Transmission Rebuild Writeup
 

Find it at http://www.davidgeesaman.com Warning, it's a total of 30MB of PDFs.

Comments welcome.

Dave

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Update March 2020 - the link above is dead. The files are available in posts at the end of this thread.

Good stuff! thanks :bigthumb:

thanx. i will definitely be using this as a source

but did you fill it with propane when you were done?
 

just kidding - I must be on the wrong thread...

thanks - I have two I need to rebuild - this will be useful !

Jim

Looking at all the detail and pictures in Dave's writeup, it's easy to see why it took him so long to finish his rebuild... On the other hand if you need to rebuild your trainy, like me, his efforts will have already saved you tons of time and trouble. Excellent contribution to the collective!

Thank you Dave.
John

Good stuff! I'm looking forward to the day I tear into a tranny myself :).

Dale

Well, I spent 5 weeks from jack up to jack down. I'd say 2 weeks were spent avoiding the 20° garage, 1 week doing work and 2 weeks waiting for tools or parts. Taking pics was easy. (The writeup was hard work).

So with better work conditions and tools already on hand, it's nowhere near that long. But if you hurry you're dead :)

Dave

awesome work! I don't have much experience with transmissions so this will definitely come in handy if I ever need to take mine apart.

Thank you so much!

Great job! Great Thanks a lot. I have the tranny out this week to replace a noisy pilot bearing (lets hope that is what it is). After reading your writeup I feel a lot better about going ahead and replacing the failing 5th synchro.

great work!!

I would like to make a motion to move this to the advanced tech section for posterity.

Nice job, Dave!

Dave, definatley a great contribution to the community. I never really considered rebuilding my tranny by myself untill now. Great work. :)

BTW, how much did everything for your rebuild cost?

Wow man, awesome job!!!

Amazing, Dave G.

I sure don't have enough patience to do a write-up like this.

Excellent write-up!

The golden question.

The parts themselves were about $500 for new OEM bearings, synchros, switches, gaskets, etc. I think that's a reasonable number for anyone doing a full rebuild assuming none of the hard parts need replaced. If a gear or driveshaft is shot, then you're talking more $$. I updated the parts list to include approximate prices too. If you're doing a 93 or early 94, I suggest replacing the whole 1-2 clutch assembly for the updated one, which runs $200.

Tools and side jobs add much more. I.e. I bought that impact wrench for $200. The long socket was $75. Diff bushings were $85, but paying to have them pressed was $30.

DaveW: I'm one of those people that when I finally get to doing something, I do it all the way. So it was tough writing all that out, but I felt obligated for everyone helping me along the way.

Dave

This is a great resource and exactly what I've been waiting for since I plan to rebuild a spare soon!

I know you did this out of the goodness of your heart but if you were willing to burn cd's of those documents you could easily sell them I'm certain.

Thanks again!

If I was a trained drivetrain mechanic, I would. It would be bold to produce something along the lines of Turrentine's rebuild video after having only rebuild one transmission.

The information is very pictorial and pretty, but it doesn't mean I always know what I'm doing. :) I'm just happy to fill a void in the collective knowledge.

Dave

Basically...I think what he's trying to say is, "I got sick and tired of people like WHIPSrx7 who keep asking people about rebuilds, advice, etc. I can't waste my posting/reading time on people like them!" :)

No, I like talking RX-7s, that's for sure.

I'm only a shadetree DIY mechanic, and this is the first tranny work I've ever done. I don't consider it any kind of gospel, and selling it would imply that it is.

Dave

I don't think it implies you're an expert, it would just be convenient for some people. You shouldn't have so much humility ;) Look at all the poorly thought out crap people spend hundreds of dollars on everyday! No harm in you making a few bucks for all the work you put into the documents as it's obvious this was not thrown together in an evening or two!

I've not torn an FD tranny down but I've done several transaxles from other cars. In my experience they're all about the same: a mechanical puzzle. As long as things are neatly sorted and kept track of it's not too bad but I'd still be afraid to do a rebuild over a period of more than a few days for fear that it wouldn't stay fresh in my mind. Your pictures and notes are a terrific help for any of us planning to do the work.

Heck, the parts list alone is worth charging $20 for! I spent over an hour combing the factory pdf's a while back getting the numbers for all the synchros, bearings and seals!

Could you describe how to make your 'pipe clamp and threaded rod device' for removing the mainshaft rear bearing? My 2 jaw puller is not getting the job done.

Thanks,
Tom