Getrag 440/446 parts.

[HydeDW]

My suggestion is this.

Go ahead and separate the cases, pull everything apart and go find yourself a reputable transmission repair shop to press the gears on/off. Use someone that specializes in rebuilds - ask around and do the diligence. Those Getrag gears so not have a lot of room to get the speacial tooling needed to press these things off. That Harbor freight deal is not going to get you there without some additional spend. Just Take the Syncos, The bearings (if any), cases and seals in hand to someone. It cost me $125 and I was done with it. Then, do the remaining reassembly yourself.

Buying your own press and the extra gear - (although more "fun" ) will end up costing you more in the end and one might just break something in the process.

[fastmax]

Originally Posted by HydeDW

My suggestion is this.

Go ahead and separate the cases, pull everything apart and go find yourself a reputable transmission repair shop to press the gears on/off. Use someone that specializes in rebuilds - ask around and do the diligence. Those Getrag gears so not have a lot of room to get the speacial tooling needed to press these things off. That Harbor freight deal is not going to get you there without some additional spend. Just Take the Syncos, The bearings (if any), cases and seals in hand to someone. It cost me $125 and I was done with it. Then, do the remaining reassembly yourself.

Buying your own press and the extra gear - (although more "fun" ) will end up costing you more in the end and one might just break something in the process.

I replaced the 1st/2nd gear syncros [ I had new parts ] using a gear puller [ $40 ] and a bearing splitter [$40+ ] and a little heat from a propane torch to get things moving. I also had a good set of snap ring pliers to get those pesky rings off.

[Bret Brinkmann]

You can probably get a press from a local equipment supplier for a little more than $125. If you do all of your own work on your car and have a place to keep a press I highly recommend it because it will come in handy in the future. If the thought of useing a press is enough to make you so scared that you urinate yourself and you don't work on your car much, then you are probably better off paying a good shop to do the press work for you.

[DocEBrown]

If you are even undergoing the process of taking the transmission apart then you might want to really think about buying the right tools for the job. Especially since the fact is that this will more than likely NOT be the last time you have to do this. Sure you can pay the guy down the street $100 to press the stuff off then back on again. But what about next time? Besides it isn't like this is the only time you will ever use a press. I bought mine because I also need it to replace this rubber bushing on my rear lower control arm. $600 control arm or $20 bushing...Hmmm let me think hard now... $1800 Kormex rebuild(this is just a previous estimate given to me several months ago...Don't want to get yelled at) or $1000 in parts and tools. And thats with having to replace 1st, 2nd, 3rd synchros, all bearings, all seals, and have the case welded or buy on if need be along with the cost of the press and bearing splitter.

If the head on the HF press wabbles too much for you, you can always screw some metal flat stock to the frame to shim the head from wabbling around. I never thought of that as being a real problem with mine, but I will check out what you are saying about that. It is build pretty sturdy and the steal is pretty damn think on it. I'd trust it. I mean if it was crappy and killed someone I'm sure they would have dicontinued it a long time ago.

[RCode]

I bought one of those POS chinese made presses and it is definitely passable. Not a great piece of equipment, but it has paid for itself many times over. Tranny work, suspension work, import and domestic, all kinds of stuff finds its way into the thing. The one thing I have learned is that the bottle jack is pretty over rated. I got the 10 ton and replaced the bottle jack with a USA made 10 ton I had and it is probably the equivalent of of a 20. You should be able to tell when a setup is going to work and when it won't. The first few times I used it were on the wife's BMW "thrust arm" bushings and I had a bit of fear. After that you can tell when something is going to pop. You definitely need the bearing splitter and the press bushings or you will fuck up a lot of your sockets. Don't do that and be careful.

[Gatecrasher]

Is it over the top?



I can never tell

[RobBeck]

Looks nice but if the shaft wobbles like that harbor freight I wouldnt like it, what kind is that one?

Rob

Originally Posted by Gatecrasher

Is it over the top?
I can never tell

[Bret Brinkmann]

That is a really nice table. It looks like it is a 21 ton press also. I'm also not a fan of the bottle jack press (open throat all the way baby!) but if the price is right I may end up buying one of those also. How much was that press and where did you get it from Gate? I think I may have found my next press.

[Gatecrasher]

It's a 20 ton unit. The actual brand is American Foundry and Forge. (Harbor sells Central Hydraulic) I got it at a local tool shop called Performance Line Tool Center. They have all sorts of cool stuff. It's like a Craftsman Store, but it's aimed more towards professional contractor types instead of hobbyists.

It cost me $300. I know it's overkill, but I plan to use it a lot. The smaller frame presses can't accept a Getrag assembly like the one in the picture. They're too narrow. I tried to pound that shaft out of the end housing with a hammer, and I nearly shattered my thumb in the process. That was enough to convince me to go back and get the larger press.

[RobBeck]

Thats not overkill at all.... looks like a good unit and well worth $300. Use it a couple times and it'll pay for itself.

Rob

Originally Posted by Gatecrasher

It cost me $300. I know it's overkill, but I plan to use it a lot.