3rd and 4th Gear Tranny Rattle

[BrettMackie]

Hi All,

Tranny problem:
74 Scout II, 345 V8
Borg-Warner, T-18 transmision

This last sunday tranny started acting up in 3rd and 4th gear and I'm trying to get educated before i take it to a transmission specialist (people have already given me phone quotes of $200 to $2000, so i think i should know as much as i can before i go). Here's the issue:

When shifting into 3rd and 4th gears the tranny immediately starts to make a garbling metallic rattle noise. The stick also picks up a lot of vibration. When shifting to neutral and releasing gas i can hear the rattle in the transmission cycling down, so the metal rattle noise slows down as the RPM's drop. Shifting into first and second again the noise and vibration are gone again until i hit 3rd and 4th again. The truck drives in 3rd and 4th still (at least i was able to drive home in those gears). The problems came about after a friend was driving it, he was running the engine pretty high in 2nd gear and when attempting to shift into third he was stopped by a grind. I told him not to run the engine so high in 2nd before shifting to 3rd and when he got into 3rd the rattle started.

I've had a couple people say i might need to tighten some gears and another guy said i broke my main drive and I'd have to probably rebuild/replace the whole thing...My questions are this so far:

1.)Has anyone else had a similar experience?

2.)Does anyone have any opinions on best/worst case scenarios and what i should expect to pay?

3.)Is it safe to drive the truck to a tranny shop given the symptoms or am i damaging it more?

4.)Does anyone recommend a good transmission shop in the hollywood area (i've used RokTech Auto in La Habra and they are awesome, but think it might be too far to drive the truck)?

5.) If i need to rebuild or replace, can/should I switch to a T-19 transmission with the 1st - 4th syncros?

THANK YOU ALL!!!
Brett Mackie

[jeff campbell]

brett,i have 1 i just found a few weeks ago laying out by my horse barn.left from my JUNKING spree a few years ago.would gladly take it apart an send ya anything you may need for it,all in all,ya should go w/T-19.jeff

[Dennis Bernth]

The only thing I'd say is, I'd avoid anybody that would give me a 'phone quote' without driving or diagnosing the truck themselves. A good mechanic is not going to commit himself until he's sure what the problem is and what is involved with repairing it. The guy that says 'bring it in, we'll check it out and give you a call' has more on the ball than anybody that will spit out a price sight unseen.

[jeff campbell]

very WELL put mr.bernth!?jeff

[BrettMackie]

Thank you for the responses Jeff and Dennis! And Jeff thanks for the offer of help with the parts. If I need'em I'll certainly take you up on it.

I made some more tranny shop calls and AAMCO will give me a free diagnosis of the problem before the quote, so i'll drive it over today and post the diagnosis.

After telling the AAMCO guy what type of truck i have he said "Whoa--that's scary, i've worked on a bunch of them, so i can say that..." Not exactly what you want to hear, but i'll get the diagnosis...

[jeff campbell]

send it to me,an i'll do it for less than $2K.hehe,lol,jeff

[bobn]

heck bring me one of thoose rust free kali tubs and i can give you a live time supply of trannys. lol seriouly speaking you might consider just grabbing a used trans. they do last or out last most other of the ih components. bobn

[BrettMackie]

I picked up my truck from AAMCO after they said they couldn't find a problem with the 3rd and 4th gears (they actually felt 1st and 2nd were a little off) so I went to pick it up because i thought they must be nuts to have not felt the violent shaking in 3rd and 4th.

Turns out though, they were right. The noise and shaking went away????!!!! I'm guessing this might just be temporary that the problem will rearise... I've driven it for over 3 hours though and haven't had any of the original 3rd, 4th gear issues. HOWEVER, a couple times in 3rd and 4th the truck seemed to "buck" while accelerating. The engine would seem to kill and then jump forward abruptly. Is this a tranny slip? A vaccuum hose seal? I'm thinking a tranny problem given the earlier rattle and rumble in 3rd and 4th...

Chris at Rok Tech will rebuild a t19 tranny for me, but it seems to be running OK, not great, but OK. Should i get this into a shop right away or wait for a few more obvious signs that it needs some attention?

[jeff campbell]

just keep on driving it,an keep us posted on what's happening w/it.jeff

[BrettMackie]

A new shop, J & T Auto Repair (who had 8 scouts in the lot) - drained a little tranny fluid from it and said it looks like some of the synchros broke off and possibly a piece of an adjustment washer. If i drain the rest of the transmission fluid to get the remaining metal out is this safe to drive until it completely craps out? I mean i could get the tranny rebuilt now, but it seems like I could just wait until i really need it and save that cash until then.

I'm always interested in what shops are charging for work so if anyone is interested what J&T Auto Repair in Los Angeles is charging for Transmission work, I was quoted $750 to $1050 for a rebuild and labor. Also my transfer case is leaking and was quoted another $250 to replace/seal, and then most likely might have the clutch rebuilt while the transmission is dropped... another $250.