How difficult is it to replace Transmission's Bearings?

It is cold here in Eastern Washington State. 25 °F

Yesterday when I started my Metro up, my manual transmission made a God Awful noise!

I'm sure it was a bearing noise....the noise went away if I engaged the clutch.

After a while it went away. Probably the oil got to the bearing(s) by then.
I drove all day and no more noise.

This has been going on in cold weather since I bought the car three years ago.
But yesterday the noise was the worst and loudest I've ever heard.

The oil level is up because I changed the oil last winter (Valvoline 80W-90 as
recommended in the Chilton Manual).

So....I suppose the roller bearings on the main shaft inside the transmission are
worn and going bad.

I can buy a used manual 5 speed transmission of unknown state of repair for
about $75 at our local Pull-n-Save.

Or I can pull mine this summer and try to rebuild it myself.

Has anyone reading this thread done this sort of thing?

What did the parts (bearings and seals) cost?
Were they hard to obtain?

Any special, expensive tools required?

Was it difficult for the average backyard mechanic to do?

How long did it take?

Are there a lot of parts inside that can get all mixed up and confused (like me)?

DoctorBill

if you go to team swift and look under the transmission section they have a exploded view of it and a how to on taking it apaprt

So with engine running, trans in neutral, clutch peddle pushed down, no noise. Engine running, trans in neutral, clutch peddle up, loud noise?

I've had the tranny apart on my car to replace a bad input shaft bearing. Hardest part was removing it from the car and putting it back in. The tranny is like a little Chinese puzzle, everything has to be done in the right order. Don't attempt it without the book because there are different length springs and such that have to go in a specific place.

The good news is that the trans service manual is posted on the teamswift site. Also the bearings are standard sizes that you can pick up at a bearing shop or auto parts store. The input shaft bearing I replaced cost under $8 at NAPA.

Also, these transmissions are available with several different gear ratios, so if you do get a used one, be sure it's the right one for your car.

Q

Try using a synthetic transmission fluid first.

When It's warm out does it still make the noise when starting out?

Crvett69 - Thanks! I will have a look-see. Scary....
TEAM SWIFT has a sticky on "Transmission Codes" - where are these 'codes' located
on my vehicle?

Hugemoth - "So with engine running, trans in neutral, clutch peddle pushed down, no noise.
Engine running, trans in neutral, clutch peddle up, loud noise?"
Yes - exactly.

"The tranny is like a little Chinese puzzle" - Oh Goodie!

"...these transmissions are available with several different gear ratios, so if you do
get a used one, be sure it's the right one for your car."
Sounds like it is made by FORD !

RossT - "When It's warm out does it still make the noise when starting out?"
No ! Not a sound in Summer except it's usual running noise. This Transmission has always been noisy,
but not in any grinding, scraping way - Just 'Gear Noise' like a Motorcycle transmission makes.

When it is really cold out, it makes the noise I described in the first posting.
If you have ever heard a worn bronze bearing on a two cycle engine device
like a rototiller or mower, that is what it sounds like.

I am convinced in my old, worn out brain case that the oil is mostly drained
away from some fairly worn out bearing and what little is there is stiff as hell.

I think the first thing I will try is removing that one bolt from the Clutch lever
Hold Down (which goes thru into the Transmission Case).......
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/8083/transmissionoilfillplacfr3.jpg
....and add maybe two ounces of LUCAS OIL ADDITIVE to see if that keeps enough
lubrication on the bearings overnight to solve this problemo.

If not, then I suspect a worn out bearing and may attack it this summer if I can
work up the nerve....

DoctorBill

After looking at the TEAM SWIFT

http://www.teamswift.net

Transmission Repair pages

http://www.teamswift.net/viewtopic.php?t=14856

I am even more worried about opening that bugger up......what complexity!

Special tools required!

So now........do I have to take everything out to replace the bearings?

Has someone done just that alone?

I suppose someone will say, "sure, but...you should replace this and that at the same time!"
which will require a total disassembly.

I understand, of course, that if the transmission is out, that that is a good time
to rebuild the clutch, but to completely take that transmission apart! Jesus!

DoctorBill

I didn't need any special tools to work on mine. Sure there are some special tools that might make certain operations quicker but you can get by without them. Depending on which bearing you need to replace, you may or may not need to take it completely apart. I took mine completely apart because I wanted to check everything out, but found the input shaft bearing was the only problem. Anyway I like puzzles.

My suggestion would be to take it apart and learn something. If you can't get it back together, put in a used one. Anyway we need a good ongoing thread on transmission rebuilding similar to the one you did on your engine.

Q