2 Dog teeth found on trans drain plug....Question

[JR911]

Hi guys, Well I haven't even posted a pic of my new 86 Carrera yet but thought this situation was more critical..??

I just changed my trans oil last weekend and was not pleased to find 2 dog teeth on the magnet! This only helps to understand why the shifting is difficult a lot of the time. No telling when they broke, 100k on the trans and I've put on only 500mi.

If there are more teeth that have broken off is there a chance they could find their way into the gears and really do some major damage?? I was planning on re-building the trans before this surprise.

Your thoughts, & opinions welcome!! J.R.

[john walker's workshop]

there could be more of them. they don't all end up in the magnet. the most damage is caused by the syncro and related brake band and stop dogs that get turned loose in the gearbox when enough teeth break off the dog tooth ring that holds everything captive. you're somewhat safe if all the gears still work, but the second you can't shift into 1st or 2nd, park it, or serious damage can result.

[Jim Sims]

Yes, there are likely more broken dog teeth and they're probably in the bottom of the gear housing section of the transmission, not in the differential section where the magnetic drain plug is mounted. The dog teeth are made of hardened steel and if one goes through meshed gears they will damage the gear set. Gear sets are expensive to the point if one of them is trashed and you need to do the rest of the rebuild (synchro rings, operating sleeves, dog teeth, etc.) it is probably more cost effective to install a good used transmission or another rebuilt unit. You could be lucky though and may be able to rebuild your current transmission. To improve the transmission's chances stop driving the car, remove the engine and transmission and rebuild the tranmission now. When you open it up you may find out though that its too late. Good luck! Jim