Hello all!

(This is a slighly condensed version of a few posts I've made over at izook.com.  Ack referred me here and said that Smuz would swap transmissions for beer, so I've got a case of 3.2 Natural Light ready - now all I need is a transmission.  )

I get to play mechanic for the other half's 1996 X-90 (2WD, 5-speed). Most of the time this is a pretty simple job. But sometimes it's more interesting. The original transmission made it to around 115,000 miles before giving up; when I drained the oil there were some gear teeth in it. When I got the whole thing out of the car, I took off that cover around the input shaft inside the bellhousing and the ball bearings just fell out onto the floor. I put in a used transmission (myself) and that worked all right until about 165,000 miles, when it started making the same ominous noises the old one did. The car still drives, but I know the transmission is not long for this world.

The used transmission that's in there was about $850 if I remember right. The answers I am getting now from various places for used transmissions start at $550-$650 and go up from there; rebuilts are, of course, more. While it's still cheaper than three or four payments on a new car, I am starting to look at the 165,000 miles and weigh the repair vs. replace options.

Does anyone know of any interchange possibilities with other transmissions? I'm not averse to doing something like swapping the bell housing from the installed transmission to a new one, or chasing a slightly different drive shaft, if it means I can knock a few hundred bucks off of the total price tag.

There is also the DIY option.  Looking around, one place will sell me a kit of mostly bearings, or a slightly more expensive kit that also has the synchro rings. The six million dollar question is probably: do I have any bad gear teeth in the tranny that's in the car now? If I don't, the bearing kit might buy me enough time to be useful. If I do have bad gear teeth, the three million dollar question is: which gear is broken? If it's a different gear than the first tranny (which is still out in the garage), then maybe I can make one out of two. If the same gear in each tranny is broken... uh oh. JB Weld is good but it's not that good. I have also thought of dropping the tranny that's in the car now and taking both of them to a local rebuilder and paying him or her to make one out of two.

If I do get another transmission, it seems like it would be easiest to put another manual in. If I tell the man that I have a Tracker/Sidekick instead of an X-90, does the price get cheaper? From one or two searches I have made, the answer is "yes"; $365 for a B-grade '96 X-90 2WD transmisson vs $200 for an A-grade '96 Tracker 2WD transmission at URG (prices before shipping). I realize that if I say "Tracker" and it doesn't fit into my X-90, it's my baby. I also understand that I might get into trouble if there's a core charge and I return a core that isn't the same as what they sold me. Fabricating an entire plate to mate the bellhousing to the block isn't in the cards, but stuff like swapping over clutch arms, drilling out mounts, or rewiring the backup light switch are all easy.

If the price is right for an automatic and it's not too hard to install, that might be interesting. Wiring (like adding the ECU for an automatic transmission) does not scare me one bit. I can do some fabrication, but I'm not set up to weld, turn, or mill. I can get those things done, but it will add to the cost - either in dollars or cases of beer. I'm guessing that the automatic has a floor shift, just like the manual - in other words I don't have to rig up anything fancy on the steering column.

There is alternate transportation available, so this isn't one of those deals where I start working on it at 6 PM Friday and it *has to be running* by 6 AM Monday. I can let it lounge in the garage for a while, while I chase parts or order a fresh batch of cuss words.

Thanks!

Matt

Tracker, Sidekick and X90 trannys are all the same and interchangable (89-98 anyway and maybe later ones too....but I'm not that familiar with the 99+ ones). (e.g.....a 5 speed from one will swap into a 5 speed of another).  If there is a core charge, they will not be able to tell whether the tranny came from a Tracker, Sidekick, or X90.

The only thing you have to watch for is.....on some 2wd trannys (and I have only heard about this on the 4 speed auto trannys, so I don't know if it is strictly a 4 speed auto thing, or if coincidentely that is the only ones I have ran across/heard of) they have a "dummy" tcase (basically it is a 4wd tranny, but without a real tcase.....therefore it uses a 4wd length driveshaft, instead of a 2wd length one.....and the spline count on the slip yoke/output shaft may be different between it and a "real" 2wd tranny).

One other thing with the 5 speeds.....if the tranny is from a Trackick with an 8V engine, then the 5th gear ratio will be .86, where as the 5th gear ratios in the 5 speeds that come behind 16V engines are .795 (lower engine RPM at a given speed than with the other tranny).

As far as tranny rebuilds......it can be done.  I have rebuilt the 5 speed in my 4 door sidekick.  The bearing and synchro kit was about $150.  Luckily, all the gears were still useable, and the "growling" I was hearing was from bearings.....some were really sloppy.  If you wanted to do it yourself, you need something to press some of the spacers off the shafts (floor press, gear/bearing puller, etc.) and then just basic tools and mechanical know-how.  If by chance you have some bad teeth/gears, you may be able to swap some gears around and put together a good tranny (assuming it is not the same gears in both trannys that are the problem).  More than likely, if the tranny has just started "growling", and does is in some/all gears except for 4th, then it is the bearings and you have probably caught it soon enough that a bearing and synchro kit will fix the problem and you don't have any damaged gears/teeth.

If you want to do a tranny swap out.......You can pick up trannys for around $150 and up.....but unless they are still in a running/driving vehicle.....there is no way to verify what kind of condition they are in.  I bought a tranny from a salvage yard and luckily it was in good shape and useable.

I would not recommend doing an auto swap.....#1) you will need to use a 4 speed auto for the overdrive......#2) with that comes basically a total wiring harness swap, along with the 4 speed controller and ECM....#3)  pedal assembly swap (and you will have to use something from 96 and up and maybe even from an X90, since I'm not sure if the 96+ trackick pedal assemblies are interchangeable with the X90s).

Ack could also be fulla poo-poo! 

I don't mind helping sumbody out if they need facilities, special tools, knowledge, another hand, etc. And beer IS a shortcut to my heart. So, bring it on over and I'll help with it, but you're gonna get dirtier than I am.

Skyhiranger knows his Trackers/Sidekicks and his info is always accurate. (ya owe me a dollar for that one, Sky) The one thing I would add to his info is that your biggest problem in getting a used transmission for a reasonable price would be that the 2WD 5 speed trannys are sought after for a 1.6 Samurai transplant. But they are available at times.

The first thing that I would advise you to do is to join the forum over at http://www.zukikrawlers.com/portal.php
They've got a ton of members in Ok., Texas, and Ar. and they're heavy on tech and very helpful. Post up in their "parts wanted" section and also in the tech forum. Betcha sumbody down there can help ya out. We're more of a social group and message board than a tech board.

That said, here's my suggestions:
1. Drain the gear oil and check for metal particles
2. If there's little or no particles, refill with a good grade of GL-4 gear oil. (GL-4 is better than GL-5 in Zuke trannys). See if that helps.
3. If I decided to change the tranny, I'd buy a good used one from a reputable member of one of the bigger Zuke boards. Zuwharrie, Zukikrawlers, Izook, Pirate (shudder), or us.
4. While the tranny was out, I would a) resurface the flywheel, b) replace the clutch disk, pressure plate, throwout bearing, and pilot bearing. If, for example, the pilot bearing was very bad, it would let the front shaft deflect and eventually toast the input bearing, which would take out the ........which would take out the ........which would take out the ........etc.

Another thought is, if your gears are bad, to try to pick up a good 4x4 tranny and swap those gears into your case with new bearings.

And finally, to answer your other question: No, I don't know of any feasible tranny swap that would work for you. You're the first one I've heard about having this much trouble with a zuke tranny. Makes me wonder if it's a result of another problem or yer just lucky like me.

Hope we helped some, and I'll keep my eyes open for a tranny for ya.

Just had another brain fart............

It's real easy to adapt a Samurai tranny to a Kick/Tack 1.6. Skyhiranger's done it and knows all about it or Rock4X4 has a $50 kit, "Lucky 13". (in our Vendor section)
There's freaking TONS of good Sammi trannys out there for cheap.
Dunno what it would take to mod a driveshaft or how close the shift lever would line up, but it IS an option.

BTW: ya decide to sell that thing, lemme know. I could use sum body parts for mine 

I do have a 2wd 5 speed trans from a Geo Tracker.  This was behind a 8-valve 1.6L .  I drove the vehicle for a while and the transmission operated fine.  Let me know if you want it...

Good deal.  That's the main thing I'm interested in.

On the "dummy" t-case thing - I don't _think_ mine has one of those but I've only ever seen two X-90 transmissions out of the truck.  The one that was originally in the truck is still in my garage and I took some photos of it.  (Note: I know the tranny is natively dimensioned in metric!  All I had was an inch tape measure and I didn't convert the numbers.)

I still have the original clutch that was in the car, and I can take my shifter lever shopping.  I figure that turning the input shaft (with the clutch) and shifting it through the gears should weed out the obvious turkeys (totally locked up), but I realize it could pass that test and still not be that great.

I might skip this part, just because I've heard this noise before.    I watched the car pull out of the driveway and thought "Damn, that transmission is pretty noisy"... less than 36 hours later I was renting a U-Haul truck and a car dolly.  The X-90 _did_ make it nearly to Houston from Tulsa like that, and we drove it onto the car dolly.

Oh yeah.  I even put new front and rear seals in the salvage transmission when I did this last time.  (I screwed up the front seal, which meant I got to R&R the trans *again* to fix it.  At least I caught it before it fouled the new clutch.)  I didn't resurface the flywheel other than using some rough sandpaper to break the glaze on it; is it advisable to actually pull it and have it machined?

I suspect part of the problem is a loose nut behind the wheel.    Earlier in its life it spent several thousand miles pulling a trailer that was probably a little too much for it; I was kind of impressed that the original clutch lasted as long as it did.  Also, from the times I've been able to observe, I tend to shift it about 1500-2000 rpm later than its usual driver - in other words, there is a big hurry to get into 4th or 5th most of the time.  I don't red-line it, but I drive it like the small Japanese engine that it is - you have to wind it up and use most of the available rpm in each gear before shifting up.  (This isn't a knock on Japanese vehicles, it's just how they're typically designed to be driven.)

It is, as the Japanese might say, "thlashed".  The door skins are OK.  The left rear "quarter panel" isn't too bad.  The deck lid and hood have a few dents.  The T-tops are there and seal well.  Everything else is toast.  The fixed window in the driver's door is a piece of plywood.  The only original exterior lighting is the left rear tail lamp cluster; the right rear is a Heep/trailer-style lamp and the front lighting is two sealed-beams in V-lksw-g-n B-g headlight buckets.  Some of this is due to a failed assassination attempt by a N-ss-n P-thf-nd-r a couple of years ago (hit in right rear, broke right axle-shaft on X-90), and some of it is due to nosing into a guardrail on a slippery highway.  Still, $150 (or even $450) for a new-to-me tranny buys transportation for less than a payment on a new car, so it's all good.

Thanks all for the responses so far!

Matt

Sounds like the only good body parts left on yours are the ones that I need. 

Somebody backed mine up with the drivers door open and wrinkled the edge badly, so I need a new left door frame and skin.

Mine is an old "Red Bull" promo vehicle. It doesn't have a real trunk. The deck lid is a non-opening piece of fiberglass with two clamshell doors on top with a big fiberglass double sink under them in the trunk space. This is where Red Bull iced down their promo drinks. I'd like to put an original trunk lid and hardware back on it. Other than those two things, mine's pretty spiffy.

On yours, I would just throw another $150 Sidekick/Tracker tranny in it and drive it.

And keep me in mind for when you wanna get rid of that driver's door and trunk lid.