1979-1993 & 94 Conv [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
Hi. This BB is an absolute gold mine; huge props to the community.
So I'm converting my Automatic '88 900T to a 5spd; auto tranny was toasted when I bought the car.
The 5spd is also out of an '88 turbo that had ~130k on it, selling mechanic assures me it was maintained, never flogged, and is currently devoid of pinion-whine...
BUT it smells like gear oil to me, the level is low, I'm doing the Reverse Gear idler arm mod, and I'm also swapping out the inner driver cups/seals/bearings, so don't try to talk me into just topping up the gear oil: It IS getting drained.
***What I'm wondering is***
A) how best to clean it while I have it out in the open, and
B) what would be most effective to drain/refill with at least 3 times within the first thousand miles.
First I'd like to address this sediment-stocking reputation of gear oil, so for A I'm considering setting the tranny on wood blocks slanted towards the rear and pouring diesel(?) fuel down the clutch shaft cover in the transfer case. I want to think that that would rinse a lot of the settled crap towards the drain/rear cover. Maybe I'd rock it back and forth on a block to slosh it around and loosen everything up first, or even more ambitiously I've imagined, after installation, (over?)filling and idling it in each gear with the wheels in the air, first with diesel (or some other solvent or thinner oil: could I use my leftover quarts of ATF?) and then with an immediate change/rinse or two settling on 10W-30. This is based on my uncertainty whether metal deposits accumulate on surfaces higher than the bottom, and the assumption that stirred-up sediment is unlikely to do any damage as long as the tranny isn't working under a load.
But is diesel a particularly bad idea? I notice it doesn't evaporate as readily as gasoline does; might it leave some small amount of solvent residue inside which would persistently breakdown the oils that come after?
As for B, I've read some threads here about pretty creative oil combinations (Rotella T and 10W-30) that seem to work and am hoping someone who knows the various additives, detergents, and other characteristics might suggest any particular oil/combination for these intermediate over-the-road flushes before I give it an Auto-Rx treatment and _eventually_ settle upon a high-grade synthetic...
Yes it all sounds wacky and labor-intensive, but if I can get another 50-100k out of it for less than 10% of the cost of a rebuild... I know it's inevitable the way I drive, but I need time.
Lastly: Does an '88 5spd have a filter anywhere? I'm disappointed to discover that the Quick Parts Reference doesn't even GO inside the gearbox. That's just Too quick.
Thanks in advance for your collective/creative wisdom.
posted by 129.44.6...
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