dmjames

I'm in the market for a new transmission (along with a good number of other assorted parts) for my 1984 NA, and one of the usual options is to pick up a parts car as a donor. In order to get one at a decent price, they're generally non-running, which makes the traditional ways to check transmission condition not really doable.

Is there much you can do to determine transmission condition without being able to drive with it?

azbanks

Even driving it may not tell you the whole story.

I have a AOR trans out of an 89 Turbo S. It worked pretty well but I wanted to swap out for a longer 5th gear to lower my cruising RPM and replace the second gear synchro that was getting a little worn.

When I pulled it apart, I found that the pinion gear was badly chipped and the input gear for 3rd was chipped as well. I never would have known things were bad until it had a major failure.

AZ520

Only thing you can do is make sure the gear change well and rotate it by hand, check the play at the input shaft and stub axles. Check the oil also, drain if possible. I got a 125.00 craigslist trans and it passed those tests, but whines pretty bad on decal. Lots of Ebay transmission have a warranty or local junk yards, but the cost is higher.

dmjames

That's the exact debate I'm having. Very reputable local Porsche dismantler (Carquip) and transmission shop has an early trans that's been inspected and guaranteed by their transmission, but it's $1250 once you factor in tax. For that money, I can buy a solid parts car, maybe even a running car, but I don't want to have to do this again. Middle ground would be getting one from Plyhammer, who's got a great price, and a solid reputation, but shipping from Ohio to Colorado means that if anything isn't right, it's a project to sort out. Local scrappers have barely heard of a 944, let alone have one in stock.

I'm leaning pretty hard toward the local one, since my motto of 'do it right the first time' has been paying off in spades on this car, but it's still a lot of cash, but the time investment seems like that might be enough to justify the extra initial outlay.

AZ520

Luckily the transmission is easy to replace, 1-2 hours once you get it down and thats will jack stands. I would try LARTS porsche parts on ebay. For 1250.00 you can just about have a trans rebuilt, unless you are looking for a turbo transmission or limited slip? I have also used 20th st auto in Phoenix, they have a site. They are a Porsche dismantler.

konakat

Either go for a cheap one or get yours rebuilt. All of them are 30 years old, so even a working one is a crap shoot unless you do a rebuild.

Dougs951S

+1

dmjames

Probably the most reasoned advice I've seen in ages... Thanks all- will price out a rebuild and go from there. Looks like Lart has them for $400 shipped with a guarantee, so that might be the best middle ground. After getting a better box swapped in, I'll probably look at a rebuild for the long run.

KevinGross

To quote Stan Hanks: "You already own a used transmission. Why would you buy another one?"

dmjames

A fair question for sure. In my case, I'm getting a bunch of whine on deceleration, plus major syncro issues with third gear (and sometimes 4th), which leads me to believe that a rebuild on this transmission is likely to be a big (and likely expensive) proposition. This car is also my daily driver, so I'm willing to drop a few extra dollars to keep downtime to a minimum.