Transmission Rebuild Time

[igotatruck]

After kicking this can down the road for almost a year, I am gonna rebuild my transmission.

Its an '83 720 2WD Z24. Bought me the real deal factory manual, which says I got a FS5W71B.

 

I lost access to 5th gear not long after I bought it, it just slides out as soon as I let the clutch out.

Lately it has been making a very quiet clicking sound when driving in gear and makes a kindof winding down noise when I throw it in neutral to coast.

I seem to remember that the 5th gear popping out is because the 'King Nut' or something has loosened up over time.

 

I figure if I am gonna pull it out I might as well do a rebuild as best as I can. I read in another thread that this is a good rebuild kit:
https://www.midwesttrans.com/webapp/partView.do?partNum=MWT104

 

Anything else I should know before going forward? I am in no rush to get it done so I dont mind taking the time to get it right.

Any parts I should swap out to make it beefier? I want to see how long I can keep the thing running.

 

Heres a pic of the manual I got an the door plate for the truck:

 

Edited August 29, 2019 by igotatruck

[igotatruck]

I never done a transmission before, but I did just finish a head gasket job on the wifes car. I have sockets and jacks and stand and such but what other special tools am I gonna need for this?

 

[MikeRL411]

20 minutes ago, igotatruck said:

I never done a transmission before, but I did just finish a head gasket job on the wifes car. I have sockets and jacks and stand and such but what other special tools am I gonna need for this?

 

 

Patience and some accurate torque wrenches.  No  interruptions would also help.

[Crashtd420]

10 hours ago, igotatruck said:

I never done a transmission before, but I did just finish a head gasket job on the wifes car. I have sockets and jacks and stand and such but what other special tools am I gonna need for this?

 

The only special tools really would be a couple pullers....

I rented them from autozone but I had to make some extensions for the arms because they wouldnt reach....

Just 1" wide  flat stock steel .. drilled 2 holes and mounted them to the pulled and arms..... 

 

There are a couple things to make sure you dont loose, some little balls and springs .... 

 

All and all its not bad... I just rebuilt my stumpy 71b and I've never opening a transmission before .... 

Just take plenty of pictures and take your time..... 

[Crashtd420]

And that kit you posted does not include the brass syncros.....

Check this page out....

https://www.midwesttrans.com/FS5W71_Manual_Transmission.html

 

I think you actually would want this kit...

https://www.midwesttrans.com/webapp/partView.do?partNum=MWT104WS

 

I would disassemble it first and evaluate it before you buy anything....

At least get the cases off... the whole transmission stays assembled to the center plate so nothing is gonna fall out... 

[captain720]

3 hours ago, Crashtd420 said:

And that kit you posted does not include the brass syncros.....

Check this page out....

https://www.midwesttrans.com/FS5W71_Manual_Transmission.html

 

I think you actually would want this kit...

https://www.midwesttrans.com/webapp/partView.do?partNum=MWT104WS

 

I would disassemble it first and evaluate it before you buy anything....

At least get the cases off... the whole transmission stays assembled to the center plate so nothing is gonna fall out... 

I have a trans with some stuff thats definitely gonna fall out when I open it up.

[Seven Two Oh No]

There are a series of videos on Youtube showing the complete disassembly and reassembly of a 71B that helped during my first rebuild. First video is here, and you can find the rest on that page - <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTdf7ncLy0A>

 

 

[igotatruck]

Nice, thanks all. I will post updates when i get the thing pulled out this weekend

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

- a pencil magnet for pulling the detent balls

- snap ring pliers (two different kinds)

- dead blow hammer

- roll pin punches

- bearing splitter

- puller to attach to bearing splitter

- 2x4s for standing the trans up on its nose for assembly

- wrenches large enough to get the tailshaft nut off and back on (I made some custom sockets so I can do this with an impact gun, pics below)

 

 

[bottomwatcher]

I am curious about the country of origin on those bearings. If you buy the kit let us know. 

[igotatruck]

12 hours ago, Stoffregen Motorsports said:

(I made some custom sockets so I can do this with an impact gun, pics below)

 

This has to be the deepest socket i have seen, impressive

 

11 hours ago, bottomwatcher said:

I am curious about the country of origin on those bearings. If you buy the kit let us know. 

 

Will do

[igotatruck]

A random question:

 

Where can I get some of these bolts that hold the brake caliper onto the knuckle?

 

Edited September 2, 2019 by igotatruck

[igotatruck]

Also any tips on how to get the exhaust tube bolts off? They seem stuck as heck

[Crashtd420]

49 minutes ago, igotatruck said:

A random question:

 

Where can I get some of these bolts that hold the brake caliper onto the knuckle?

 

Looks like it's as simple as ordering from autozone.... as long as I entered the right info....

[Crashtd420]

40 minutes ago, igotatruck said:

Also any tips on how to get the exhaust tube bolts off? They seem stuck as heck

Soak in pb or wd40 and get some heat on it.....

[igotatruck]

Okay, got the transmission all disconnected and its sitting on the jack, how do I get it out? It is either too far forward and the spindle catches on the clutch or it is too far back and the place where the shift lever attaches hits the bottom of the cab.

Edited September 3, 2019 by igotatruck

[datzenmike]

Those other two bolts hold the caliper onto the knuckle.

 

The missing ones are specially coated pins that allow the two parts of the caliper to slide closer together as the pad wears down.

 

 

[igotatruck]

Its loose in there but it keep catching on something and wont fall out

[igotatruck]

Welp there it is:

[igotatruck]

Okay got it cracked and mounted in the vise. What am I looking for as far as busted bits?

Nothing seems exploded but some of the bearings sound noisy, I think.

Also this gasket looks like it has failed pretty badly. vvvvv

Edited September 9, 2019 by igotatruck
Got past mundayne problem.

[datzenmike]

We're talking about the transmission? There is no bottom housing, there is the front and rear aluminum cases sandwiching the steel adapter in the middle.

[igotatruck]

Is there any reason I can not take the two housing halves to the machine shop and have them dunk em in the cleaning tank?

[igotatruck]

Just now, datzenmike said:

We're talking about the transmission? There is no bottom housing, there is the front and rear aluminum cases sandwiching the steel adapter in the middle.

Thanks for the clarification, I had to hold it up while my wife hammered on it, it wouldnt slip off sitting on the floor.

[igotatruck]

1 minute ago, datzenmike said:

What wouldn't come off the front or the rear case??????????

The rear was a little stubborn at first but came apart pretty easily once I was holding it off the floor. The front case came off with a few good whacks. I suspect the rubber hammer I was using wasn't giving the same kind of shock as the dead-blow hammer the guy in the video was using.

 

Here is a few more close up pics and a video of the noise. Found one chunk carved out of a gear.

https://imgur.com/a/lvBZaeH

[datzenmike]

OK I guess the last post with pictures was not showing.

 

 

This looks normal. It's torn from removal.

 

You can degrease the front and rear cases in a cleaning tank. I would just uses a citrus de greaser and power wash at home.

 

 

 

I got mine for under $4 maybe it was mislabeled? Goddamn it cleans hands really well. Spray it on wait 10 min power wash.

 

The chewed up leading edges on that is the reverse gear. It might whine while reversing but who cares?