Restoring Rusty

[Gregski]

is this dude for real?

[hatzie]

He's smokin something real good... LOL

That bullet speedometer driven gear carrier is the same as the TH350. Usually they're pretty worn out. They're bloody cheap.
The gears to tire size and axle ratio cheat sheets are in the parts books. The GM automobile parts books are on Ian Hardings' site GMPartsWiKi.com

[MikeB]

Here's a 4-speed ball with 3/8" thread:
https://www.amazon.com/White-Speed-S...54S2PBBGFJX48N

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by hatzie

That bullet speedometer driven gear carrier is the same as the TH350. Usually they're pretty worn out. They're bloody cheap.
The gears to tire size and axle ratio cheat sheets are in the parts books. The GM automobile parts books are on Ian Hardings' site GMPartsWiKi.com

As always, thank you OB1 Kenobi, ha ha

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by MikeB

Here's a 4-speed ball with 3/8" thread:
https://www.amazon.com/White-Speed-S...54S2PBBGFJX48N

Currently unavailable.
"We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock."

no worries I found one on eBay, bidding, fingers crossed

[MikeB]

Whoops!

I hope you win the bid w/o spending too much.

Hey, how about this?
https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/06847388

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by MikeB

Whoops!

I hope you win the bid w/o spending too much.

Hey, how about this?
https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/06847388

dang bro, you da man, I shall call you Radar

[Gregski]

so Pontiac Mike hooked me up with this handsome Mr. Gasket T handle, daddy likes, didn't quite dig it on my previous stick but it works on the goose neck

whacha all think?

[MikeB]

That'll work.

[rusty76]

Works for me

[RDrancher]

That's T-rrific!

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by MikeB

That'll work.

danke

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by rusty76

Works for me

dzienkuje

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by RDrancher

That's T-rrific!

[Gregski]

Well how does it drive, how does it shift, do you like it?

I like this transmission very much, it shifts very nicely. One note to make is that no matter how hard it is to shift on the bench, ie when you have it out of the truck, that is not how it is going to shift when bolted up to an engine with that long lever of a shift stick, it actually shifts easily when installed on the truck

However I'll be honest with you as always, I replaced one used Craigslist transmission that was making noises with another used Craigslist transmission that makes different noises, LOL!

It's fine and normal in Reverse and 1st gear, but as soon as I shift it into 2nd it starts to make a rattling noise, as if there was a loose bolt in the case just bouncing around (that's the best way I can describe it) and continues to make the same rattling noise in 3rd and 4th gears as well as in neutral when rolling.

[hatzie]

Input shaft center support needle bearing or the cluster gear needles make noise in the Saginaws.
GM only used two rows of needles inside the cluster gear in the Saginaw 3 & 4 speeds vs four rows in most other transmissions so the countershaft and cluster gear sometimes wear badly.
Not difficult to repair as long as the cluster gear isn't knackered.

If you like that transmission fix it before it strips the teeth off the input shaft or the cluster gear or both.

The GM NP440/A833 MY6 is a more robust light duty transmission than the Saginaw. The only real gotcha is the countershaft bearing wearing the aluminum case hole oval. It can be repaired. Chrysler used the AL case A833 in racing applications with steel bushings in the countershaft bores that were tight press-fit to the case and loose press fit to the countershaft.
Not just any Joe with a Bridgeport is going to be able to pull this off. I am not capable of setting up this level of precision boring. I can make bushings within 0.0005" on my small lathe but aligning a worn case on my Gorton 9J table or dogged to the carriage on my big lathe so the shaft holes can be bored in-line and concentric with probably only four to six points of reference (two to three per hole) left of the original bores is not a task I'm willing to undertake.
https://www.hotrod.com/articles/mopp...-case-buildup/

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by hatzie

Input shaft center support needle bearing or the cluster gear needles make noise in the Saginaws.
GM only used two rows of needles inside the cluster gear in the Saginaw 3 & 4 speeds vs four rows in most other transmissions so the countershaft and cluster gear sometimes wear badly.
Not difficult to repair as long as the cluster gear isn't knackered.

If you like that transmission fix it before it strips the teeth off the input shaft or the cluster gear or both.

thank you bud as always you are one of the pillars on this epic forum, yes I like this transmission very much and will fix it, parts have been ordered from All State Gear and were quite cheap at $63 bucks plus shipping

I work in IT (Information Technology) so sometimes we work while you sleep ie in the off hours and weekends, ha ha so this weekend is hell weekend so no time to wrench

[Gregski]

So Gentlemen, what is the best part about driving your truck around without putting the transmission tunnel back on?

[LT7A]

Took me a minute, but I'm assuming you mean the in-cab bump that bolts over the transmission? I would think you would get to enjoy all kinds of things like increased road noise, dust particles, heat, engine noise and a malodorous combination of antifreeze, exhaust and engine oil. But maybe that's not it. I'm dying to know what I missed.

[Rich84]

The suspense is mounting....

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by LT7A

Took me a minute, but I'm assuming you mean the in-cab bump that bolts over the transmission? I would think you would get to enjoy all kinds of things like increased road noise, dust particles, heat, engine noise and a malodorous combination of antifreeze, exhaust and engine oil. But maybe that's not it. I'm dying to know what I missed.

Spot on my brother from another mother. ha ha you git to see and smell all kinds of leaks drip down (bonus points for proper use of the word "malodorous" had to look it up... ahem, for a friend)

As you all may recall from years ago The Greg cleaned his bellhousing to Full Metal Jacket drill sergeant standards... well it and the trans have gotten greasy since and he's been scratching his head going where is the leak coming from, it don't smell like trans fluid, it don't taste like trans fluid, it don't feel like trans fluid

so put on your best fittin' Sherlock Homes hats and note the distinguished drip down spread pattern on either side of the bell and dry as Sahara in the middle

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by Rich84

The suspense is mounting....

glad to see more folks fartin' around on this forum rather than working, ha ha

[Gregski]

so the hood lift we shall, and to quote any Middle Manager "let's take a deeper dive" ha ha

well what do we have here, let's start with the passenger side shall we...

let's see if we can fly this camera equipped drone in a bit closer ... aka ... zoom in

well that's a mighty fine oil puddle there in the intake manifold bolt valley if I do say so myself

[Gregski]

and the other side please...

[Gregski]

so my original thought was leaky valve cover gaskets, but I am running brand new rubber ones with a liberal coating of gasket sealer on them for good measure, plus when I looked, felt, examined the valve covers I noticed there was oil on top of the valve covers, which then led me to look in / on the intake manifold

so I know I am using generic grade 5 hardware store bolts to hold down the intake manifold with generic washers to boot, would using some proper intake manifold bolts such as the ARP ones made from unoptanium remedy this issue? - (I'm looking at you HATZIE) ha ha