360 may need a new gear box

Its a big world - how about being slightly helpful as to your location for more precise replies

 

Well on the upside, fixing gearboxes is not rocket science so it should be straightforward, and when done properly you will have an as-new gear box.

A box from a wrecked car has no guarantees unless it's been stripped, inspected and rebuilt.

I would not waste money buying a brand new box. Car owners (or all makes) often part with their hard-earned money too quickly to solve a relatively simple problem.

Lee

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+1

I'd say have it overhauled now or else drive the bejaysus out of it and see how long it lasts and then replace with a used one later if/when it blows up.

 

+1

 

$6500 on ebay.. I vote drive it till it splodes' and put a used one in it. Did they give you any idea if its a bearing cage or synchro bits?

 

the 6500 unit on ebay is interesting, though i'm betting they just replaced the one syncro mentioned in the listing plus a few other seals. their parts into it probably amount to no more than 3k and opening the box and replacing the parts probably isn't an enormous amount of labor. getting the box out of the car is what takes time and money, and when the old one comes out and the ebay unit goes in, that labor cost associated with the removal / installation is no different than the old one coming out (and getting fixed at the dealer) and then going back in. FNA also offers 2 year warranties on all its parts as installed by dealers, or so that is my understandign. in light of all this, the better solution is probably to ask the dealer how many parts can be replaced with a budget of 5000 (for parts alone) and, as i said, its probalby more than one syncro and a few seals. all the parts gears will have SOME wear, so the 6500 invested in the unit on ebay is probably actually worse than having more parts replaced in the original unit (and with a warranty that is 18 months longer, and not having to deal with shipping the core back)

 

VERY optimistic thinking when it comes to dealership work.

 

If the gear box is working as expected, then put new transmission fluid in it and drive it.

Be on the lookout for a used trans at a decent price. Maybe setup an eBay auto-alert for the keywords. Keep an eye on the dismantlers monthly.

Worst Case: Your 360 is on the side of the road for a while until AAA shows up.

Best Case: You never have a true failure.

Case In Point; My Porsche transmission has likely been in need of replacement for 5 years or so, about a year after putting a 344HP 996 engine on a 200HP 986 transmission. But it still works and can be a bit tricky in second gear. I hope it explodes one day and does something worthy of posting on the Porsche forum or better yet, talking about at the pearly gates (or the hot basement entrance). Life is experiences.

 

Depending on what the " some metal " is, I would agree with Trent and drive the car, until a known good transmission is sourced.

It is very likely you can fit a scope through the drain plug and get a visual of the internals.

Depending on the known service history and mileage of the transmission, some metal residue is normal from the synchros.

 

So - how many miles were on the car when this happened?

Any idea of the cause?

Was it an F1 or 6 speed?

Did anyone else drive it recently?

 

Biophase,

What's the latest word on the car?

 

I guess the point I was trying to make is the guy selling the used transmission probably got it from a donor parts car, so the effective cost of the transmission as a whole, from his end, may have been small. Say it was $750. That's probably being generous (he probably paid more). He had to pay someone to open the case and diagnose it and find the one bad syncro and probably replace some seals (I'm guessing as I don't know much about this type of work) plus new fluid. Say the labor cost $750 (which again is probably really generous) and the OEM synchro and other bits cost him $2000 (i doubt he could source an aftermarket synchro so he would pay the same high cost as anyone else). At the end of the day, he is 'in' to the unit for at least $3500 plus say another $400 or so for shipping and is trying to sell it for $6500. These units probably sell rather infrequently so he's looking to make at least $2k on his investment for his time and trouble, which is how a lot of low volume businesses operate (i.e, with high markups).

My point was, since the parts costs are probably the same, the transplantation cost of the unit is the same (whether its the rebuilt unit or the OEM unit), the only difference is the dealer labor rate. Even at $175 per hour, you could probably either get more small parts replaced pocket some savings, by rebuilding your own, plus you get a much longer warranty. You avoid the hassle of shipping and avoid paying a third party for profit (although you probably pay more in labor at your dealer). Even if you break even you still get a much longer warranty and the piece of mind knowing the car was kept original.

Of couse, I've never had this experience and don't really know what I would do in this particular case were it me. I'm just wanted to explain my idea a little further.

 

O.k, I've rebuilt a few of these, and to be honest, there are a few weak links inside. 2nd gear synchro's go but usually only on manuals. Worn actuators can damage selector forks and I've seen the odd shaft bearing wear. To be honest, I'd get him to pull the diff and check the bearings if it makes the noise in every gear. That's a far cheaper repair than a transmission overhaul.

 

I would trust my Indy mechanic what his recommendation would be for the situation. I might ask my indy to rebuild it or put a used one in. Furthermore, I would use a simple, used transmission that was right out of a car with a frontal collision.
I don't trust dealerships. I've had bad experiences in my time with their "techs". I wouldn't trust them in this circumstance and would get a second opinion IMHO before proceeding. Is it a bad syncho or bearing? I once had a "service rep" at the Porsche dealership tell me there is a "sound" at 2500 RPM that could be an IMS bearing going... but they need to open the engine just to be sure. I opted to keep not open it because even if it blew I'd still have to pull the engine. That was 35k miles and 4 years ago. Pity, it would have been alot of $$$ for them. ;-)