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Well, that's one of the reasons tranny work is expensive to have done! You now have the experience, plus a large chunk of cash in your pocket to show for it...
In case it helps the next person: The turned groove in the shift sleeve (the part that moves) faces the loose gear wheel for 2nd gear. The side of the guide sleeve (the part pressed onto grooves in the shaft) with the large collar also faces the loose gear wheel for 2nd gear.
Sorry, I could have helped you with the orientation of the hub/slider, but I was busy with a family medical emergency.Glad you got it figured out though. Now just methodically reassemble heating the inner races hubs and end bearing to 450f and drop them one at a time onto the shaft, let cool a little then tap with a flat punch to ensure seating. NOTE be careful to locate the syncro rings tabs into the 6 gear slots and the 3 tabs into the recess for stones/ball/spring.
The most frustrating part of this operation for me is not assembling the hub/slider ( although at times it is tough) but installing the cover. It has to align with all 4 shift rails and both end bearings also the shift arrestor arm, all before the silicone sets. It hardly ever goes on the first time, and rarely gets done before the silicon sets, meaning cleaning all the silicon off and applying fresh silicon and try again..lol But don't force it !! when it goes, it will drop all the way to the case with no gap..You should shift the trans into reverse to install the cover, and install a longer bolt ect, into the detent hole to hold the shift rail to keep from knocking it out of reverse while trying to install the cover. Hope this helps. Ill try to check back on your progress, your doing good..
Sorry, I could have helped you with the orientation of the hub/slider, but I was busy with a family medical emergency.Glad you got it figured out though. Now just methodically reassemble heating the inner races hubs and end bearing to 450f and drop them one at a time onto the shaft, let cool a little then tap with a flat punch to ensure seating. NOTE be careful to locate the syncro rings tabs into the 6 gear slots and the 3 tabs into the recess for stones/ball/spring.
The most frustrating part of this operation for me is not assembling the hub/slider ( although at times it is tough) but installing the cover. It has to align with all 4 shift rails and both end bearings also the shift arrestor arm, all before the silicone sets. It hardly ever goes on the first time, and rarely gets done before the silicon sets, meaning cleaning all the silicon off and applying fresh silicon and try again..lol But don't force it !! when it goes, it will drop all the way to the case with no gap..You should shift the trans into reverse to install the cover, and install a longer bolt ect, into the detent hole to hold the shift rail to keep from knocking it out of reverse while trying to install the cover. Hope this helps. Ill try to check back on your progress, your doing good..
Sorry, I could have helped you with the orientation of the hub/slider, but I was busy with a family medical emergency.
Sorry to hear that you had a family emergency. I hope everything works itself out and everyone is okay. Family is the most important thing in the world, we need to take care of them.
Thanks for taking the time to send this additional information. It definitely helps me, and will hopefully help others that tackle this job. I wouldn't have braved this job without your encouragement and advice. Thank you!
This additional info prepares me for the next fun steps of reassembly. Putting that nosecone on is the next scary bit. I've also been distracted with a bunch of other things and haven't buttoned it up yet.
Some reflection: I can see why GTGears recommend having this done by a shop. It is definitely beyond the scope of most DIYers.
I've rebuilt engines, rebuilt and regeared transmissions on other cars, and I'd say this is on the more complex end of the spectrum.
To do it right, I should continue to strip it down all the way to the case, replace the bearings, evaluate all of the gear health, and reshim the shaft to address the 2nd gear alignment issues Porsche had with these early transmissions. I'm doing a partial job though, since the only issue I've identified is the worn synchro - so I'm taking a calculated risk that it will fix the one issue I've experienced with the g'box. I don't think a good shop would do this kind of half measure work, since they have to stand behind it, so they'd want to make sure it was done right - replacing any potential worn bearings, and refreshing all of the synchros, etc.
For me, the only cost of redoing the work is time. If I have other issues, I can always drop the transmission again and do any new/additional work (I have the other benefit of another 996 I can drive when I am working on the other). That additional labor would be prohibitive if you paid for it by the hour at a shop, so between reputational risk, and financial cost, I can see why a shop would want to do it all in the first go.
This is definitely doable, but on the higher complexity side of DIY car work - and only time will tell if I am successful. Here's one way to think about it: If you can rebuild your 996 engine in your home workshop, then you can absolutely do this job, no problem. If you can't get your drain plug without stripping it, this is definitely not the job to tackle. If you are somewhere in between, you should take a good inventory of your skills, experience, risk aversion, and tool collection and make an informed decision.
Have a great Friday everyone, and best of luck with the family stuff, Porschetech3.
Sorry to hear that you had a family emergency. I hope everything works itself out and everyone is okay. Family is the most important thing in the world, we need to take care of them.
best of luck with the family stuff, Porschetech3.
Thanks for the kind words and well wishes. My youngest son who is 34yo and has had type 1 Diabetes for 25 years ( diagnosed at 9yo) has had a massive heart attack and was in Hospital for a month and a stent was installed, has been at home for a month and had gotten much better, was able to drive and do pretty much anything he wanted, has had a set-back. The prognosis is not good, but he is getting slightly better every day. He is at home on Hospice Care.
He has never been overweight and was a great athlete at all sports as a teenager, and was even ranked nationally 14th in BMX racing at 13yo. But 25 years of Diabetes had weakened his heart even before the heart attack. Diabetes is a terrible disease and can do damage in so many ways even if you consider every calorie you eat, drink, or burn in energy.
If you are the praying type, every little bit helps ! Thank you.
Thanks for the kind words and well wishes. My youngest son who is 34yo and has had type 1 Diabetes for 25 years ( diagnosed at 9yo) has had a massive heart attack and was in Hospital for a month and a stent was installed, has been at home for a month and had gotten much better, was able to drive and do pretty much anything he wanted, has had a set-back. The prognosis is not good, but he is getting slightly better every day. He is at home on Hospice Care.
He has never been overweight and was a great athlete at all sports as a teenager, and was even ranked nationally 14th in BMX racing at 13yo. But 25 years of Diabetes had weakened his heart even before the heart attack. Diabetes is a terrible disease and can do damage in so many ways even if you consider every calorie you eat, drink, or burn in energy.
If you are the praying type, every little bit helps ! Thank you.
Thanks for sharing Porschetech3 - thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
Still open to ideas. I spent the better part of five hours trying, and never got it. Those ***** and springs sure do launch! So frustrating.
So, the assembly flew apart again (twice!) and I found a better way to get it bak together.
My tips for anyone who tries this in the future:
I found the easiest way to install the tiny parts was using a cheap plastic ball point pen with a retractable tip. With the pen retracted, the opening was perfect for pressing on the tiny ball bearings to push them into place, and the tip out was great for adjusting the spring location.
The second thing that helped was changing the way I was working. Instead of holding the multi-part slider in my hands, I placed it flat on my workbench. This freed up both of my hands to deal with those pesky little parts.
The third thing was to have the assembly supported underneath by the 2nd gear, and three part synchro assembly from the 2nd gear side. With second gear flat on the bench, and the second gear synchro parts in place, the back side is both supported and provided a positive stop so the spring/stone/ball didn’t fly out the back side.
Once you do this, it limits the number of dimensions you are dealing with and lets you use both hands.
With the above setup, I was able to put the slider pieces in place on top, install all three spring/stones, and then one at a time use the tip of the pen to tilt the end of the spring up enough that I could insert the ball into the stone with my other hand. Then, I’d click the pen closed, and with my right hand, use the concave opening in the tip of the pen to press the ball into the hole in the stone and at the same time (with my index finger on my left hand) press the stone in (down) into place until it clicked into the groove inside the slider. Once the ball is in the groove inside the slider it is secure.
Do the remaining two spring/stone/ball assemblies the same way.
Once they are all in place, they aren’t going anywhere, but as added insurance, put the 1st gear synchro parts on top.
Once I figured this out, this became a 10 minute or less job, after spending hours and hours trying different techniques and chasing launched ball bearings and springs around my shop.
I wish I’d taken pictures, but it happened so fast once it all came together that I didn’t think to do it.
Hopefully this can help the next person.
Oh yeah, a toaster oven makes a great small parts heater for reassembly. I got one free from a neighbor who had it collecting dust. Much better than risking the wrath of my wife if I use the house oven...
Oh, and a cheap infrared thermometer makes it easy to know when your parts are warm enough to install...
If anyone has a blown up transmission and wants to send me these parts, I’ll make a quick video for the community.
Thanks for the write up. I'm in the middle of figuring out how to put those ***** back into their place. Going to try your method in the next few days.
11-13-2018, 02:57 PM
