F-Body Europe

Hello All,

Has anyone ever rebuilt a manual transmission or more specifically, a T-56? I need to rebuild mine for this racing season and I'm looking for a little advice before undertaking such a daunting task!!! I bought a rebuild manual and have researched some retailers for kits. It looks intimidating to say the least. A gear puller set with long arms and a special tool are the only uncommon tools I’m not sure about. I will be calling the Landstuhl Auto Hobby Shop to see if they have everything else I need.

I was worried about installing higher gears on my TA but compared to this it will be a breeze!

Thanks for your advice,

Josh

I have done it to a degree. I never pulled all of the gears off. I had to replace the input shaft on mine which happens to be the very last piece you get to. It really isn't that tough, but there are a LOT of parts. A trick I did was as I pulled each piece off I placed it on a stand that I made out of PVC pipe (I think it was 1-1/2"). That way they were in the correct order when I needed them.

The special tools are hard to come by and are expensive. It has been about 3-4 years since I did mine, but I do remember needing a puller that was at least 12" long.

Where are you located in Germany?

I'm located in Kotttweiler-Schwanden, near Ramstein. I will have to pull the gears to replace the syncros and my input shaft bearing is bad so I wil have to tear the whole tranny apart. I would prefer to take it apart before ordering parts so I know exactly what I need. I can pull the tranny at home but Landstuhl has the press and hopefully an adequate puller.
What did you use to press the gears back on? I think that some steel pipe with the correct diameter and length would work.

Thanks,

Josh

I am at Ramstein also. The hobby shop on Ramstein has a press that I would think may work.

I don't know about pressing the gears on because I did not have to pull any of mine off. The input shaft is not directly connected to the mainshaft and the tranny had less than 1000 miles on it. So, my gears were good. You should not have to remove yours either to replace the bearing. However, you will have to adjust the lash with a new bearing though.

I would prefer the press over the pipe any day though. A tranny is just too expensive to screw around.

I need to replace the syncros and that requires removing the gears. The pipe I mentioned would be used in conjunction with the press. The press head would push on the pipe which goes over the shafts to press the gear. Did you think I meant with a pipe and hammer? I'm sure someone has tried it, haha!! I will read more in my manual about the rebuild. I think that will make me feel more comfortable but I need all the help I can get.
I prefer to work at the Landstuhl shop; its less busy and the people (Mike and Eric) are nicer.

Josh

Yeah I thought you were talking about the hammer method. Yeah, the pipe should work perfectly.

Let me know if you need anything. I wouldn't mind refreshing myself on the innards again.

The Ramstein shop also has a pretty good set of pullers, in addition to a good press. I don't have a problem with most of the guys there, but it is really busy.