TMoney

just threw down a bunch of $$ to have a shop rebuild the manual trans in my 87 runner, after deciding it wasnt a job i wanted to tackle, and i didnt want to put in a used trans and have that go in 20k.

i'm not so sure i had the right shop do the job...

i knew the bearings were going, they convinced me to replace some forks, gears, and i also had them do the clutch while they were in there, the whole thing set me back $2k.

bearing noise is gone, but now after the rebuilt, it does not feel, "smooth" between gears.

with the clutch fully depressed, about halfway through the motion of shifting from the neutral position of the stick up into a gear position, there is a noticable, (usually somewhat slight) hang-up about halfway up as it slides into gear. if i feather it up into a gear, it begins to grind. its fine as long as you just shift in forceful continuous motion from neutral, but still is a somewhat irritating grabbing vs a nice smooth shift.

should i just live with it, or is this grabbiness a faulty rebuild, and potentially future headaches?

The shop warrantees their work supposedly, so i'm considering trying to get them to make attempt #2 at rebuilding a nice smooth shifter.

thoughts?

RustBucket

iTrader: (1)

Supposedly new synchro mesh has a certain amount of "break-in", but I imagine that would mean simply some stiffness going between gears, not grinding. If you're not happy with it, and given that you spent $2000 on this, your shop needs to know that there's a problem and they need to get it right. Maybe someone with more transmission rebuilding experience can chime in?

dcg9381

No comments on how that rebuild should work - my comment is that I last time I checked you could get a complete rebuild / exchange on a w56 via marlin with shipping and return of core for under $2k... No one I would trust more than Marlin.

Might post on their forum for transmission specific questions...

TMoney

arrggh... yeah i know. marlins got a 6week lead time, though, more than i could be without my truck... shouldve just waited it out i guess.

these local guys are a trans shop thats been in business 20 years, and have a 12k/one year warranty. we'll see if they keep good on it.

jdw1

i dont trust rebuilt engines or trannys, too many shops put cheap parts in them and half ass do it. in my opinion its always best to try and get an original used low mileage unit.

TMoney

yeah, i think based on this shops work i'd agree.

MMA_Alex

take it in there and mention it to the tech, and see what he says. I haven't rebuild a trans before, but there may be some intricacies to these transmissions as far as break in, etc

dcg9381

For transmissions, I'd rather have one from Marlin than an OEM new unit... He's improved existing designs time and time again.

TORTIS

iTrader: (1)

i've had two marlin transmissions, and wasn't impressed with either one. 1st one went out in 13 months, and the second one didn't shift to well regardless of what gear oil was in it.

toy power

There is absolutely a break in period for a synchronizer, and what you are describing is consistent with it. If I remember, I think it is less than two weeks of average daily driving. It wouldn't hurt to call the shop and ask about it, but it doesn't sound like a faulty rebuild yet. I would put 500 miles on it and change the gear oil, then see how it is doing before coming to a conclusion about it.

jdw1

i just got my used tranny with transfer case that has 120,000 on it installed today. $600 total for tranny and installation. my other one was really loud. cant beat low miliege original toyota engines and trannys

MMA_Alex

hahahaha 120k = low mileage riiiight

gamerndm

Mine does the same thing, but only going into 1st gear, all the rest are smooth shifts. Ive had the truck for about 3 months now, and the tranny is original to the truck with 82000 miles on it, never rebuilt, though the bushings were replaced on the shifter. The problem hasn't gotten better or worse since in the 3k miles Ive driven it so far, so i don't think it going out on me.. Ive just gotten used to pushing a little harder to get it into first when downshifting.

SEAIRESCUE

You have syncroitis. You need to ask the shop some technical and detailed questions.
1-Did they order and replace syncros with new syncro assemblies from the hub out?
2-Did they just fix the old syncro assemblies with a repair kit? (brass speed rings, neutral clips and two springs per syncro)
3-Did they restore the end play on all moving parts that typically have a thrust washer?

Did they seat all the syncronizer brass speed rings with lapping compound?

What oil did they put in the transmission?

Check upshifting and downshifting syncro performance.

The new brass speed rings are having trouble slowing down the next gear you choose. There's no guarantee that good shifting will ever occur.

Print this and go back and ask the rebuild guy what he did during the assembly process. Keep this handy to challenge him/her/it during your discussion. If they try to BS you that it will get better with time, the owner is just buying time until the warranty expires.

Have you ever driven a new car that has syncro problems? I rest my case.

MY $0.02 but been there, done that, rebuilt a few 4 speeds.

jdw1

Quote: (hahahaha 120k = low mileage riiiight)

120,000 low miles for yota, it aint an american piece of sh!! i had 250,000 on my old one. yota trannys get 250,000+ you should know that