Tranny Update

[Daniel & Kathy Gibson]

I decided to bite the bullet, and fix my tranny myself. Pulled the
engine and tranny out today, and pulled the tranny apart. Really not too
bad of a job (so far). Turns out the main bearing by the pinion was
missing about half of its rollers, and the rest fell out when I pulled
it apart. Every thing else looks to be in pretty good shape.

So...do I just replace the messed up bearing(s), and put it back
together? Considering how totally ridiculous tranny prices have become,
I am tempted to see if it will last a few more years before needing more
work. PRos and cons are welcome!

Dan
'64 Das Mess

 

[WB6WSN]

----- Original Message -----
From: Daniel & Kathy Gibson
To: amphicar-lovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, November 28, 2003 7:47 PM
Subject: [amphicar-lovers] Tranny Update


I decided to bite the bullet, and fix my tranny myself. Pulled the
engine and tranny out today, and pulled the tranny apart. Really not too
bad of a job (so far). Turns out the main bearing by the pinion was
missing about half of its rollers, and the rest fell out when I pulled
it apart. Every thing else looks to be in pretty good shape.

So...do I just replace the messed up bearing(s), and put it back
together? Considering how totally ridiculous tranny prices have become,
I am tempted to see if it will last a few more years before needing more
work. PRos and cons are welcome!

Dan
'64 Das Mess


As long as all the bearing races and cages look good, and there's no obvious
gear wear or damage, I think you could reasonably get by as is. OTOH, wear on
the syncromesh plates is more subtle. If the trans was shifting OK prior to the
latest problem, then you likely don't need new syncromesh clutch plates. I'd put
in new seals and button it up and put it back in the Amphi.

Ed
El Cajon
67 Rust Guppy


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

 

[Daniel & Kathy Gibson]

So...has anyone come up with a less costly replacement for the
"special"bearing by the pinion? Seems kinda strange that the race on
that bearing just totally fell apart, and there are no signs of any
damage or wear to any other parts of the tranny.

Dan

 

[Daniel & Kathy Gibson]

Ok gang, the land tranny is back together, and the water tranny is
halfway there. Tomorrow I finish it up, and Saturday it goes back into
the car. So far it has gone smoothly. Lots of work, but no major
disasters. Everything feels good when I turn the driveshaft...no
binding, grinding or clunking. It may last one day, a week, or 10 years,
but at least I am doing it myself. BTW...an amphicar tranny is not a
complicated beast. I have never opened up a tranny before, and I always
imagined it would be like opening up a watch...spings and levers would
fly out everywhere. It has been interesting learning how they work.

Dan
'64 Das Boot

P.S. Thanks to Scott Moses of this list for all his help so far. He
KNOWS his Amphi trannies!

 

[Daniel & Kathy Gibson]

After a hard day of engine installation, I fired the car up tonight. I
do not have the axles in, so I just ran it through the gears in the
garage. Shifts ok, and no noise. Axles tomorrow, and then the road test.
Wish me good fortune!

Dan
'64 Das Boot

 

[Daniel & Kathy Gibson]

Greetings!

Got it all bolted together, and took it for a test drive today. The
tranny sounds nice and quiet. It startled me it sounded so quiet. No
whining, grinding or weird sounds. All of the noises the tranny had been
making are gone. I took it up to 40 mph, and it sounded great. Shifted
good too! So, if it holds up (and that remains to be seen!), the total
repair bill was less than $100 for parts, another $20 for oil and gasket
material, and my time.

Now to figure out why the rear brakes will not bleed out!

Happy Dan
'64 Das Boot...almost back on the road!