degradation in a matter of a few miles or is this like a TO bearing that can go on rattling like crazy for 50k miles?

 

I know that the smart thing to do would be to buy a JY unit instead of trying to fix this one, but then I wouldn't learn anything would I? If it doesn't work out, it's not like the car then melts or anything, I can still go the used trans route. But that's the beauty of owning your car, you can do whatever you damn well please and you're the only one who has to live with your mistakes!

 

Thanks!

 

Will-

[bratman18]

I know of several tat have made noise for 100k! I know, I couldn't believe they lasted that long either, but yeah I know of one 96 2.2 outback wagon 5 spd right now that has over 200k on it and the tranny has been making noise for at least the last half of it's life. Still goes great. But that's not to say that they all might not be that tough. Hopefully yours is though!! Good luck!

[pearlm30]

I just got a 96 OBW with 5 speed manual trans. The trans already removed from the car, I guess for the same reason of noisy bearing.

For me its easier just to locate a used 5 speed trans from junk yard and bolt it on.

Good luck

[lostinthe202]

For me its easier just to locate a used 5 speed trans from junk yard and bolt it on.

Good luck

 

Well yes, it would be easier for me to locate a used trans as well. But I'm not really after easy. Everything I've ever learned about fixing anything be it cars or anything else has been because when it broke I did my best to fix it. So here's my first trashed trans in a car and I want to take a whack at fixing it. Ok so maybe not my first trashed trans, but the first one I've had while being properly equipped to try and repair it. If it doesn't work out, JY (or USMB) here I come. But I either have, can borrow, or can make any tools I need for this job so I'd like to give it a shot.

[gbhrps]

lostinthe202,

I have been fortunate (married the most wonderful woman in the world who helped make it possible) to have acquired a small stable of cars, and consequently follow a separate forum for each. Two of them have quite a few members who sing the praises of RedLine MT90 as a replacement tranny fluid. Many of the users claim that it entirely eliminated the noise that troubled them, and many others claimed that it greatly aided their shifting and all but eliminated grinding the gears in some cases.

 

I have it in what used to be a very balky tranny of my 54 MG TF. It got rid of the horrible noises that plagued the tranny when I first bought the car, and has made shifting the 55 year old tranny much nicer. Very seldom does it grind a gear now, where before it occurred on almost every other shift.

 

I also have it in the tranny of my 90 300ZX, and while that tranny has never been a problem, it does shift much nicer with the RedLine MT90. It may be all that you need to get your tranny through to a more convenient time to repair it, and there is the possibility that you may change your mind on making the repair at all. It may sound like snake oil, but for what it'll cost you to find out, you won't lose much by trying it. I'm a convert for sure. Good Luck!

[lostinthe202]

gbhrps,

 

Thanks for the tip on the fluid. I have read several posts about different "snake oils" and I thought about giving one of them a shot. But it seems that for every success story there is a horror story. Either way it's a moot point I suppose as I'll be ripping it apart this weekend.

 

On a side note, I LOVE those old MG's. I dated a girl just after high school that had an early 70's MGB (chrome bumpers if that helps date it). It was her dad's. He bought as a barn find and paid to have it restored. Mere months after the completion of the restoration, an electrical fire sparked in his garage and it burnt to the ground taking the MG with it. He used the insurance money to restore it again instead of rebuilding the garage!! Gotta love that kind of dedication. Funny thing was, he never really wanted to drive it. He let his daughter drive it almost exclusively. We drove that car everywhere.

 

To make this side note even longer, just after we broke up a buddy of mine started doing construction and needed a pickup. I had one that I just used as transportation so we switched vehicles for about a year. His car was a '72 fiat spider. I know what everyone thinks about fiats, but man did I have a good time in that car. It could handle like crazy in the twisties. Poor man's Alfa!!

 

Someday I'll be getting one or both of those cars and doing my own restoration (and/or a volvo p1800 wagon) as I have many many fond memories in each.

 

Will-

[coxy]

Luckily for you because Subaru use deep angular contact ball races rather than Timken tapered roller type races,the only issue until the Race actually falls apart is noise.

Tapered roller races allow the shafts to get far more out of alignment which damages the case hardening on the gears,not so much an issue with angular contact ball races,as a tip when you have the box apart line up someone with a glass bead blaster and lightly glass bead the syncro cones and the mating surface on the gears,taping up the actual gear section to protect it.

Glass beading the mating parts of the syncromesh assembly will bring the syncromesh action back to as new without the expense of replacement.

Out here in Australia we have proven this to be effective in the hardest of testing in Rally cars and it lasts as long as new syncro's.

The only time it is not advisable is when the small syncro engagement teeth are damaged severly,minor marking can be dressed up with an oilstone.

Cheers from Aussie and have a go it's very rewarding to say you actually fixed it yourself,and I have worked as a mechanic since the early seventies,so this is proven to work not just an unproven theory off the net,if it didn't work it would cost me money doing a job twice be assured.

[lostinthe202]

coxy,

 

Thanks for the tip, I'll look into that. I'm not too worried if it doesn't work out though, this box shifts really easily into and out of every gear. That's part of the reason I want to try and salvage it, aside from the noise, it works flawlessly.

 

Will-

[idosubaru]

if you want to keep the trans will, i'd avoid any concoctions. if you need proof read the excellent read from a trans shop about subaru's that have run "mixes" like that. they help short term and do bad mojo to various internal parts over the longer haul. the thread detailing that has excellent info.

 

I just got a 96 OBW with 5 speed manual trans. The trans already removed from the car, I guess for the same reason of noisy bearing.

For me its easier just to locate a used 5 speed trans from junk yard and bolt it on.

there's no knowing why it really came out. could be torque bind (very common and they may not know it could be done in car), lost a gear, clutch, throw out bearing, lost reverse, bearing, diff grinding, who knows. and who knows the condition of the trans overall even apart from whatever made it "fail".

 

will knows what is wrong and that the trans is other wise good.

[Gloyale]

For me its easier just to locate a used 5 speed trans from junk yard and bolt it on.

Good luck

 

Yeah, except then you get another old trans with worn bearings.

 

It;s less than 100 bucks for the bearings and seals. Worht it.