neilan

ok well here is my story. Have 205K on the original tranny in my 87 4runner. It had outlasted 2 motors and was bassically the last orignal part on my truck. It slowly got worse and started to bind up when tkaing of in first gear and then one day the main inpiut bearing went crunch and ground for the 4 miles home. I put it up on the lift and put in my spare tranny which was "good". turned out the second gear syncro is toast and it pops out first and has mild bearing howl.

So im am driving my runner with the spare tranny in there and it is pretty bad but gets me around for now. I have been researching about w56 rebuilds and have found very few threeads were people have acually attempted it? The tranny i have out needs bearings at least and i figure i might as well do syncros if i take it apart.

my questions:
1. the input shaft is worn on the end where the bearing sits and would have to be replaced ifi decide to do the rebuild myself. I have found new shafts but i am wondering if i was to attemp this how hard is it just to move everythign over to the new shaft durring reassembly?
2. How hard is acutally replacing the syncros and bearings? I have rebuilt engines but for soem reason transmissions always seem to lurk in my dark thoguhts.
3. what is a good source fro replacement gears if i find mine to be chipped? and what are they goign to cost?

ewong

Not that Ive done a W56...

a) Did you have the FSM - its prety detailed on what needs to be done, what SST are needed

b) I do know that 5th gear is a PITA and often breaks (chips) when removed

c) I have found that getting a quality rebuild will cost less than the parts ALONE.

d) if you dont get the rebuild from Marlin, Id still get the parts from Marlin

neilan

no i dont have a fsm. from what i have seen the parts fro a rebuild cost arounf 350 bucks and that is includign a input shaft and kit wiht bearings and syncros. I am not worried about getting the tranny top notch indestructable marlin stuff as i am going to be seeling the runner soon. Befor the bearing went out the tranny was perfect and drove great with not issues. What are the chances that if i just replace the front bearing that it would be ok? Can i replace the fron main bearing by just taking the cover or do i have the actually crack the case and press it off?

MudHippy

The W56 is covered in the online FSM. I say go for it, but I get a sick thrill from tearin' things apart and puttin' 'em back together again. I don't think replacing the front input shaft bearing can be done easily w/o opening the transmission. It could be all your trouble(we hope).

http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-buchanan/93fsm/

ewong

If "getting back on the road to sell it" is the idea.

Get a $250 "spare" w56 and stuff it in.... cheaper..

Bojangles

So my transmission is popping out of 2nd gear and grinding pretty bad...
At this time i do not have the money to replace it, or a second vehicle.
So i plan on driving it till it quits and then buying a new one...
Either that or im going to buy a rebuild kit for the w56 and do it myself...
My question is did you do the rebuild yourself, and is it as hard as i think its going to be?

HighLux

You need at least a 12 ton press
Several bearing sperators and gear pullers
Micrometer
Digital caliper
Dial indicator with magntic base

If you dont know what these are
Then dont rebuild it yourself

Manual trannys are more involved than an engine
Rebuild

I wouldnt necessarily get a whole kit. You may not
Need one. Number one thing to go is the input shaft bearing. Followed by worn syncros.

If you have never done one. Better find someone who has to guide you.

I toasted the trans on my 81 corrola when i was 16. My stepdad helped me rebuild it. (machinist). I recieved no help on the second rebuild. Cause he knew i was revving it and dumping the clutch. Number one killer of input shaft bearings.

PismoJoe

I vote marlin...make it easy on yourself and they have a warranty...your going to spend way more time and money on tools plus parts to do the job

MudHippy

And..

Feeler gauges
Snap ring pliers
Magnetic finger

mel63

I agree with Pismoe. My son's W56 went out last year. Did alot of research on rebuilding my self, having a local tranny shop rebuild or buying a rebuilt unit. We went with the rebuilt tranny from Marlin. A very well built (rebuilt) trans.

If my transmission gevry goes out on my 87 $rnr, I will go with a Marlin rebuilt unit.

my $0.02 worth

Mark

bryan89

well,
i am currently rebuilding my W-56. the 4runner had a bad whine when i bought it. turns out bearings in midplate were way bad and input was on its way out.

I got a complete rebuild kit (7 main bearings. OEM replacements) with syncros from MSR for $225 bucks. I also had to buy a $200 20 ton press from harbor freight to press the gears off. and to top it off, i spent another $90 bucks at marlin on a pilot bearing, throw out bearing, a couple shifter boots, and a shifter socket thingy.
Luckily my clutch and pressure plate were in good shape (previous owner replaced when he did the motor i guess)

So for $515 my junk will shift like new for another 200,000 miles. that is including the price of the press.

Now, granted, this is my first transmission rebuild, but I am a mechanical engineer. and a buddy of mine who has done them before is helping me. I would have to say that it is much more involved than an engine rebuild. Not that it can't be done, but you'd better have the right tools and some one who knows WTF they are doing if its your first time. A lot of things in that transmission are directional, but do not appear to be at first glance. It is deceptively simple. that is what makes it so dangerous to undertake. It even gets worse for wear. What i mean is if a part is in one locaton for 200k miles, it develops a wear pattern. if you flip it around when putting it back in, that wear pattern is destroyed and can actually cause premature part failure. so make sure its right if you do it. Layout and label everything!!

Additionally, I had to make a couple of tools to take the place of the SST pullers that the dealer has, but I have a machine shop at work, so it was free, minus my time.

That being said, unless you have time, and extra resources, you are better off getting one rebuilt with a warranty. Look at me, I am only saving about $200 bucks from a rebuilt one. (priced $720 from man-trans in Tallahassee florida). The only good thing is I KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt it was done right.

just my 2cents.