4+3 Rebuild or Install 6 speed?

[larry bud]

Well, the 4+3 blew it's brains out last week in my '86. It got stuck in O.D. on my way home from work, so I was hoping it was just a stuck valve in the valve body. No such luck.

I dropped the oil pan, and there were some (a lot!) of pin bearings stuck to the magnet, along with some chards of metal. Obviously requiring a rebuild, I'd like to get opinions on what I should do.

First, which bearing do you think this is that blew out? Is it possible that it's NOT part of the overdrive unit?

My options:

1. Rebuild it myself. I've done a motor, repainted my car myself, redid the interior, but never done a tranny before, but how hard could it be, right?? Yeah, right. Read the Doug Nash rebuild thread with the 30+ steps required. But I've had this rebuilt before, and it lasted 6 years (about 60k miles). Is it worth the effort?

2. Get someone else to rebuild. Tough to find a good trans guy that knows about these.

3. Buy an already rebuilt OD, put it in myself. Not a bad option.

4. Go with the Richmond 6-speed. I haven't heard anything bad about these, and I ordered the back issue of Corvette Fever that Ken had recommended that has an article of this mod. This sounds like a sexy option, but can I justify the end cost??

Thanks for opinions!

 

[WhalePirot]

Check out the other threads on this topic. Search the forums.

I'll bet you'll not be able to rebuild it yourself and most shops cannot. I sent mine to what I feel is the best shop, anywhere.

Call him. http://www.5speeds.com/

The '87 if a bit more robust and the older ones can be upgraded. This is the simplest way to go.

The O/D is nearly totally separate from the Super T-10, so the bearings were from it. There is an idler shaft that protrudes from the O/D into the main box, as photos will show. It's not hard to dis/re-assemble the two.

You don't state your mileage, but while I had it all apart, I'd have the 4-speed looked at carefully. Mine had cracks on nearly every tooth and wear-through on a number of teeth; and that's a stock (mostly) '84. The total rebuild of both will likely be cheaper than a Ritchie and require no cutting or other mods. The O/D is a tough unit, but needs regular fluid/filter changes.

mike

 

[jp2002ls1]

I was going to swap to Richmond but after I drove a 84 that had a Richmond I decided not to because it still shifted sloppy and had gear whine and I would just be mad if I spent teh cash and then it blew on me. I am really picky though, its a good trans but for me just not worth the money. The trans was $3450, shipping $100, yoke $80, speed sensors and other misc stuff $100. Its a big investment. I also thought of a t-56 swap or a ZX 6speed swap and neither were economical. well I now have my 4+3 ready to be taken out of my car and I am swapping a A4 into my vette after I rebuild it. This is no easy task either but a lot cheaper especially since I am going to rebuild the tranny myself with race clutches and a good shift kit and torque converter. I have looked into every aspect of tranny swap ideas and for a broke college student I chose to go with an auto, I like sticks better but this is a lot cheaper and I will be able to shift it like a manual with the shift kit I am installing. As far as the 4+3, my overdrive was rebuilt a few months ago and blew out because the stupid shop didn't know what they were doing. Even with the shorter shift linkage arms and such the 4+3 just didn't shift how I wanted it to.