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Re: Transmission Rebuild Reccomendation Needed

Posted: Thu Jul 11, 2019 10:51 am
by Wes Bender
Didn't Dick retire too? My last contact with him was about 2011 or so.

Re: Transmission 356B case welding

Posted: Thu Jul 11, 2019 12:34 pm
by Neil Bardsley
Paul Fragoso wrote: Thu Jul 11, 2019 8:37 am I recently had my Transmission rebuilt and the original case was found to be damaged. I am trying to find a welder that does repair to transmission case. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Damage is to snap ring groove.
Paul helps if you put your location.

Re: Transmission case repair

Posted: Thu Jul 11, 2019 10:46 pm
by Paul Fragoso
I am located in Bergen County ,NJ. Can ship case if need be.

Re: Transmission Rebuild Reccomendation Needed

Posted: Fri Jul 12, 2019 3:45 am
by Jacques Lefriant
Hi Paul
how long did the present repair work? I would replace the case rather than attempt any repair especially since I would think the insert is cast iron and does not lend to easy welding and re maching . also if you elect to use the existing repair you could use a snap ring with 2 ears and the screw at 1 o clock should be installed like the other one. you could use a bearing locktite also for the race. also you could do a nicer job and mill a C shape say 1/2' wide and use more counter sunk screws for a holding plate but I think the present repair should last.
j

Re: Transmission Rebuild Reccomendation Needed

Posted: Fri Jul 12, 2019 6:36 am
by Paul Fragoso
Do you know who can do this kind of work? I already changed the case , but would like to save the original.

Best,

Paul

Re: Transmission Rebuild Reccomendation Needed

Posted: Fri Jul 12, 2019 9:58 am
by Jacques Lefriant
Hi Paul
I would not do it even if it were mine. just keep it if it matches your car.
j

Re: Transmission Rebuild Reccomendation Needed

Posted: Fri Jul 12, 2019 11:12 am
by Edwin Ek
Dick hasn't given up rebuilding transmissions. He doesn't like climbing under cars anymore (if he ever did), but rebuilding transmissions is relatively easy work. You stand up for the whole job. Plus he is aware that his skills are still in need. Many people can build a good engine. It is a different story for transmissions.

He continues to enjoy helping people and working on 356's.

Re: Transmission Rebuild Reccomendation Needed

Posted: Tue Nov 05, 2019 2:27 pm
by Jim Clement
so..
I had jack look at my transmission.. a few problems with the previous rebuilder..
first off a bit of a story.. About four years ago I started a complete restoration of my car, purchased in 1982 by me. one of the reasons was the transmission leaked out of the front seal.. did your years, about 100ml per year.
so I found a rebuilder through the Registry adds.. looked good. Fast forward to the completed car, shakedown run.. out for a drive, car does not run that well.. but it is a shake down.. a fellow stops me as i am driving, and tells me "dude your wheel is wobbling and going to fall off.. I go home check the wheel torque, all good. but something is wrong, so take it to a shop and find out that the axle is bent. So I phone the transmission shop.. they tell me they will warranty it.. just take it out of the car and put it on a pallet, they will fix and ship back.. so I do, comes back. I reinstall and it now starts to leak profusely.. about a 100 ml per 100 miles.. so that would be about a 1/4 gallon of fluid per 1000 miles, they tell me this is normal.. now, at this point I really do not have a warm feeling about my Rebuilt / reconditioned transmission..
so I decide to look around for a better solution..

here is what ended up wrong with the work of the first rebuilder:

• As you know they, unfortunately, blasted all of the aluminum case pieces. Bad for several reasons.
• No factory lock tabs on the differential ring gear fasteners. This caused the bolts to be bottomed out in the bottom of the ring gear. The threads are now damaged on the bolts. They were held in with red loc-tite. The tabs are not only necessary for securing the bolts but they limit the depth.
• No lock tabs or spacer gasket on the pinion and main shaft bearing retainer. The retainer is now bent out of shape and again everything secured with loc-tite. Deep gouging under the fasteners where the lock tabs should have been. There is a layer of loc-tite under this housing.
• All of the pinion and mainshaft bearings are used.
• Differential bearings are new, however, the ring gear side bearing is incorrect. Porsche used a much stronger thrust type (p.n. 900-053-004-00) angular bearing. What was used was the VW style bearing used for the 36hp vehicles (p.n. 111-517-185). Not good.
• Both side covers badly damaged. It appears that fasteners were impacted onto the housing repeatedly - with no washers. Deep gouging. Possibly from trying to set up bearing pre-load?
• Intermediate plate has the same deep gouging. Possibly from trying to set up pinion depth?
• Debris and contaminants in the mechanism. Even behind the synchro rings. Remnants from blast media? Also chunks of red loc-tite.
• Axles are in spec, but the wheel bearings are not. Poor quality, loose on the axle shaft. The spade end of one axle is marred but can be used.
• Wheel seals both bent, poorly installed.
• No bearing spacers in the bearing cap. VW's had no such spacer, Porsches, because of the thicker backing plate, used two to four spacers depending on how the bearing to cap measurement read.
• Bearing cap full of silicone sealant. Huge bead around and even into the wheel bearings.
• Input shaft seal leaking badly. Input shaft has a groove worn into it and needs to be resurfaced for the seal to work.

Re: Transmission Rebuild Reccomendation Needed

Posted: Tue Nov 05, 2019 2:54 pm
by Vic Skirmants
Good Lord!!! That's about all I can say.

Re: Transmission Rebuild Reccomendation Needed

Posted: Tue Nov 05, 2019 3:15 pm
by George Hussey
and on the east coast we have our man Beal Hardy at Checkpoint Auto

Re: Transmission Rebuild Reccomendation Needed

Posted: Tue Nov 05, 2019 4:51 pm
by Wes Bender
Jim, if that trans rebuilder is still in business, we need to know who it is...... so we can avoid having an experience such as yours.

Re: Transmission Rebuild Reccomendation Needed

Posted: Tue Nov 05, 2019 5:12 pm
by Dan Kalinski
^^ +1

Re: Transmission Rebuild Reccomendation Needed

Posted: Tue Nov 05, 2019 5:17 pm
by Jim Clement
It was Rancho Performance Transaxles

https://ranchotransaxles.com/porsche-transaxles/

and yes .. yieks.. it was a very tough $$ lesson for me to learn.

Re: Transmission Rebuild Reccomendation Needed

Posted: Tue Nov 05, 2019 6:39 pm
by Dave Wildrick
On their website they have 50 ml bottles of "high-strength" thread locker prominently featured--evidently their cure-all.

Re: Transmission Rebuild Reccomendation Needed

Posted: Tue Nov 05, 2019 6:45 pm
by Jim Clement
Forgot to mention, the axels leaked as well, dripping trans fluid onto my new brake shoes.
I think they could not figure out how to set up the spacers / gaskets to correctly set up the transmission, so kept taking it off and on.. obviously without using any washers under the nuts, under the impact driver.