M5R2 5 speed tranny question

Jeremy_K

Registered User
I was bored tonight so I decided to take the covers off my 5 speed that's gonna eventually swap into my car. I got the tranny from a junkyard car that had 220K on the clock so I have no idea what condition it's in internally. I took the shifter off because it was really sloppy and missing a bolt. I intend on replacing it with a ripper anyway. then I took off the small dogbone shaped plate just forward of the shifter. Everything looked pretty good in there. Then I took the big cover off so I could see the gears. Nothing looks worn from the outside and the fluid was very clean with no shavings in the bottom of the case. The input shaft has a little bit of play if you wiggle it. I would guess it needs a new seal. Can you tell the condition of the tranny without tearing it down? I don't want to mess with ordering an entire rebuild kit if I don't really need it. For all I know the thing could've already been rebuilt.
 
Sort of. The front shaft wiggle is normal but it shouldn't have any end play, front to back. Locate the blocker rings on each of the synchro assemblies. They are the brass rings you'll see, one on each side. They should be fairly snug and not sloppy dangly loose. When the fiber backing wears off it becomes free play and they get real loose. They go from the rear to the front: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th. The 3rd and 2nd gear blockers usually wear out 1st. They should all feel the same. Look for rounded and worn off edges or chipped teeth.
 
I just went out and measured the gaps with a spark plug gap tool. (I don't have a feeler gauge). It is about .080 at every synchro. I think I remember Dave D. telling me they should be at .050 or less. Does that seem right? So can I just replace the synchros and be good to go? The teeth look pretty good on all of them. I took the gap measurement from the back (flat) side of the synchros.
 
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Yep, those are the ones that wear quicker but they may still be Ok. 1st probably doesn't wear very much. How are they in comparison to the 4th gear blocker. About the same you're probably Ok, but if significantly looser, then they might should be changed. There are a number of posts on blocker replacement and sources. Just do a search to find them.
 
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