Grinding noise in bellhousing ):

[wraprail]

So this is the second trans you have had problems with?
Is this a passenger car transmission?
What bellhousing are you using?
I am asking cuz a truck bellhousing has a larger hole where the bearing retainer fits into than a car bell does.
You can bolt a car trans onto a truck bellhousing and not notice it. What happens is
the input shaft does not index on the centerline of the crank cuz it
only has the four mounting bolts for alignment.
This causes wear on the pilot bushing and will destroy the trans input shaft bearing in a short time.
It happened to me thats how I know.
Measure the hole in the bellhousing and input retainer on transmission.
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Now that I went back and read that your clutch fork is vibrating and bouncing around I would bet money that this is your problem. Truck bellhousing with car transmission.

[nheller76]

Well that'll kill anything! Crap man I'm surprised it didn't lock up.with that crap in in it! Good call on pulling it.
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[INSIDIOUS '86]

A Saginaw when beat on will give you issues. No matter what. You can go Muncie but you will pay for it through the nose. You can get a slush box but a 700r4 needs some mods for abuse even behind a stock engine. Transmissions are just one of the things that hurts your wallet no matter what
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[77chevyinline6]

Yeah most people around here hate the saginaws, and ive heard the same thing that the 700r4s are junk! what makes them so bad?

[wraprail]

You do know that a 700R4 is an automatic right? Comparing one to a Saginaw 3 speed is like campairing apples to oranges. While neither of these transmissions are known for strengh or durability, they are not junk and usually don't just break on their own. On the other hand, anything will break if you beat on it hard enough. I am suprised you could even find a Saginaw 3 speed in NC. This is a very popular circle track transmission cuz they are cheap and fairly reliable. Do you know why your last 3 speed failed? Did you check which bellhousing you have?
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[77chevyinline6]

yeah. i know its automatic. the other saginaw i had i grabbed 2nd and it rounded off 2nd gear.

[wraprail]

So you started a thread asking for help with your transmission problem. Now that you have taken it apart and hopefully figured out what was causing it, would it be too much trouble for you to share your findings with the board?
Did you just put an automatic in and call it good?
Who knows, maybe someone reading this in the future may learn something from this.
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[INSIDIOUS '86]

Originally Posted by 77chevyinline6

Yeah most people around here hate the saginaws, and ive heard the same thing that the 700r4s are junk! what makes them so bad?

They shifted soft which creates heat and most issues stem from mis adustment of the tv cable and misunderstanding of what it is. People tow with them in overdrive and then beat on them when they have high mileage. A truck trans is f made for performance. It's a comfort and good mpg trans. Just like an engine you have to build them for the use you need or want.

Transmissioncenter.net patc specializes in these transmissions.
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[INSIDIOUS '86]

Not sure if you noticed but the oil didn't look to good in your Saginaw

Here's some good reading http://www.circletrack.com/drivetrai...d/viewall.html
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[77chevyinline6]

i thought it looked kind of weird, some of the internals had surface rust on them. the "mechanic" that installed it said it was a "good" transmission

[INSIDIOUS '86]

Originally Posted by 77chevyinline6

i thought it looked kind of weird, some of the internals had surface rust on them. the "mechanic" that installed it said it was a "good" transmission

That is prob why it died, that will eat your trans up quick. You can always get another and do a rebuild and it will prob hold up fine
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[77chevyinline6]

Your probably right, do you think it would be a lot of work to convert it from a manual to a automatic?
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[mrolds88]

Do you still have the original saginaw? If you do, Why not swap the input shaft/bearing (if it's the same model) and get that thing up and running again? Shouldnt be too difficult to do. Clean the "new" housing out, pull the "old" input shaft and bearing and change them out. But one other word. The back end of that input shaft should contain some roller bearings. pack them good with some wheel bearing grease.

[77chevyinline6]

One of the gears are damaged because the metal got in them and chipped some of the teeth off
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[INSIDIOUS '86]

Originally Posted by 77chevyinline6

Your probably right, do you think it would be a lot of work to convert it from a manual to a automatic?
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Crossmember will prob have to be moved. Which IMO is the biggest pain on these trucks as they never line up to any hole once taken off. Clutch and brake pedal assembly have to be changed and you need to wire up the vacuum switches for the lock up converter. Driveshaft may or not have to be swapped or changed. You will need to unbolt the the flywheel and add a flex plate

Def not a day project
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[77chevyinline6]

im just worried that another 3 speed wont hold up, ive heard about the t5 but i heard its weak too.

[INSIDIOUS '86]

T5 is yes. World class t5 will be fine
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[77chevyinline6]

i am going to the local pull a part tommorow, what 4 or 5 speed transmissions would be good in my truck? how do i identify them?

[INSIDIOUS '86]

Nv4500 is strong cant tell you how to identify though. Any v8 Camaro corvette trans am/firebird standard trans.
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[77chevyinline6]

well guys, i went to pull a part and came back empty handed,they had 3 square bodies. 2 automatic and 1 with no trans, no camaros to be found. no muscle cars in general.

[nheller76]

Best bet cregs list or a trans guy. There are specialty junk yards too, like for corvettes and such. Do a Google search for your aria.
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[wraprail]

Originally Posted by 77chevyinline6

i thought it looked kind of weird, some of the internals had surface rust on them. the "mechanic" that installed it said it was a "good" transmission

So both transmissions failed cuz the oil looked weird and the internals had surface rust? Did you/they put new oil in when they installed it? Just seems odd that weird oil would cause 2 transmissions to fail....