Thinking of buying a spare T4WD tranny

[deejay1272]

I recently made contact with a guy that is selling a used "spare" tranny that was included with the sale of his T4WD. He hasn't ever used it and he can't confirm if it is in good working order or not. My plan is to possibly purchase the transmission and keep it as a spare in the event that my existing tranny fails (currently I'm getting a bit of a grind b/t gears).

Before I buy it, I obviously want to ensure that it is in good condition. What are some things that I can do or inspect to help me get a better understanding of its condition?

Also - If this tranny is shot, is it possible to take it to a good transmission rebuilder to have them service it or will parts be too difficult to acquire because it's not being manufactured anymore?

Thanks for the help...

-Dan

Ps - someone in the Portland, OR area is selling a used T4WD tranny for $670! That's almost what I paid for my whole car. Madness.

[Petros]

Bring a shift lever and clip if it does not have one, and shift it through all the gears, both in 2wd and 4wd mode. In each gear rotate the input shaft by hand and observe all three outputs. Make sure you count each gear to verify you checked them. All should turn smoothly and successively faster in each gear, and reverse. It should go into each gear without too much effort, the input and output shafts should all turn smoothly without hint of any roughness or grinding. You need to put your hand on each of the outputs while you are turning the input shaft to feel if any of the output shaft bearing are bad.

That is about the best you can do, and should let you know that is will drive fine. What it will not test for is the condition of the syncros, which you can live with if you know how to double clutch.

A "soft parts" rebuild kit is still available but very costly (like $650), but if any of the "hard parts" (gears, shift forks, etc. ) are worn out you have to search the junk yards. It is usually much cheaper and easier to find a good used trans than attempt a rebuild.

[deejay1272]

Thanks, Petros. I'll check these things before I buy the spare transmission.

-Dan

[deejay1272]

The seller is asking $150 for the tranny (he claims it's in perfect condition - coming off a low mileage running T4WD). Provided that I can confirm that everything is in perfect working order, do you guys think this is a reasonable price to pay for one of these things?

[Petros]

if it is good, that is a bargain. retail right now is from about $250 to 450 (some yards have even wanted as much as $650 for a guaranteed used T4wd trans). Sometimes you get lucky at a self service yard for $75 or so, but you have to remove it yourself, and install it to know if it any good, and you have 30 days to return it.

[takza]

http://www.car-part.com/

Maybe 22 in the US....$600 to $275.

[deejay1272]

Thanks for the tips, everyone. I'm scheduled to go pick up the spare tranny on Saturday. These things are getting rare, so I figured this was good insurance.

I'll be storing this in my (dry) garage and I was planning on simply wrapping it in several layers of newspaper to protect it. Anything else I should consider doing to keep it in good condition?

[Petros]

Clean it off, put fresh oil in it (not full, just 2 quarts or so), spray outside with light oil to prevent corrosion. Do not wrap with news papers, they trap and hold water. Use plastic, or better, bubble wrap. Stuff wadded up plastic bags in the outputs and other openings. Should be good.

[deejay1272]

I saw the spare tranny today, but didn't buy it because I couldn't find 5th gear or reverse (the shift lever simply wouldn't travel to the right when in neutral). I may go back to buy it but I wanted to run this by you all before I drop $150 on this. Is this a serious problem or something that can be easily fixed?


(All other gears in FWD & 4WD seem to work well)

[Petros]

may or may not be an issue, but it should go in especially when you are rotating the input shaft by hand. sometimes the spline does not line up, but turning the input shaft even by hand should prevent it from not going into any gear. Sounds iffy to me. If it will not go into gear because of mechanical wear on parts so it will not line up, the trans is basically done (or almost done) and ready to have hard parts replaced in it. If it has been sitting for a long time might just need some oil, put a quart of gear oil in it and slosh it around and try again. Did the seller say it came out of a running car? if so how long ago? Getting stuck in a gear, or not going into a gear usually means the parts are well worn out.

[deejay1272]

Did the seller say it came out of a running car? if so how long ago? Getting stuck in a gear, or not going into a gear usually means the parts are well worn out.

Yes - the car had been wrecked in the front, but the motor and tranny were salvaged. This was about 10-15 years ago, so it has been sitting for a very very long time.

Gears EL, 1, 2, 3 and 4 worked very nicely, but I just couldn't get the shift lever to travel to the right while in neutral. Thus, I couldn't find 5th or reverse. The transmission looked and felt pretty good otherwise. I didn't slosh any extra oil around in it (nor did I check to see if there was any oil in it at all), but I'm not all that encouraged so I will probably tell the seller that I'm going to have to pass unless you all think this could be salvaged. I hate to see one of these transmissions go to the scrap yard if it still has life in it.

[Petros]

everything gets very dry inside from sitting that long, might just need fresh lube so the parts are slippery again. Most of the oil drains out when you remove it.

Offer him $75, it is worth that much in parts, and once in a car you would know it is working or not.