Triple

1989 RWD 22r pick-up, 4-speed manual.


Before swapping in fresh, expensive Amsoil 75W-90, I want to identify the source of this slow leak. The tranny is wet all over, but I think the oil is coming from this line/fitting. What is this? Speedometer cable?








I'm obviously not a transmission guy; the tranny appears to be two separate pieces separated by gaskets. One half butted up against the engine (the half with visible drain/fill bolts), the other half below the gear-shift. Is the rear portion the transfer case? I thought transfer cases were used only in 4WD applications. If these are two separate, sealed units, how do I change the oil in the back part?


Lastly, is the shifter turret sealed off from the rest of the transmission? The turret reservoir in my old Mazda Miata would dry up and require an oil refill every few years.

HighLux

Yes speedo.

You have bellhousing....houses clutch...up against motor...than gearbox after.

Shifter "turret" is connected to trans...you can even fill it through the shifter hole if you remove shifter...easier than squeezing it up to the fill hole with a bottle and hose.

ONly need to fill via oil fill hole in side of trans or shifter...no secret chambers....lol

Triple

Is this a common source of leaking transmission oil?


What causes the leak and what is the fix?


OR, is there a more common leak associated with these 4-speeds that I should look for? Very possible the oil is just getting spread around by the wind.

JasonYota

iTrader: (1)

Speedometer cable leaking. Should be a o-ring on it.
Like said above filling through the shifter is way easier than trying to fill at the fill plug.

Triple

Does this involve replacing a gasket on the shifter assembly?


I already have the truck on tall stands and I have to use a hand-pump to fill the differential anyway.

JasonYota

iTrader: (1)

No you just pull the shifter not the shifter and base together. Good idea to change the shifter bushing also

Triple

The O-ring doesn't technically seal the cable; it stretches around a separate housing to which the speedo gear is connected. I attempted to replace the O-ring, but the housing would not fit back into the transmission. The original looked undamaged, so I reused it and reinstalled everything with a lot of heavy grease. Looking back, I don't think it was ever leaking at the speedo cable, anyway.

The inner-most shifter boot (part no. 33555-35040) was shredded and the bolts holding down the shifter retainer plate were loose enough to turn with my fingers. The gasket (part no. 33584-60010) was completely saturated with oil. Oil was free to escape in both places and drip down from the top of the transmission, including on and around the speedo cable housing.



To get a socket on the two rear retainer plate bolts (to apply actual torque), I had to drill through the floorboard. Stupid design, in my opinion, but the base of the shifter boot still covers/seals the new, larger opening.

The upper and lower OEM shifter bushings looked new, so I reused them as well.

Toy Disciple

How did you install the shifter boot (33555-35040) on the shifter? The lower end looks welded together and the upper parts look like they have been epoxied together and have too large of a diameter to slip the boot easily over.

Thanks for any advice

millball

Lube the new boot and the shifter with WD-40 and pull the shifter thru after removing the shift knob.
If the boot is lubed up good, you can pull it thru without damaging the rubber boot.