4-speed worth looking at?

[Doober]

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/pts/4962815081.html

Does anyone know if the parts in this would be salvageable by a shop? I'm on the lookout for gears and if I can get this guy to a decent price (and the gears are correct) I may finally have found what I need... trying to keep costs down on this until I can afford a stronger trans.

 

[kevind]

If they're not pitted, chipped or otherwise worn. What are you trying to do exactly?

 

[Doober]

The cluster and reverse idler in my 4-speed have a couple chipped teeth... it makes a rattling type noise in everything but 1st but otherwise works fine.

 

[kevind]

They're not to hard to rebuild. Maybe cheaper to buy a good trans. If its making noise in 4th you may have a bearing issues. ( 4th should by pass the cluster)

 

[Doober]

I've been trying to keep a watch out for someone with a T56 for a decent price, but the junkyards all have rebuilt units or want a big core charge, and the few that I've found on Craigslist all have owners that thing they're made of gold... most recent is one with 115k and the seller wants $2500... a brand new T56 Magnum is $3000.

 

[kevind]

I had a bone stock 06 GTO with a T56 nothing but problems GM fixed under warranty once I fixed it 2 or 3 more times. It never shifted great. My Malibu has a TKO 600 no comparison to the T56 it shifts easier smoother and more positive feeling. I've seen some used TKO's for $1200 to $1300

 

[Doober]

I've considered a TKO too, just haven't seen any local lately... once I save up the money I'll start watching eBay too.

 

[t5montecarlo]

The pictures are not that good, but it may be a 3 speed.

Look for the number of rings on the input shaft; with your torque, you should not get a 3.5 or 3.11 first gear; you need a 2.85 or 2.54 first gear Saginaw.

Look closely at the clutch teeth on the gear; they should look nice and sharp. If the are rounded, the gear will need to be replaced. You can have a look at pictures of a new gear on eBay for comparison.

 

[Doober]

3.5:1 is what I have right now, it complements the 2.29 fairly nicely, gearing is similar to a 2004R/3.42 setup.

My Library

s302.photobucket.com

I'm pretty sure a few of those pics are examples I loaded from your site to keep for reference, in case I ever didn't have/couldn't find a G-Body bellhousing. The pics in there are of the 4-speed when I first got it. I've rarely (if ever) ground a gear, and I never go straight to reverse from neutral... granted the idler is messed up now anyway... last I checked (after it started making noise) everything still looked ok far as I could tell besides the chipped gears.

 

[Doober]

Now that I'm looking, one of the first few listed is a cleaned cluster that will work in mine... might just go that route or find one that might be a little cheaper... I was considering one of the new gear kits online, but those are like $350 for something like 2nd, 3rd, the input and the cluster, where I'm pretty sure I just need the cluster and reverse idler, and would go with a full rebuild kit to be safe.