Looking to Re-Build My Tranny

Jeff Torrey

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I am having some problems with my Transmission. I can not shift from 6th back to 5th. I am having trouble getting into reverse. The car is out of warrantee. I am looking for recommendations: Who does this work?
a) Local Viper Tech said- "Dodge does not offer parts to rebuild tranny. Contact Archer Racing- Rebuilt transmissions $ 2500.00".
b) Local Transmission Shop- Pull the tranny out, rebuild and install $ 1300.00. Experience? We did a couple of Corvette's with the same tranny. I say; The gear ratio's are different- There answer was; Who's gonna know? Once you put it back together and install it in the car(Not the answer I was looking for).
c) I found a Trans Shop in Arizona that could rebuild it to Viper specifications. Including a Dyno test for $ 1850.00 plus shipping ($110.00 each way). I remove and install. Phoenix Remanufactured Transmissions.
* Any input or personal experience would be great. THanks
 

Eddie N

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isnt it just a regular run of the mill t56 transmission with minor differences that set it apart from the t56 used in the camaro, firebird, etc?? it shouldnt be a difficult thing..

i think the transmission on the viper is that only thing that doesnt get taxed, simply because it would be too obvious!

- eddie -
 

Tom F&L GoR

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Have I got experience!!

I lost all the synchro teeth off second gear with 53,000 miles on the car. Luckily the two large magnets in the bottom of the case kept the teeth from doing additional damage. Anthony in Houston had a '96 tranny with no 4th gear and I just finished making one good one of the two parts transmissions. (Thank you again Anthony.) Tomorrow it goes back into the car.

Getting it out isn't too bad. The good is that there is lots of room directly behind the transmission; don't have to back it out at a funny angle. The bad is merely that the bolts at the 1 and 2 o'clock position (from behind) are up near the tunnel wall and you'll need about 30" of extension to swing the ratchet from the driveshaft location.

I was surprised how badly 5th and 6th gear were since I never abuse them. Shifted pretty good, but the teeth on the gears and synchro sleeve were quite worn round rather than pointed. 5th, 6th and reverse are all in the rear "compartment" of the case. It's obviously a 4-speed design with a few gears added later. For instance, the cluster gear is two pieces; 1-2-3-4 and a dog clutch for 5-6.

Frankly, if someone has rebuilt a Corvette or Camaro or Mustang T-56 6-speed, unless they count the teeth on each gear, you won't know it's a Viper or other transmission. Maybe some gears are heavier duty, but the "procedure" is the same. The Tremec rebuild manual makes no mention of "do this for Corvettes and do that for Vipers."

T56 manual

And really, you physically cannot put just one Corvette gear into a Viper box, that's just not how it all works. Further, since the input shaft splines and mainshaft splines are different, you can't put <u>all</u> the Corvette gears into it, either.

I'm no speed demon, but a half day to get it out, half to get it in (total $500 labor?) and $185 for an eBay-priced rebuild kit leaves $600 for the labor to rebuild... that's not too bad. I think synchro assemblies are about $100, so if you need the 5-6 synchro, add that in.

Shipping is a hassle; it won't go UPS. From Houston to NY was $120 if dropped off at a business; $55 more to my house. Anthony had the Chrysler plastic box they send the transmission in; you'll need something pretty large and robust.

I would suggest that if you can find a local (no shipping) rebuilder and can get it in and out yourself, that would be cheapest and just as good as the Phoenix location. Although if you ask me tomorrow, I may have a different opinion of how much work it is to get it back in...

Look close at your transmission mount. They are about $30. You can get just the release bearing for about $40 (BCA 614061) rather than the whole slave assembly. There seem to be three different types of shift forks - tapered aluminum came in my '94; full shroud aluminum forks in the '96, and there seems to be a steel 3-4 fork from even newer boxes that folks recommend.

Any more questions, let me know. [email protected]
 

Bad_Byte

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Just R&R'd mine with a replacement I picked up on E-bay for quite a bit less than a rebuild. The new/used one works great.

Installation was not bad at all. The only trick I found was to remove the tranny from the bell housing vice removing with the bell housing entact.

The clutch line can be a little tricky for the mechanically challenged but its actually not too bad. Dodge sells a tool but it takes a while to come in once ordered. I think I used a pair of needle nose pliers to push the white thingy in and then I just pulled the line out. Like I knew what I was doing....(good advice from DLM I think)

Good luck
 

SVS Turbo

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Jeff,

we can help in a couple of ways.

1. Send you a exchange t-56 that is already rebuilt. $1,400 plus s/h. You ship us your trans.

2. Send you a rebuilt t-56 with Steel billet fork and upgraded pads w/ fittings for a transmission cooler. $2,400 plus s/h
You ship us your trans.

When you accelerate hard all of the oil in your trans goes to the back. A trans cooler helps save your trans under extreme driving. The fittings are positioned to spray the oil where it is a priority (This trans is for the Viper driver who's constantly wailing on it!)

Please call if you need further help.

Ron Jr.
 

Biff Brown

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Hey Jeff, if you're still having trouble give Steven Rouik of FDR TRansmissions a call, he's located in Kenosha Wis. (262-654-0075). Steven is a Viper Owner I met in Nashville who can help I'm sure...Good Luck!!
 
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Jeff Torrey

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Tom- I am interested to hear how your install goes.
Thanks everyone for your help.
Dodge will not offer parts. Pricing on a rebuild from Dodge is currently $2800 plus my core. New Transmission from Dodge $5,000. I am going with the local tranny shop. Everyone I talked to said it is a pretty straight forward job. As long as you can get parts. They have located a supplier for aftermarket parts (may be the supplier for Dodge). The job is scheduled first week in Dec.
Again Thanks!
 

Tom F&L GoR

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Howdy Jeff and all...

Transmission is in, everything runs, no noises, no leaks, mechanical success. I took much more from the donor transmission than I expected; many of the blocker (synchro friction) rings and the 2nd, 5th, and 6th individual gears are "new." I suspect there will be a little wear-in going on, but nothing is tighter or worse than before. Saturday is Lime Rock, so I'll being tow<u>ing</u> a trailer and running laps all day for the real test.

Most bolts are 15mm, so buy a socket. The differential ladder bar bolts have the heads pointing down, 7/8" nuts are on top. Don't forget to put a wrench on them, they'll spin, but be hard to turn, and you think you stripped threads in the aluminum diff case. (Momentary panic.)

A floor jack is adequate to use; the tunnel is narrow enough that the transmission can't wobble far either way.

Now is the time to get that aftermarket shifter and adjust the stops - before it goes back in the car.

Fill the transmission with oil first; stick a rag in the end. You won't have to tip it enough to worry about oil pouring out the back.

The parts guy told me the transmission mount I needed came out of a Jeep.

The early transmissions have a separate piece for the skipshift feature under the shifter. It has the 1 to 4 groove cut in it and is what path the solenoid forces the shifter to follow (so it not only forces you to skip 2nd, but wouldn't allow 3rd either.) I did not re-install this piece, and would allow me to plug in the skip shift solenoid again, but not activate the feature. On the newer '96 transmission I had for parts it was integral to the shift mechanism, so it cannot be removed. Too bad for you Gen 2 guys
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Install went fine, once again the 1 and 2 o'clock position bolts are the hardest to reach. I borrowed a 36" 1/2" drive extension, that's the way to go. You can then torque the bolts from back at the driveshaft location. And the rear of the transmission needs to be dropped on the crossmember without the transmission mount (i.e. about 1.5" lower than fully installed) to be able to get the extension to clear the tunnel wall - if you have the rear of the transmission any higher than that, the 1"x1" stiffening braces in the tunnel will block you from reaching all the bellhousing bolts.

There is a rubber shifter boot riveted to the tunnel to keep road water from reaching the inside of the leather boot. Mine was torn up, so I used a 4"x6" aftermarket shifter boot. That's a little smaller than the hole size, but I covered up the rest of the hole. For some reason, the tunnel hole is 4"x8"...

I must not have had the reverse solenoid plugged in all the way so I couldn't get reverse unless I turned the engine off. Pushed the plug and now it's fine.

The hydraulic clutch is a little odd; I bled it with a hose into a half-full jar so it wouldn't **** air, but that made it worse. I think the bleeder screw is much larger than that on a brake caliper bleeder and ***** in air too easily. And it's messy, since the bleeder screw head doesn't have a ****** to stick a hose on, so you have to loosen it, stick the hose on, bleed, take hose off, then tighten. Luckily someone posted about a low clutch pedal after a transmission rebuild and Viper Wizard recommended vigorous flailing on the pedal to fix it. It did, so I suspect that (like brake pistons) the hydraulic piston was mostly retracted and bleeding it did not push it forward to the release bearing. Vigorous pumping got the release bearing out to the pressure plate fingers so there's no more "take-up."

Except for the hydraulic clutch issue, everything went fine. My transmission "experience" is only rebuilding an A-833 twice (first to put 3.09 first gear in it, second time to replace input shaft bearing because I dropped a non-caged needle bearing from the mainshaft into it and didn't know it.) I didn't do the preload or clearance measurements because I used the same roller bearings and shafts; all the things I changed don't affect the shaft positions. The adjustment shims aren't part of the rebuild "kits" anyway.

I do have lots of the little pieces left, so if anyone needs a synchro key or snap ring, (or the aluminum case) let me know. You're welcome to the bigger parts, too, but I've already picked the best of them. Any questions, let me know.
 

Jack B

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Tom:

please send me an email with you phone #. I want to discuss a few issues with the trans. I tried sending you a private message, however, yours did not work. The administrator has your name entered incorrectly.

Jack B
[email protected]
 
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Jeff Torrey

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Kelly T- Better still I should call the salvage yard to come pick up my old piece of sh%t car and crush it once and for all. Be done with it.
Maybe I should trade it in on a 02 GTS. Are you selling yours, yet? I'm not partial to Graphite, Rather have a final Edition.
 
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