My Tranny Teardown

sleepydsm · 03-21-2006

Tonight I finally took up the task of tearing down my broken 1992 AWD manual tranny. As some of you may recall, the tranny seemed to lock up, i couldnt go into gear, the clutch disk was destroyed.
I have to say tearing down the tranny was extremely easy. The only challanges I came across was getting my viscous coupler off (it was on there really good), getting the 3-4shift fork/input shaft off, and the center diff took a little bit of effort.
So what happened with my tranny? A very small pin that holds a shaft in my front differential broke, which cause that shaft to drop down enough to let the broken pin out. That pin got caught in the front diff's gear teeth which then put a small crack in the case. That crack let all the fluid go, which cause the tranny (I assume the bearing) to overheat and seize up. That then cause the center shaft (with a big nut, next to the VC) to have the end gear right where the nut threads on twist off. All because of a little pin breaking.
Once I saw the shims, I visually understood them. Also, everthing in the tranny looked great! Aside from one fucked bearing and a magnut covered in gobs of metal mush, and mushy deposits of metal all around the case. I also seem to be missing one of the two oil guides.
I had a blast tearing it apart!

This actually looks repairable...

-Kevin Swalchick

1slowdsm · 03-21-2006

I've been waiting to tear my broken tranny apart for about 1/2 year now, but I dont have the right tools for the job. Gotta Vfaq it someday and take it apart. Would Shep take a broken tranny as a core that has been taken apart and put back together, but still broken?
How long did it take u to take the tranny apart? It really does seem kinda fun taking it apart, but I've never done it so I'm only imagining it...haha

blageo23 · 03-21-2006

It took us about 3 hours(Taking our sweet ass time). Special tools-Gear puller. Thats all you need. I was really fun even watching him take it apart. Got to see how stuff worked a little better.

GVR-4579 · 03-21-2006

Be sure to get the screen that mitsu intentionally left out. its supposed to increase tranny life alot and it is really easy and cheap to put in. I dont think they put it in till the 2g's

sleepydsm · 03-22-2006

Where would that go in the tranny? Im sure if I had one I could figure it out?

joesushi · 03-22-2006

I have two trannys that need to be torn down to get at seals. Where could i get a gear puller? also, the big nuts on the end of the gear shafts(lol) have had a section kind of crimped so it wouldnt loosen up. Do i replace these with new nuts or reuse the old ones when putting the trannys back together?

GVR-4579 · 03-22-2006

It goes on 5 studs/cast nubs that are set into the tranny already, i think it goes on the "middle" piece but i dont remember for sure. It is somewhere in the larger part of the case tho more near the bell housing end.

http://www.teamrip.com/TRE%20AWD%20R...0SERVICES.html

if you look at the picture next to where it says team rip engineering on the right, its the bottom right part in the picture. It comes on 96 and newer transmissions but will go stright into all other transmissions the mounting studs are already there

1slowdsm · 03-22-2006

Hmm...where would I get this Gear Puller? I might do take mine apart this summer...it sounds simple enough, right? Man, just looking at those prices for those trannies make me wanna cry. I wish I could afford one right now...heh heh.

sleepydsm · 03-22-2006

You can get a gear puller almost anywhere tools are sold.

You can just impact those big nuts right off, they're 36mm. You should replace them when reassembling.

sleepydsm · 03-22-2006

Luckily for me I work at a shop so I have access to really nice tools, and pretty much any tool I'd ever need.

Onefast99gsx · 03-22-2006

Use a punch and hammer those dents outward on those 2 big nuts. I didn't have access to an impact wrench at the time so i shoved a rag in between the gears and loosened the nuts. Whatever you do, DO NOT shove a screwdriver or something between the gears to keep them from spinning while you work the nuts off. There is a good chance that you will chip the teeth. Lay everything on a table in the same direction it came off. Some things look the same on both sides but in some cases, there are small differences, such as a notch or groove, etc...

GVR-4579 · 03-22-2006

You can use a penny in the gears if you want, but it has to be an old one that is still all copper because they are soft and wont hurt anything. Yep the punch will make it way easier to get the nuts off.

Onefast99gsx · 03-22-2006

Yes, I used a penny once. That works great as well. Good point.

joesushi · 03-22-2006

Sweet now i'll just get my hands on a gear puller and i'm pretty much good to go. I like using a rag in between the gears makes the most sense to me. I haven't ever taken a tranny apart before so this will be fun. Like i said im just trying to replace the main input shaft seal and then throw it together so i have a working tranny. thanks for the info and i'll keep you all informed!

Shane55113 · 03-22-2006

props to kevin, good explination of the failure, i could actually understand what was hapening, u should let me and dave come take a look at your progress so we can learn a thing or two.

sleepydsm · 03-22-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shane55113

props to kevin, good explination of the failure, i could actually understand what was hapening, u should let me and dave come take a look at your progress so we can learn a thing or two.

Hey yeah I've been wondering what happened to you guys! You should stop by sometime, although my tranny is at my work in pieces

tim · 03-22-2006

I have been thinking about taking apart my tranny to replace the synchros as kind of a bandaid til I can get it completely rebuilt.

I have never had a DSM tranny apart before though and dont really know what all would need to be done. Maybe someday. The 2nd gear grind really pisses me off though.

Pimpin Dsmstyle · 03-23-2006

Good job tearing it apart. Most people would take off the front case and go " Holy shit, where are the bolts at !? " So props to you, for a successful teardown. Now just hope you get everything put back exactly as it was supposed to be placed or you can plan on tearing it down again :P

Pimpin Dsmstyle · 03-23-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by tim

I have been thinking about taking apart my tranny to replace the synchros as kind of a bandaid til I can get it completely rebuilt.

I have never had a DSM tranny apart before though and dont really know what all would need to be done. Maybe someday. The 2nd gear grind really pisses me off though.

If that is what you think, pay someone to do it because I can almost promise you it won't go that smoothly. To replace your synchros and not fix your problem would simply be a waste of time and money. If you are into spending money, buy some nice gear lube ( royal purple 75 90 I think). That might smooth out your grinds a little depending on how severe it is. Otherwise just suck it up and deal with the grinds.

tim · 03-23-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pimpin Dsmstyle

If that is what you think, pay someone to do it because I can almost promise you it won't go that smoothly. To replace your synchros and not fix your problem would simply be a waste of time and money. If you are into spending money, buy some nice gear lube ( royal purple 75 90 I think). That might smooth out your grinds a little depending on how severe it is. Otherwise just suck it up and deal with the grinds.

I have tried using quality gear lube and it didnt help. Like I said, I havent taken it apart because I dont know how. There could be a lot wrong with it and I wouldnt even know til I got it apart.

The reason I think it might be something simple is because the car is still 100% stock with about 80k miles on it. It was adult driven and used as nothing more than a daily driver. The previous owner wasnt out raging on it.

But again, I know nothing about a DSM tranny so that is why I havent done anything with it.