transaxle rebuild - any books?

[bryanthompson]

This winter I want to find a crap transmission and rebuild it. Does anyone know of books or websites that talk about how to do this? the more details the better, of course

[tifosiman]

Originally posted by bryanthompson
This winter I want to find a crap transmission and rebuild it. Does anyone know of books or websites that talk about how to do this? the more details the better, of course

Hopefully you have some money set aside for this endeavour.

The best book to purchase for this would be the factory service manuals. The volume on transmissions has all of the detail that you would need to completely rebuild the trans.

If you already have that, that is a head-start.

Now, here comes the really expensive stuff.

If the trans died in the typical mode of failure, that means the ring and pinion gears self-destructed. IF the little metal chunks from the kaboom haven't nicked the rest of the gears in the trans, or there aren't any other problems, you need to purchase (at the bare min):

1. Ring and pinion set ($700-$900 depending on vendor)
2. Synchros ($200)
3. Seals (?? varies)
4. Bearings (?? varies)
5. New r&p shims

Then, you'd need some tools to tear it down and build it up.

1. Shop press and plates
2. Feeler guages
3. Various special press-tools, separators, and drifts (some of which are NLA and hard to source).
4. Hotplate

The shop manual will have a listing of all of the special Porsche/VW/Kukko tools that you will need.

In the end, you will have racked up a rather large parts and tools bill. But, it will be nice knowing that you did it yourself and also have something that is (hopefully) going to last you for awhile...




Best of luck! Keep us posted on the progress!

[bryanthompson]

Thanks for the info, that'll give me a bit to think about I'm going to look through the workshop manual and see what tools & parts i'll need... This might have to wait another year while I gather materials & whatnot.

I saw on your profile that you make Porsche models... Do you sell them?

[tifosiman]

No, at this time I am hoarding all of them! LOL!

Here is the current one I am working on, look familiar?

[bryanthompson]

Man, that's awesome. I wanted to find some of that super dense foam they use for flower arrangements, and build a mold that could be used for plaster-of-paris models... I haven't had the time or energy to make it happen though. I don't know what kind of quality they'd end up being either...

Care to share how you do it? I've read a lot of stuff for making the kit models more realistic, mostly from this site: http://www.briansmodelcars.com/
The guy can do crazy things.

[tifosiman]

This one is a Testors-Itallerie kit that I have extensively modified. I haven't done any dense-foam molding yet, just a little work in fiberglass and some rouge-ing from other model kits. The roll cage, recaro seats, and momo steering wheel came from other model kits. This one is 1/24th scale, which is the easiest to work with IMHO. There are a lot of aftermarket accessories in this scale, like carpet, wheels, etc. The 944 kits are no longer made and expensive to purchase from the outset. Count on spending at least $50-75 for one. I have this and 3 other 944 kits to work on. One of them is the "Pinky" 951cup car.

Ebay is a great spot to find parts and kits, and creativity is a must. Good Luck!

[Wolf1]

Originally posted by bryanthompson
This winter I want to find a crap transmission and rebuild it. Does anyone know of books or websites that talk about how to do this? the more details the better, of course

Here is a very informative website. This should give you a good general idea as to what you are in for...

Porsche trans rebuild instructions

[bryanthompson]

LOL! I'm laughing my ass off!

...Once you have fully misunderstood this advice, begin designing a tool which will somehow incorporate a clutch disc and will also lock the input shaft in place. Yes, I'm not kidding. We not only used the wrong tool for the job, we actually DESIGNED and FABRICATED it. Now once you have a suitably rediculous plan in mind, go to Home Depot and purchase some nuts, bolts, washers, and steel tubing. It is especially important that you avoid using metric hardware for this project - especially if your tools are all metric (since, of course, you work on Porsches). This guarantees that you will not only design and fabricate the wrong tool for the job - but you will also be using the wrong tools to perform the fabrication.

Thanks for the link

[1980 911 sc]

I am crying it was so funny...

[AFJuvat]

Bryan:

The workshop manual, volume II

Everything you wanted to know about the transmission, but didn't even think to ask.

AFJuvat

[Taz's Master]

Thought the link was fantastic. Read some parts out loud to my wife, her response: "Sounds to me like he's not married."

Thanks Wolf1

[VINMAN]

I rebuilt my trans using the factory manual, it wasnt all that tough(having all the tools already, helped). The hardest part was paying for the parts!
So far, it hasnt blown up on me yet!

[bryanthompson]

Bringing this post back from the grave

A used transmission will arrive on my doorstep next week. Perfect timing, since I'm wanting to start AutoX later this month.

Anywho, once my current tranny wears out, I'm giong to swap this one in and rebuild the old. The rebuild will be a very slow process, but I want to end up with a tougher-than-stock box. Is there any alternative R&P from another car I can stick in there? How about gears, synchros, are there any stronger ones for first & second gear particularly that I can get? Where's the best place to buy the tools & misc parts I'll need?