Metal Shavings in My New Transmission Oil
09-19-2006, 11:04 PM
#1
Burning Brakes
Thread Starter
Metal Shavings in My New Transmission Oil
so i'm changing out my tranny in my 951 because of a lost 2nd gear. as those of you who've done it know, it's a little bit of a chore. not that bad but i don't really want to do it again. so i've managed to get the old one out but when i drained the old trans oil from my new tranny i noticed quite a bit of metal particles. the threads of the drain plug had so much that i had to wipe it over & over again to get it all. and the magnetic plug had a lot as well. the particles were shiny silver, almost chrome looking and some as big as the head of a pin but shaped like shavings.
so my question is this: is this normal or am i going to have more trouble down the road? i mean i know the ideal would be no metal but how much is a sign of trouble? is it parts of the gears or synchros or what? i bought it from lart so he said he would warrant it. he didn't drive the car as it had a bad engine so the histrory is a little uncertain. i think it had 160k miles on it and is an '86 "5P" model. what do you think?
so my question is this: is this normal or am i going to have more trouble down the road? i mean i know the ideal would be no metal but how much is a sign of trouble? is it parts of the gears or synchros or what? i bought it from lart so he said he would warrant it. he didn't drive the car as it had a bad engine so the histrory is a little uncertain. i think it had 160k miles on it and is an '86 "5P" model. what do you think?
09-19-2006, 11:13 PM
#2
Thefu
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A metal shaving "paste" on the drain magnet is what I would consider normal (with perhaps a couple of flakes mixed in here and there), anything more could be an indication of pending trouble.
09-20-2006, 12:16 AM
#3
Rennlist Member
How many of you have a magnet on your trans drain/filler plugs - Ive never seen one with a magnet? The magnets are pinned internally in the end cap cover and the diff side plate.
That sized metal shavings are generally not a good sign. Synchros are brass, so shavings will not be picked up by a magnet. So the shavings are from the gears, bearings, or ring/pinion.
Synchros could be shot causing the trans to grind gears on shifts (wearing down the dog teeth on the gear pairs). Or the Trans fluid could be really old, and the shavings could have accumulated over 10's of thousands of miles.
But its hard to say without opening it up and inspecting everything (major work). With 160k miles, its going to be pretty worn, but may still have some life in it. If your original trans is shot and you already have it out, you might as well install the new one and see if it works.
That sized metal shavings are generally not a good sign. Synchros are brass, so shavings will not be picked up by a magnet. So the shavings are from the gears, bearings, or ring/pinion.
Synchros could be shot causing the trans to grind gears on shifts (wearing down the dog teeth on the gear pairs). Or the Trans fluid could be really old, and the shavings could have accumulated over 10's of thousands of miles.
But its hard to say without opening it up and inspecting everything (major work). With 160k miles, its going to be pretty worn, but may still have some life in it. If your original trans is shot and you already have it out, you might as well install the new one and see if it works.
