Blown Diff pin... What to DO

[dantheman68]

I have owned my 1995 MTX SHO for a few weeks and love the car ive learned alot and know some about this car (more than the average new SHOwner)... i was ******* after them for about a year on and off until i finnally "bit the bullet" and bought one, well now after babying it for 2 weeks ive found out that it needs a new clutch and i found out today that the diff pin blew through the tranny casing thus needing a completely new drivetrain... im still only a student and working part time, probably full time in the summer, but i need the most cost effective way to fix this car, i tried searching but nothing really answered my questions...

before the tranny went it shifted beautifully and i dont know if i may have damaged anything after the pin blew out and was wondering if i should replace the case and diff or if that would be harder and more risky than just buying a new tranny... (there may be damage to the current tranny since it was unlubricated for about 5 mins of driving because i didnt know what had happend, i thought the clutch went out. I also know that the syncros are/were good and all the other tranny parts were good) the clutch i kinda already have figured out what im doing... im just lost as to what to do with the transmission...

thanks in advance

 

[Ishodu]

You could just replace the case half and the diff, The diffs are easy to find, its the case sections that are not easy to find. Its prolly easier to just find another tranny and swap it in.

 

[SLoW_SHO_316]

If you're technical enough to R&R a tranny/clutch yourself you should go to a junkyard and pick up a trans for about 350-450$. Then go to a parts store and pick up a OEM clutch for around 250$ I believe. You could get away with having your car back to normal for around 600$.

I'm in the same position as you right now with a blown tranny, lucky for me though I've got a friend who's pretty good with parts and knowhow for SHO's.

 

[F-22 Raptor SHO]

If you're technical enough to R&R a tranny/clutch yourself you should go to a junkyard and pick up a trans for about 350-450$. Then go to a parts store and pick up a OEM clutch for around 250$ I believe. You could get away with having your car back to normal for around 600$.

I'm in the same position as you right now with a blown tranny, lucky for me though I've got a friend who's pretty good with parts and knowhow for SHO's.

Junkyard trannys are 150 bucks....least around here they are. for 450 I can get the motor, and the tranny attached to the subframe.

 

[TYSHO]

There were some transmission casings with differentials included on eBay. I don't know if the listings ended yet, though.

 

[SASHO91]

well....
i have been here a time or two before..

the easiest and fastest way would be to find a new (used) tranny. pull your busted one out (yes it is busted.... no fixing it... well, not worth the time and effort, IMO) and swap in the new one.

As far as clutches go.. its your choice.. Just FYI though, auto zone carries the clutch disc, PP, and TOB, all seperatly and you can have a clutch set for around 170 or so, and once you take back the cores its like 130 or something like that...
but if your the power shifter, like some are... (not me anymore, i learned my lesson....) you want to go with Clutchmasters Stg.1 clutch kit... something like 300 IIRC.... EDIT: However, you may be back in this predicament sooner with that type of driving... not saying you are that type of driver.

there are alot of write ups on the board... which i myself have contributed too many times...

 

[dantheman68]

i should try and keep the "holy" (pun intended) transmission though.... incase anything else goes bad right? or can nothing really be taken out of it and used? im not much of a "inner-workings-of-a-transmission-dude"

 

[SASHO91]

well you can... but make sure you clean everything off very well, as there is probably alot of shavings in there.

I kept the internals from mine... i like having the spare parts.

its up to you though...

 

[Minnesho]

all that was in mine after the diff pin blew was alu minum shavings from the case. the aluminum is not going to hurt the hardend steel internals of the transmission. I saved mine simply because parts are becoming obsolete and there are fewer numbers of these cars every year.

 

[SASHO91]

ok... yeah, let me know how that turns out for ya......

the gears may be harden steel.. but what about syncro's? or even better what about bearings?

hardend steel is easier to break than softer steel...
believe it or not, Impact sockets are made out of a softer steel. (less carbon in them)

not flaming ya... just I would not want aluminum floating around, wearing the gears down, and getting into bearings. plus the steel from the gears floating around... then you would have to worry about backlash from gears, and climibing... the list goes on and on from having metal particles in the tranny.

 

[TYSHO]

Hmm, I've had many blown differentials. Let's just say, you have less chance of having good internals, due to the heat build up when you drive on the busted differential. If you stop as soon as possibly and cut the motor off, then they will be fine. Other than that, your gears will pretty much be stuck on the shafts they are suppose to slide off of, meaning you can't even remove the synchronizers.

 

[SASHO91]

were you able to remove the gears from the set you picked up from me brian?

 

[TYSHO]

were you able to remove the gears from the set you picked up from me brian?

Yes, I was able to remove them. How long did you drive on that set? I know on one of mine, with only about 1 mile put on after the differential gave out, they were stuck.

 

[SASHO91]

not too far.... MAYBE a total of 1/2 mile...

 

[Minnesho]

ok... yeah, let me know how that turns out for ya......

the gears may be harden steel.. but what about syncro's? or even better what about bearings?

hardend steel is easier to break than softer steel...
believe it or not, Impact sockets are made out of a softer steel. (less carbon in them)

not flaming ya... just I would not want aluminum floating around, wearing the gears down, and getting into bearings. plus the steel from the gears floating around... then you would have to worry about backlash from gears, and climibing... the list goes on and on from having metal particles in the tranny.

havent had a problem with it ... if you have a huge chunk yea, its not good. but change the fluid, the aluminum is softer than the steel shavings your internals shed every day.

 

[SHO#7]

Contact Beth. Bizzy on the forum. She does not charge near enough for a transmission, and does a very nice job. You can also opt for a reinforced diff from her, that will not take all of your money, and keep you from being in this spot again.

Mike

 

[Bizzy]

havent had a problem with it ... if you have a huge chunk yea, its not good. but change the fluid, the aluminum is softer than the steel shavings your internals shed every day.

Even small shavings can cause problems. If you've had yours open and the gears off the shafts you'll know how small, and actually very inadequate, the oiling holes are in the shafts. Small pieces may not seem like a lot however when you get a group of them together they tend to clog those already small holes which will cause big problems in the long run.

Not only that but the small pieces work themselves into the bearings more easily than larger chunks. Makes for very unhappy bearings which also will cause big problems in the long run.

Thanks for the referral Mike.

dantheman, if you need help shoot me a PM. I think you'll find that a rebuilt transmission is better in the long run, if nothing else but for peace of mind. A friend of mine here in MI blew his diff, picked up a trans from a junk yard and brought it to me for rebuilding. When I went to reinforce the diff for him I found that the roll pins in the trans he just got were broken. Had he not had it rebuilt he would have been in the exact same position probably on his first run after installing it. You never know what you're getting from a salvage yard.

 

[SASHO91]

Exactly!

I thought thats what i said in my other post???
i guess some need to hear it from people they know that have experience...

 

[Bizzy]

Well, to his defense, he is correct that the shavings won't damage the gears because they are harder than the aluminum shavings. And draining the fluid will remove a lot of the shavings. And if the car hasn't been driven long with the blown diff they may not be spewed everywhere in side.

But what remains after the fluid is dropped is the scary part. Even small pieces can seize a bearing up if they get in it just right. Small particles can work their way between the sliding sections (inner and outer rings) of the synchros. And I will be the first to tell you that it does not take much to bugger those. When enough gets in there it will cause shifting issues.

So, thus far he's been fortunate and in his case what he did may have been sufficient. Other cases it would not be, I've never seen 2 blow exactly the same. I guess what I'm saying is you both are correct to a certain extent.

You know what I see a lot of when a diff is blown though? Broken teeth on gears, broken teeth on the output shafts and even the ring gear. It's all luck of the draw I guess, some do and some don't. It all depends on whether the pinion bounces around inside the trans for awhile or ejects immediately. I think most of the time they bounce around in there at least a few times before blowing out.