You wrote:
I get a rattle (that I think is originating in the transmission) under hard
acceleration. I can subdue it by holding the shift lever tightly. I got some
advice here earlier that I intend to use, but just now I don't think the
problem is serious enough to warrant pulling the engine. I notice that the
rattle only occures after the engine has warmed up. This makes me wonder
if perhaps a heavier gear oil in the tranny might help keep the rattle down,
the theory being that the tranny oil is thicker when the the engine is cold.
I am presently using Valvoline SAE 85W140 gear oil. Does gear oil come in a
heavier weight? Is there an oil additive that might help? Is this a stupid
idea? The transmission is otherwise behaving nicely. Thanks in advance.
Bob,
I guess you know what is wrong...... The transmission has some wear in
the bearings, etc, etc., hence the rattle. I don't blame you for not wanting
to pull the transmission for just the rattle. Be careful about thickening up
the oil too much. You do have a couple of "quick fix", "tuneup in a can" type
solutions. Red Line is the name of a high tech synthetic gear oil that may
help. There are several oil additives on the market, such as Slick50
transmission treatment. I have used it, and it helped with my problem. ( For
the curious, my problem was a stiff gear change in cold weather.)
Just try one solution at a time, though. Mixing all of this stuff together
would not be a good idea. The last option is just to live with it. I drove an
A/H Sprite for years with a noise that may have been worse than yours.
OR:
Your problem may be just a vibrating shifter caused by wear in the shift
selector. By tearing up the carpet and removing the transmission tunnel, you
can remove the shifter extension. Examine the shift selector for wear. I
just rebuilt a TD transmission, and the shift selector on that one was
significantly worn. You can buy a new one, or carefully weld some new
material and grind back to the original shape. Also, make sure that the
detent ball and spring at the base of the shift lever are still there. Quite
often they are missing. The base of the shift lever usually has a groove cut
in it by the detent ball from years of use. You can turn the shift lever 180
degrees and reinstall it, to give you a new
wearing surface.
As Bryant Gumbel says: Good Luck to you.........
Randy Kegg
1958 MGA
1966 Morris Traveller
1964 Porsche 356C
|