WHAT DID I SCREW UP; UPDATE

[MellowVR4]

Ok ill try to explain this as easy as i can. i went to the junk yard in need of a some shifter cables, aparently im an idiot because i didnt check the year of the dsm that i took them out of /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif. So i installed the cables and shifter base together and drove the car to work which is probably like a 10mile drive. Now i can defently hear a noise and wining sound coming from the trans or something, i put the car in neutral while the car was coasting and everytime i move the shifter to make sure its in neutral i hear the sound more n more. bought some correct cables for my year and i installed them along with the old shifter base and drove it back home, and still i got the same noise. Now we all know that the 90 and 91 shift assembly are completely different /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif, i know this! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif but like i said i was an idiot and didnt check the year of the dsm. so now im sure i would have to take the trans out and check whats goin on. Does anyone have any idea what i couldve screwd up by doin this. a bearing? a gear? not sure. please any help could help out alot. thnx

 

[mitsuturbo]

It's probably coincidental. Pretty much the only thing you're going to screw up with improper cables or adjustment is synchros. Maybe a little wear on the teeth of a gear and a slider, but only after continued use and griding shifts. It's pretty far from probable that driving in the normal flow of traffic with the wrong cables for a few miles would destroy a gear or bearing.

 

[Barnes]

I disagree MT. The transmission has no internal stops for the shift rails. It is possible to 'over extend' the shift rails due to misadjustment or incorrect parts. The shifter base provides the mechanical restriction to keep this from happening. I think if you combine the wrong shift base, cables, and no adjustment this could happen. I suspect the possible outcomes could be broken/bent shift forks, or worn forks depending on how parts were installed and how you drive. Granted I don't know if he could wear them that fast, but it coule explain some of the whiring noises.

Hopefully it's just a coincidence.

 

[turbowop]

I concur with Barnes.

 

[MellowVR4]

Should I just take the trans out and check it out? Just to be safe.

 

[MellowVR4]

Thanks for the help guys.

 

[Barnes]

Drain the fluid. If you broke a fork, your transmission probably ate it already and your fluid will be a silvery slurry. If you abnormally wore a fork, you will probably also see aluminum in your tranny fluid. If you drain the fluid and see nothing, get the correct shifter base/cables etc into the car and adjust them properly and see if the car still makes any noise. Maybe you got lucky.

 

[MellowVR4]

thats what i was thinking, ill do that this weekend, ill keep everyone posted to see what i discover.

 

[mitsuturbo]

Quoting Barnes:
I disagree MT. The transmission has no internal stops for the shift rails. It is possible to 'over extend' the shift rails due to misadjustment or incorrect parts. The shifter base provides the mechanical restriction to keep this from happening. I think if you combine the wrong shift base, cables, and no adjustment this could happen. I suspect the possible outcomes could be broken/bent shift forks, or worn forks depending on how parts were installed and how you drive. Granted I don't know if he could wear them that fast, but it coule explain some of the whiring noises.

Hopefully it's just a coincidence.



I do not believe this to be correct. If you take a bellhousing and push the levers for the gear selectors as far as they will go in every direction, you can clearly tell there are internal stops for the shift rails. So long as that little bolt on the bellhousing is installed in front of the linkage, there's a limit to how far you can push it. You have to remove this bolt to get the shift rails out of the bellhousing, actually. That little square "box" that's welded around the linkage stops rails from going too far. Also, the detents give a positive feel for engagement regardless of the actual position of the shifter inside the cabin. So, if something were that far off, you'd really have to be forcing it past where it should be, and feel it slide past the detents in some gears (like 1/3/5), as well as NOT feel it engage properly at the opposing end of the shifter throw (2/4/r). You'd likely bust off the end of a shift rail well before anything else, and then the trans would wind up locked in one gear, possibly with the ability remaining to engage a second gear as well, thus fully locking up the transmission, preventing any movement whatsoever. Usually shift forks break when they meet resistance because for whatever reason the slider does not want to easily engage the synchros and gear.

 

[Barnes]

MT, do you still have your tranny apart? You should post pictures of what you are talking about.

 

[mitsuturbo]

Yeah. I have one in my kitchen and one in my garage, actually.

Speaking of which, my parts should be coming in from Jack's (again, finally) today. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[MellowVR4]

UPDATE: single synchro 2nd gear bit the dust and wiped out the 1/2 hub and slider and 1st/2nd synchros. The 5th/Reverse synchros were also worn and the 1/2 and 3/4 shift forks were wiped out.

All because putting the wrong shift cables?

 

[Barnes]

Was the 1-2 shift fork worn?

I'm trying to remember if it's hypothetically possible for the shift to press on two rails at the same time. Or if the guard around the shift mechanism at the base of the forks completely prevents that.

 

[MellowVR4]

As what my tranny guy said, they were basically cooked, i didnt see them tho. That was only 10 miles of driving with the wrong shift cables. When i finally put the correct shift cables on and drove it home, smoke was coming from underneath the car. That never happend before this incident. It was probably the forks that were burning.

 

[EHmotorsports]

or a really good trans fluid leak burning on the exhaust.

 

[MellowVR4]

I didnt see any trans fluid leaking, maybe some engine oil. Still even before any of this happend it never happend, EVER. Even with the leaks i had goin on. I guess it couldve been anything tho. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif