Bill Ball

Hey dr. Bob: Uh, if so, I may soon have egg on my face but a drivable car. The only other time the fluid level got even a little bit low, I experienced failure to complete shifts with freewheeling. So, although I meant to check the fluid level, I put it down the list, since Reverse works perfectly but in Drive the car is stuck like the brake is on. I can't push it forward or back. Once I kill the motor, I can roll the car freely in D. It's not slipping or slow to shift into and out of R or D. So, you're saying this is a sign of low fluid?? That would be wonderful news with a bit of a red face admitting once again my ignorance. My current housing situation prohibits car repairs but I think if I get it up on jackstands briefly I can get away with it.

GregBBRD

I should have "added" this in my first post....

Because the '89 B2 piston is a stronger version than those found in the "earlier" transmissions, most of the B2 failures in the "post 88" transmissions are caused by the breakage of the two piece design B2 bands.

I'm not saying that this is what happened.....as I said, anything made from metal can fail at anytime....and it is a cheap, quick thing to check.

For the people that have had a failure of the "early" B2 pistons....or will have a failure at some point in time....a quick tip:

The "early" B2 pistons were chrome plated and they had an aluminum "guide sleeve" behind the seal for the chrome piston to travel through. The "later" B2 pistons are aluminum and must have the nylon sleeve behind the seal for the piston to travel on. Running the later aluminum piston on the original aluminum guide sleeve is something I frequently see, on "rebuilt" transmissions. Both the aluminum piston and the aluminum guide sleeve get severe wear and will eventually allow leakage past the seal, from excessive side to side play.

Pretty simple to remember.....

Chrome piston (where it travels through the seal) needs the aluminum guide sleeve.
Aluminum piston (where it travels through the seal) needs the nylon guide sleeve.

GregBBRD

There's a couple other possibilities to help Bill out, if the B2 piston turns out to not be the issue.

The first possibility would involve some careful planning and more generosity from several people.

Take the transmission out. Take it apart (following my directions), taking pictures detailing the wear on the internals.....and then clean the pieces clean enough to lick them. Send me the pictures. I'll bring up the parts (someone has to buy the parts) and we can assemble the thing one Saturday morning/early afternoon.

1. Tough to organize.
2. Requires multiple days of work from multiple people.
3. Ties up Mark's lift for an extended amount of time.
4. It takes me as long to rebuild the valve body than it takes to rebuild the transmission. I'd want to do that ahead of time.

Second possibility:

Have Jerry's transmission sent here. I'll rebuild it with whatever is needed....if someone wants to come and document the reasons why I want to replace what I want to replace (this is the most important part of rebuilding anything), get someone to come and take pictures, for Rennlist. (Someone needs to buy the parts.) (Hell, if someone wants to come and document the entire process, I'm game.)

Install that transmission into Bill's car and get it properly adjusted.

I'll accept Bill's "core" as a token labor payment, when it is all said and done.

jheis

Hey Bill:

Always sorry to hear of car woes, but I'm available to turn wrenches when the time comes. Just let me know where and when.

James

dr bob

Bill, I didn't pick up on the part where you can't push the car with the engine running and trans in drive. I mis-read, thinking that was when you were trying to drive it and it felt like brakes dragging.

I'm too far away to offer assistance, but I'm very interested in the results of the inspection and repair effort. My trans is still fine (knocks on aluminum...) or was when I last parked it. Still I look at your car as a glimpse into the future mine will experience. Wondering also if it might be worthwhile to send my working box to Greg for a PM parts refresh while he and I are both able/willing to do the work.

Also willing to contribute to a "Bill Needs a Transmission Rebuild!" fund. Token support for someone who gives so much to the 928 community.

Leon Speed

I'd pitch in on the rebuild fund.

BC

Great offer Greg. I think anyone with a right mind would take you up on that offer.

928NOOBIE

Fricken awesome getting almost 300k out of a tranny that was used/abused (in fun I mean ). We should all be so lucky.

James Bailey

Yup will always remember Bill's smoky block long burn out from a Sharktoberfest many years ago....true it was one wheel only but still pretty awesome

Bill Ball

More thanks are needed for all the encouragement, gentle reminders of how lucky I really am, offers of assistance and ways to go about dealing with this, like Greg Brown's incredibly generous and thoughtful messages, and the offers of direct financial support, one even privately in my email. Wow! Even though dr. bob had to revise his suggestion of low fluid level being causal, I am going out right now to check that as I should have. After that I will try to figure the route I will take. Obviously a Greg Brown rebuild is the best way to go in terms of assured reliability, and this tranny has gone far beyond it's expected lifespan already. The bands and clutches should be toast, although they looked surprisingly good 40K miles ago when I had the tranny partially disassembled, as shown here: https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...ml#post9124894

blau928

Bill,

Depending on timing, you are welcome to use my lift. It is an extended height 7ft 6in - 4 poster in the toy warehouse. You will need to bring your car down the coast a little towards Monterey, but the lift is in a 2000+SF building and there is lots of room if you wish to make use of it to swap your trans.

Let me know, and if it's convenient for you, I will move my 928 off the lift and you can put yours on..

Best Regards,

M. Requin

Ah yes! Was this the burnout in his old avatar? That used to crack me up every time...

James Bailey

Yes indeed ! could not help but wonder how those spider gears in the diff were digging that

SharkSkin

I would like to be able to help but my schedule is likely to be pretty mercurial in early July. Will keep an eye on the thread for updates.

SharkSkin

That was epic! Actually both of them were. And they were the subject of more than a few laughs and toasts over the rest of the weekend. Probably minimal stress on the transmission while doing it, as Jim implies the spider gears took the brunt of the abuse.