What to replace-A833 rebuild

[goldduster318]

I'm in the process of rebuilding my A833 4-speed. I took it apart because it was leaking oil and also made a "crunch" when shifting into or out of 3rd gear when the fluid was warm.

I am planning on ordering a proper rebuild kit from Brewer's Performance. In addition, I know I need at least the syncro stop rings but I wanted to know everyone's opinion on the wear that I found when I took it apart. If it matters this is a 1967 A-body transmission (23spline in/large output yoke).

1) This is the input shaft. It looks like a small section of the casting in front of where the bearing retaining snap ring sits is missing. The snap ring was still holding tight though. I'm thinking of letting this one slide as the rest of the input shaft looks fine.

2) This is one of the shift forks. there's some wear to make somewhat of a groove in the brass fork. I don't know if this is actually an issue or not, but the contact surface is not completely flat anymore.

3) This is the reverse idler and reverse transfer gear It looks like the engaging end is pretty worn. The gear worked and engaged alright, it had popped out on me a time or two. does this look bad?

4) This is the 3-4 syncro surface. The ring that slides over this moves easily and freely. Would this cause the gear crunch? Do I need to replace this entire syncro?

5) This is the countershaft. Are these blemishes a problem? Countershafts are inexpensive so I really don't mind replacing this.

Thanks for any help/advice!

 

[340duster]

Things look pretty messed up there
1) The chip is okay, I would run it
2) The worn shifter fork will still work, but the shifting will be sloppy (I would replace it)
3) Reverse gears look bad, I would replace
4) The syncho hub looks worn, a more important thing to look at is the condtion of the small teeth on all the forward gears and the inside of the slider ring. If these are worn it will pop out of gear. Gear krunch is usually worn syncho rings. You can determine wear by how far the ring goes down on the cone. Compare all the rings on the same gear, usually 4th has little wear. I would replace the whole synchro assembly.
5) Countershaft needs replacing and likely the needle bearings. Also check inside the countershaft cluster.

Whithout seeing the rest of the gears, I would guess third gear is shot, the small teeth are worn and the syncho assembly. Post pics of the gears if you would like to comment. I would think that to fix this trans up the work reliably will cost alot.

2 new sychro assemblies
3rd gear
synchro rings
Reverse idler
Countershaft
Plus other gears?
shifter fork

Any more questions feel free to ask

 

[goldduster318]

More pictures:

3-4 dog teeth. I see one that is totally shot. I at least need that one.

1-2 dog teeth. they look worse in the picture than they actually are. This shift was working fine when i took it apart. I'll likely leave them,

this is 3rd gear just for reference. It looks fine to me.

 

[340duster]

The dog teeth come with the sychro assembly (at least that is the way it used to be from mopar) the new suppliers (passion) may have them separately.

For the third gear, if you can get a clear and close picture of the small teeth, that would indicate the condition. You have to look very closely. These teeth (and the slider) hold the trans in gear. A trans popping out of gear drives me nuts! (been there). Its all what you can live with.

The brass synchro rings do nothing to hold the trans in gear, that is the function of the slider and the gear itself. The sychro ring function is to act as a brake on the gear as you are shifting. The slider ring pushes the sychro ring onto the taper and brakes the gear (so no grinding). The bevel on the small teeth (on the gear) lines the teeth up to get engagement. The dog teeth keep slider centered (sort of a detent). If the teeth are worn the slider will float around. The dog teeth also locate the sychro ring and keep it coupled to the slider hub.

 

[Outsider]

The countergear shaft is junk, and the bearings will be untrustworthy as well.
The blocking rings are junk on 3-4, and the hub probably needs a nice wire brush run over it, but they are nearly impossible to hurt.
Can't tell by the pic, but... if the 3-4 blocking rings are shot I'd guess the 1-2 ones are as well. 3rd gets the most abuse next to 2nd, so I'd replace them. Probably stretched as well.
That 3rd gear doesn't look too good. I'd shelve it.
Reverse is pretty rough as well. You can make a pretty bad reverse work, but it will likely start grinding instead of meshing soon.
Shift forks should be measured.
Keys/springs should always be replaced.
That is just a very worn out tranny. No real signs of abuse, but it will need a major overhaul. Looks like pretty high mileage.

 

[goldduster318]

i put it back together and drove it today. I replaced all the bearings, the countershaft, thrust washers, synchro stop rings, synchro keys, and the 1-2 shift fork with pieces from Brewer's. I filled it up with Pennzoil Synchromesh fluid, took it for a ride...other than adjusting my 3-4 shift rod, this thing shifts like butter. works pretty awesome.

It was a pretty easy rebuild. It was about $300 worth of parts.