i was talking to dave about my busted trans and the idea came up to open my trans and try and replace the shift fork in our garage using the instructions on VFAQ on how to rebuild a trans. i figure hell what is the worst thing that could happen... loose a gear? does anyone know where i could find a shift fork or other trans parts if i open it up and discover that more is damaged? if it is totally blasted i will buy a new one and have this one rebuilt with what i want in it.

if anyone on here has ever worked inside a transmission and they want to give turbo tension and i hand i will supply the beer.

I've got a couple 90 awd transmissions sitting in my garage, perfect for parts... $75 picked up near Peoria.

Never had one apart, so I wouldn't be much help there. If it were me, I'd take it to SloPny and have it done right the first time.

I would honestly say, take Rob's advice. You've got a better chance of your transmission surviving surgery. However, TRE (www.teamrip.com) sells upgraded shift forks depending on what year your transmission was made. Make sure you know what year because that will determine which set will fit it.

by perfect for parts do you mean broken?

They've both got some high miles on them, and one had a bolt hole broke off the flange of the case where it bolts to the block. I assume the syncros need replaced in them, but other than that the gears/forks/etc.. should be fine.

Replacing the shift forks is pretty easy, I say give it a shot. But you might as well just take it someplace and have it rebuilt while its out.

i just called josh (formerly of slopony) and i am going to have him replace the shift fork and the syncros this week if i can get the trans out.

is there anyone with a flat bed that can help me get the car back to B/N? the car is located in morton. i will pay for gas. i would rather not pull the driveshaft and use a dolly if i can avoid it.

did josh say how long it will take? show might let you keep the car at IMS so you don't have to drive so far so many times

he said that he could do it mid-late week and i would probably have it back in a few days. the problem is i would need to pull the trans there... leave the car there for a few days... and then put the trans back in there. i didn't know if he would let me work on the car in his shop.

Why not ask? It doesn't hurt any to ask.

because it is a shop where you need to pay money to have them do your work. they don't need my car there taking up space when they aren't making money. i wouldn't call midas and ask them if i could use their lift for a few days.

then see if you can flip him $50 for taking up space for a week. Probably still cheaper than flatbedding and such.

Or even have them take it out and put it back in for you, if they're willing to do so.

I've had the trans apart on the 3g twice now. Once in July to change the gear set to the GTS gearset (shorter gearing and syncros with less miles on them), and another time around Vicary Day when the diff lost a couple teeth (wife launching the car). I have the FSM so the work wasn't that bad. It was just time consuming.
Even though the DSM trans has extra shaft inside of it, I would think rebuilding them would be very similar.

I have also read and heard great things about TRE.

I would ask first before you jam any more sand up that giant dutch vagina you have

Rob, the 90 you got out of my car had the occasional VWOMP! on the 1-2 transition. Other than that and the flange, that 178k mi tranny was BADASS!!! And if you need to know (for advertising) the transfer case was rebuilt at the 90k mark.

Are the 90 trannies better than 91, and will they swap? This would be a AWD tranny that I'm asking about.

Tansfercase spines are different, but all other parts should be interchangable. Only thing that really makes the 90's less attractive is the odd spine count. Yes, these are awd.

isn't the bracket where the shift linkage connects to the trans different in some years? it might still work but i thought there were some minor changes.

Yes JVB, some of the brackets and shifter cables are different in the 90 year. You'll have to be careful and make sure you get the same ones or else you'll be swapping out linkages.