Just lost 3rd gear :(

dwa1971 · 08-20-2009, 08:25 AM

Driving along the other day and knew the end was near for 3rd and now it is officially dead in my '79 930. I don't mind jumping gears for regular driving but sucks when needed for speed. Of course the wife will kill me after the money I spent doing the engine and everything last year. Any thoughts on how much effort is involved in fixing this? Was thinking of making it a winter project. Would love to jump to g50 but will have to wait for now. thx

A930Rocket · 08-20-2009, 08:50 AM

Do a search. If you do it yourself, parts will run about $2k to $2.5k depending on what you replace.

full quack · 08-20-2009, 11:40 AM

Yeh, I did mine about 18k miles ago. Replaced all main shaft bearings, synchro rings, diff bearings, seals & gaskets. I did not replace the needle bearings, as they checked out fine. You will find that it is hard to track down some of the bearings, you just have to be persistent.

I paid to have the synchro rings pressed off/on, since I do not have a press. Otherwise I did the job myself. Total out of pocket about $2200.

If you do it yourself, here is a helpful little trick. Go buy yourself a CROCK POT, yeh you read right! Put about a quart of 90W tranny oil in it, and use it to pre-heat your bearing races, prior to installing them. Believe me...you will want to do this. The inner race will then slide onto the shafts with just a little persuasion.

As for the outer races that go into the case, gently pre heat the appropriate bearing bore in the case with a propane torch, and the bearing race can then be gently tapped into position with NO abuse.

Just remember slow & gentle gets the job done right...haste makes waste!!

Mark

Brent 930 · 08-20-2009, 12:58 PM

Also be prepared to spend more money if anything else doesn't look good while getting 3rd gear fixed.

A G50 conversion is $10-12k.