Looking for good transmission rebuilder

[bob174]

Looking for recommendations for a good transmission rebuilder--any suggestions?

[Kevin Powers]

where in the u.s. are you? it helps to know your location.

[bob174]

I'm in Houston, TX, but would ship to a good rebuilder.

[914NNP]

Hey Kevin, do you have someone to recommend here in the Seattle/Tacoma area?

[SummerSledSix]

Gary Fairbanks in Norwalk, CT did my 901. Very good reputation. I believe he advertises in Pano and / or Excellence, and will do quick turn-around. I think the 901's can go UPS.

[Doug M]

There is a guy in our club www.coastalbendpca.org that builds trans and everything else for Porsche. He is in Corpus Christi.
He does good work and is reasonable. His # should be in the site or newsletter
Doug
or we have time trials once a month, come on down this weekend

[jurhip]

I think you should try to rebuild it yourself. I just did mine about a week ago and it was very easy (if you have the right tools and a clean place to work in) It is also relatively straightforward you just have to be careful to make sure everything is clean and that you read up on it as much as you can.

My tranny started of with bad sychros in 1st, 2nd, 4th. And a bad slider in 4th. I changed all the sychros though and the whole fourth gear assebly (except the main gears). It now works great.

[Doug M]

I have also bought used trans parts from Gary Fairbanks that were very good and half price of new.

[campbellcj]

Ottos in Venice does amazing things with 901 boxes. He runs a (modified) 901 in one of his race cars behind a balls-out ~350hp Motec high-comp race 3.6. I think there are threads in the archives here about the build process and mods that are possible on the 901/914 box.

Doing a true trans rebuild (the right way) isn't cheap, so you have to decide what your objective is. For example maybe just a quick synchro and seal job, or even just swapping for a good used trans would be other options.

Cheers,

[jurhip]

I forgot to say but doing this yourself is not a "cheap" way to go. Plan on spending at least $400 if nothing is really wrong and you are just replacing synchro rings and seals. Also, I don't really recommend putting used parts in a tranny rebuild since dynamic systems like transmissions develope wear patterns over time and changing these parts produces excessive wear.

If you have any questions about doing it yourself feel free to drop me a line.

[Doug M]

I highly recomend using used parts.Do you know what a gear cost, or even the dog teeth? I cant afford to spend $2000 on a $1500 car. We all use used parts in this area. with good sucess.
It took me three trans. to make one good one and it has been on the track for 4 years.
That is we we have a 914 because it is cheap to run. Right?
right??
Doug

[jurhip]

yeah....mine is cheap to run until it stops running

[Matt Shepherd]

Bob -

Try Brad Mayeur in East Peoria, Illinois (309.694.1797). One of his many specialties is rebuilding the 901 transmission. He rebuilt the transmission in our six. Awesome! Tell him I sent ya!

[74914]

Jurhip,
Did you need any special tools (factory or homemade) for the rebuild?
Thanks
Ed

[red-beard]

I am in the process of finishing a tech article on rebuilding the 901, in place. You leave the tranny in the car, pull the gear stack and replace what you need.

The main stipulation is that the oil seals at the front of the transmission and at the output shafts are still good. The rebuild procedure isn't that different (In fact I'd recommend doing everything the same way, just pulling the case afterwards!).

If you want a preview write me at redbeard914@hotmail.com

It's still a bit rough and I need to "update" some shaft descriptions due to inconsistencies in the Porsche manuals.

Hopefully appearing soon on this website!

As far as cost, it seems to take me anywhere from 8-12 hours to rebuild one, depending on the condition. And quite a bit of that time is simple cleaning. If I had access to an ultrasonic degreasing tank, it would take a lot less time! To that add the parts!

I do use some used parts. I had a couple of bad trannies with some good pieces: Dog teeth, sliders, etc. I am looking into a process to repoint the sliders on 1st gear, but haven't finalized how I'm going to do that or if it will be cost effective. Even some synchro's are reusable. 4th and 5th gears usually don't see nearly as much wear as 1st 2nd and 3rd.

If you replaced everything new:

2 x rear sliders ($191.10) $382.20
1 x 1st gear slider ($317.30) $317.30
5 x dog teeth ($104.30) $521.50
5 x syncho bands ($20.00) $100.00
Total $1321.00


Hub remover ($82.40) $ 82.40
Gasket set ($39.75) $ 39.75
14mm deep socket ($5) $ 5.00
30mm Wheel hub socket ($7) $ 7.00
BIG cresent wrench (Up to 32 mm!) ($15) $ 15.00

Total $149.15


If you have to replace any of the bearings
Main shaft Int plate ($155.90)
Pinion Shaft Int plate ($155.90)

This assumes you have a pin punch, 2 regular size vise grips, metric socket set, a couple of deep metric sockets (Although a 3/4 SAE will do!)

One thing to look out for is bad bearings in the intermediate plate, especially the small one. When the tranny looses oil, it becomes dry first.

James

[CHA914]

I had my tranny rebuilt by a place here in austin

www.moorespeed.com
(512) 474-7223

Their main tranny mechanic is John Dwyer, he is a certified porsche mechanic and has/does own/raced 914's since they where new. Anyway, I highly recommend him if you dont end up doing it yourself, plus you could save on shipping by driving it down here.

He has done two of my trannies and I have nothing but good to say about them.

HTH,

Tony

[Kevin Powers]

there was a long ago post on shoptalk forums and some talk here as well. rancho performance transaxles in anaheim. i think it ran the guy about $1200, you pull and ship. whether you do it yourself or shop it out i should think it will be good for another 30 yrs.

kevin

[bob174]

Thank you all very much for the replies. I think I'm going to do it myself, based on what I've read here.

[JWest]

Since you are going to do it yourself, I will add what I do.

I usually pick up a cheap tranny for a spare when doing a rebuild. You can get a tailshifter for $50 to $75 and use the dog teeth from 4th and 5th (usually good) to replace some of the lower gears. You can also use the slider from 4th/5th to replace 2nd/3rd if yours is worn. I usually get new parts for 1st gear, and replace the syncro bands with new (they are cheap), but scavenging parts for the often worn second gear from the rarely worn 4th and 5th (from the spare trans) will save a ton of money.

Also, if you happen to lose a spring or ball or the small syncro energizer parts are messed up - just take them from the spare. I think this is the most cost-effective way to approach the tranny rebuild.

[red-beard]

James and I are in total agreement!

James