I haven't really noticed any problems with it other than getting it into reverse is a bit rubbish, which I think is common, but the car has 190k miles on it and I don't think the tranny has ever been rebuilt. I'm doing a motor swap and all that business, so the decision I'm faced with - do I pull the tranny as well and rebuild it, or do I just leave it alone? I don't know how bulletproof these transmissions are and how long they last. I'd rather not deal with it if I don't have to, already spent more money than I was hoping to and got my hands full as it is. Should I ignore the transmission and maybe just replace seals and fluid and then wait until it actually fails before blowing money on a rebuild?

 

I would wait. Probably go ahead and replace the front/rear seal and the front gasket to keep it from leaking. When it dies, you can replace/rebuild then. They normally hold up fine. It seems that they tend to develop bearing noises as they wear. Used ones are pretty cheap too. It might be worth just picking up a used spare (and maybe rebuild it down the road). Then if your tranny does fail, you'll have a backup.

Mine was replaced at 123k due to the previous owner driving it with no oil in there (was leaking and thought it was engine oil, not gear oil). When I got the car, there was no 3rd gear due to the teeth being sheared off from no lubrication. All the gears and shafts were blue due to the heat.

 

i would say wait and just get it done, but i don't know your situation (another car, finances, etc.). i've had one crap out on me while driving and it wasn't a pleasant experience. however, until you rebuild it, if you have to drive it, then i guess you just have to drive it.

 

i'd wait too. unless you go drag racing, they wear really slowly...

 

Alright, sounds reasonable.

 

Used ones are so easy to find... I have 3 spares and I was not even looking for them!!

 

Same here. Decent used gear boxes are all over the place - I never fix them, just stick in another one that has good syncros. Also, you can use a 12A box behind the 13B. The 12A box has better ratios too.

 

Look for a low mileage S5 n/a box and swap tailshafts. Much better 5th gear for the highway.

 

just picked up my s5 tranny, swapped it out while im waiting on a set of housings for my 84 13b. hard to come by right now. so i got my extra tranny with only 100k on it

 

good pick, now you can drop in some 4.44 gears and the 5 th gear will be like stock