[dabigboy]

This week I finally headed myself down to Harbor Freight for one of their little 12 ton presses...it worked a treat on my 83's tranny, I've got almost everything off the main shaft that I need off! Actually removing the tranny was by far the hardest part at this point, the internals are really not bad at all.

Now I'm finalizing my IAP order, which has reached truly scary proportions.....but it does include new master and slave cylinders.

I decided to replace the syncro rings and sleeves on 3rd/4th and 1st/2nd, and flip the ring on 5th/reverse, rather than do the 5th-to-3rd/4th swap. This way, 1st-4th should be like new, and 5th should be like new also since there's not really any wear on the reverse side of the syncro ring. For the money, I think it will be worth having a tranny that shifts silky-smooth. Plus I never intend to sell this car.

The only part I *haven't* sourced yet is the little bolt that broke off my 1st/2nd shifting rod and prompted this rebuild in the first place! I suppose a trip to the local hardware store will do the trick.

Funny how a $0.10 part prompted a $600+ rebuild. That's more than I paid for my first car!

Matt

 

[101/105guy]

Sounds like you are off to a good start !
My tranny rebuild went easy, but I found the hardest part to be getting the shift forks aligned just right. It will pop out of gear of not right....
Also, I would try to get the right bolt for the fork. It should be hardened, not just any metric bolt.

 

[caliscouser]

That's funny, I just bought exactly the same press and I'm planning to do a rebuild very soon. Would appreciate any tips or pointers as you go through it.

 

[dabigboy]

Thanks for the tip on the shift forks, I will have to be careful there! I can see how having the syncro sleeve a little too forward or back on the fork could cause improper or intermittent engagement.

caliscouser, I'll be happy to provide any help I can. Search the boards real good, there are lots of posts about it. Here's one in particular that I've referred to often:

http://www.alfabb.com/bb/forums/spi...mission-rebuilding-transmissions-dummies.html

Also, Centerline's rebuild tip page has a handy cost-effective procedure on what to replace and what to move around:

Centerline Alfa Romeo Parts (888) 750-ALFA

Personally, if you're going to this much trouble, I would recommend just going ahead and replacing both the 1st-2nd and 3rd-4th syncro sleeves. It adds about $115 for the price, but 6 months down the road when you are shifting like new and have the confidence of knowing you have new sleeves down there, are you really going to fret $115?

Good luck and keep us posted!

Matt

 

[kcabpilot]

I did my tranny about five years ago and it's a joy every time I drive that car - butter smooth snick-snick shifts, everything just about perfect.

It's funny how people who don't know Alfa's see a Spider and the first thing they will say is "That's weird how the gearshift comes out of the dash like that" I always tell them, you gotta sit in it to understand so they do and then they always say "Oh yea, I totally get it now!"

Despite the long throws, the precision of the shift mechanism is something that makes shifting gears almost like having..... well you know what I mean. It's like playing a fine instrument.

Have fun on the rebuild. There was a point where I was thinking I might have gotten in over my head but despite the fact that you could screw something up the whole assembly is generally Murphy-proof. It will only really go back together one way and as long as you have no parts left over when you're done you'll most likely be good.