Dead 5 Speed Tranny
 

I "HAD" a 5 speed tranny in my 1994 Laguna Blue SVX. It was put in by Small Car for the previous owner. He drove it ~ 5K and I have driven it ~ 4K. From my records, it has not had over 10 K on it after the 5 speed was put in. I don't think it was ever right. Dorian had some vibration problems and had some noises which were passed off as the louder noise of the heavy duty grears that were installed. It continued to vibrate some and I had Brian drive it and he said that it shouldn't do that. I drove it home and it got worse, so I didn't drive it any more until I drove it down to him to have checked out.

Today on of the guys there called and said that the tranny was dead. I still don't have all of the details, but I think that the back drive line was out of alignment and when the back bearings went, it got the rest of the tranny.

Do any of you have any ideas what else might have made this thing go south? This is no better than an automatic if this is the service that you get out of a 5 speed. It looks like it may be $3,500 to get this thing repaired! I will talk to Brian and find out if there is anything he can do for me. Just wanted to see if there were any ideas on this situation.

Thanks in advance!
:rolleyes: :(

Hi Earl. Sorry about the dead tranny. I guess it wasn't the CV joints after all. I can't imagine that it would be $3500 to get the tranny rebuilt. One thought I have is that those heavy duty gears are probably worth some $$$ is they are still good. Maybe you could sell those and put in a stone stock rebuilt 5mt?

Brian,
It's possiable that something was damaged in the tranny from the wreck that it came from, I wouldn't take this as the average lifespan of a MT in a SVX, as you said it has had issues since it was installed.
I'd replace it with a stock MT and see how it did.

Just my thoughts on it....

The heavy duty gears should make the transmission bulletproof, something must have been broke off the start or when it was installed wasnt alighned. My tranny is around 10k(total) and feels like silk.
phi

Crap Earl!

I'm sorry to hear that! I agree -- sell those stupid heavy-duty guts and get some stock WRX tranny. You never drove that car hard. How could the tranny wear out unless it was installed inproperly? If Small Car wont fix it or help you somehow, sell the damn gears and get the stock 5-speed. I don't think you should spend the $3,500. That's just BS! We'll get all the NW members to come up to your place one weekend and install it! It shouldn't be so bad when you car is already converted.

-Nick

Speaking of...Does Brian offer a warranty w/ his 5 spds? Earl, I sure you'll get the booger back on the road before you know it! Bummer...

Do you have 4 1/2 Svx'es now?:p

Good luck and keep us posted!

I am going down to Small Car tomorrow and see what my options are. I was wondering the same thing - what is the warrenty on a tranny from them. I was also thinking of maybe changing the gear ratio on it so it is not the lower gear ratio that is in it now. I would be neat to get a 6 speed now! At least a better ratio than the close ones in it now.

Thanks for the support! I am sure it will be back on the road in a little while, but I am really surprised that this did not last. I am also thinking that there was something wrong with it, or installed wrong. :( :)

Just got back from Small Car Performance.

To answer John's question

Q - "Does Brian offer a warranty w/ his 5 speeds?
A - "NO" Used parts have no warranty.

Looks like the best of my choices is to rebuild the transmission with new parts and add my gears to it. This way it will be about the same cost as a new one, but with the heavy gears. The differencial went and pieces of it got to other parts. The gears are fine, but the rest is toast. I need u-joints as well. All the parts and labor will be about $4,000. (the price of another car!)

I could do it cheaper with another used tranny, but I may get another bad one, and I don't want that. :rolleyes: :(

If you've got the time, you could hand-pick a used tranny. It would be less $$$, and it should be trouble-free.

If I may add
 

my 92 converted over to a 5 spd always had noises
and bad vibes I really didnt feel where correct.
After 3 months and 1000 miles I sold the car feeling
it wasnt going to be anymore reliable then an auto.
The auto was smoother and quiter anyway....
and thats the way I like my Svxs anyway......
good luck Earl.........

the vibration is ALL IN THE TRANSMISSION MOUNT/CROSS MEMBER. i completey rid my car of that, and the tranmisson drives and shifts like silk. The xmember smallcar gave me was garbage, we had to rebuilt it and adjust the height, it left the driveshaft at too much of an angle. With this adressed i can honestly say my car makes ten less vibrations/sounds. just ask rob he got a ride before and after.
phil

Yeah, when I had it up in the air it looked pretty
cheasy. If I had the time I would of just redone it all
and had a new one fabricated correctly....
Time wasnt on my side......
maybe my next one.....

I talked to Small Car and they told me that they have redesigned the cross member so that it will work better. :)