Bruce -

While I will just skip over the part about a mechanic being "taken for a ride" by another mechanic, I will say that your 88 has a very different synchro design, and the shift sleeves are different as well. Your synchros are part of the dog teeth, which is the part John had decided not to replace.

So if your so called mechanic replaced the synchros (at about 250 a piece) he also replaced the dog teeth on the gears. if he did that and bearings (I doubt he did the bearings) then all he missed was the selector rings, which as John found are the integral part of the system meshing properly when you are trying to get into a gear. Without the proper dragging of the synchro on the ID of the selector ring, the there is no rpm match, thereby the crunching of gears.

Its why the early boxes get a bad rap - nobody ever replaced the selector rings when they went in and did a few synchros.

 

Straight piece in magnet is most likely part of the reverse gear lock. If this is not mentioned in this thread there are pictures of it in archives at least.

 

Brendan,
Thanks for bringing THAT to my attention as well ! .....
I have the tranny apart now......
Looks like the spring is, in fact, broken.
Need a new one.

Sincerely,
Bruce Toski

 

Thanks Vilhuer,
You are right there are several posts on this issue.
I confronted the rebuilder about this the other day and he reassured me that he did NOT overlook it.
I have the cover off now and the spring is broken and has not been replaced.
This is another problem that was NOT fixed by my local tranny shop.

Thanks for the heads up !
Bruce Toski

 

I sent the trans shop the link to this 8 page discussion hoping that the article would convince the rebuild mechanic of the error of his ways. Just talked to him and he thinks he did a perfect rebuild and is not willing to pull the transaxle and rebuild it again. I told him I was going to pull the trans and if I could show him what he missed ... would he refund any of my money ? He would not commit to a proper response, once again just reiterating that he has been rebuilding trannies for a million years and he does not make mistakes. (in an "in my face" kind of way, I might add).

The question I have for the other 928 owners out there ( with manual shift transmissions) is this... Do any of you have a trans that shifts easily and smoothly ( like the Japanese transmissions I have owned since my 1973 Mazda RX-3) or is the 928 transaxle a box that must be shifted with macho gusto as my local rebuilder is asserting ? He is also stating that I should "forgeddaboutit" for a while, put some miles on the car, let the synchros "wear in". I just don't buy any of his assertions. I am going to go out and pull the transaxle in the next couple of hours and knuckle down, fix this SOB, and get the car back to my customer. This time the tranny will get a new gasket set instead of RTV, any suspect bearings will be replaced this time ( I hear a bad one somewhere), and new Oil Seals and O rings will go in as well. And, of course, the main thing is to closely check all the synchro mating surfaces and clearances as Mr. Viveiros has so capably demonstrated to us in this thread. I understand my 88 transmission is different than his 81 ..... I will take pics as well.
Bruce Toski
954 583-4191

 

If you do this, it will cost you either way. You MUST get good evidence to take this man to court. Without it, you will NOT succeed. If you do it yourself, you have no proof. If you want proof, you MUST have a reputable shop, PREFERABLY a dealer, do it and that will be astronomically expensive.

Personally, I'd take it to a dealer to have it DIAGNOSED, and sue based on THAT, PLUS the paperwork from the mechanic, which hopefully says he RECONDITIONED the gearbox, which would leave one expecting the box would FUNCTION, in other words,

Prove that he says he fixed it and it is not fixed. Do NOT work on it.

 

Bruce,

I got your email and will try to touch base with you later via phone.

For what it's worth, I don't beleive that you can compare any 928 gearbox (capable of supporting 450 hp) in feel, to that of a dainty Japanese instrument designed for sub 200 hp with an integral, top mounted shift lever. Rear wheel drive Jap. boxes are about as good as it gets in precise, smooth shifter feel.

That being said, a good 928 box should shift very smoothly, without "muscle", as long as you aren't rushing or forcing the shifts. Our boxes do have some mass and the shift lever is remote mounted so the mechanisms overhead will be felt. I beleive there is also some thruth to letting the synchros "seat" if you will. My box is shifting better and better as I use it more but even freshly rebuilt, I don't think it required "muscle" as much as unrushed finesse to engage. And I beleive the newer boxes shift even better.

I think the best comparison would be another 928, with the same gearbox design. Ask someone that has one to drive this one and see what they think. I do beleive it's possible to miss something during a rebuild that will impact shift quality... I had an issue with a brand new synchro that I firmly beleive would have been problematic if I didn't catch it. And, it would have been easy to miss if I wasn't really paying attention.

 

Thread with some pics of late style syncro ring gearbox:
https://rennlist.com/forums/928-forum/224098-5sp-drive-pinion.html

 

Godzilla,
Not worried about proving my case. Undergrad with Paralegal certification, 1 year law school, many successes in small claims court ... took a Federal Court case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. This will only go as far as small claims court. I also have ASE Master Certification and have taught Automotive Classes in the Vo-Tech school system. Already jacked up the rear and drained the transaxle oil. Looks like one has to remove or at least lower the rear suspension cross member to get this big bugger out ? Looks like what the factory manual is telling me to do ...
Fun.

BToski

 

Almost ready to drop the rear end down but can't get the barrel shaped connector going to the brakes, disconnected. (see pic).

Can't find anything in the factory manual. No surprise there ...

It looks like the barrel comes straight apart at the center ?
Just pull the two halves apart ?

Mine is not budging.

Help.

Thanks,
BToski

 

Nope, white plastic is one piece IIRR.

You need to pull three different connectors out from large white thing, ones at bottom of the pic. One seem to be already removed though.

 

Thanks,
You were right. The end where two separate wire bundles come out ....
removes ..... took the use of a very small screwdriver to unwedge the plastic insert connectors from the main barrel shell. Not great quality ... already crumbling before I touched it .

I am going to start over with a new thread for this 88 trans repair... no use in tacking too much onto this already excellent thread for the 82. I got the monster out and it is on the table ....

to be continued....
https://rennlist.com/forums/928-forum/349802-rebuilding-1988-manual-transaxle-after-wasting-2710-at-local-shop.html

Bruce Toski

 

I really need a picture of the reversed spring, and none of John's pics are on this thread anymore.

 

Brendan,

Im in Portugal at the moment but I`ll try to post a pic later this week.

John

 

Portugal. Wow.