Grinding Gears

So at the bottom of the transmission pan is a magnet to collect any metal shaving from gear wear. This magnet is from the replacement transmission and has about 1/8" (2mm) of metal shards in powder form mixed with tranny fluid. That's not bad for 125k miles on the transmission.



This is the magnet from my old transmission pan and as you can see, there is at least 1/4" (4mm) of ground gear powder! Though there are about 180k miles on this tranny, I redid the transmission pan gasket kit about a year ago, so the gears in this tranny are basically just grinding themselves down to nothing! (@.@)

Before & After

Transmission Replacement

Ok, so this is the last thing that needed to be replaced on the car as I've replaced everything else. I paid $465 for the transmission (torque converter incl.) last fall sometime. The price was reasonable, because it was the only one I could find that I didn't have to drive 100's of miles to get. It sat in my garage for nearly 6 months I think.

So this past week, I started breaking down my car. Considering that my tracker is a 4wd, everything below the jeep had to come off. Everything. (@.@) Front drive shaft. Rear drive shaft. Two cross members that support the transfer case and tranny. Both gear shifts (cab-side) Transfer case. Exhaust pipe (from the exhaust manifold side). Starter. And only then was I able to get to the transmission.

Luckily, I had a very good friend (it would have to be a very good friend) helping me with the removal and installation of the transmission, which I could not have done by myself...or, something I didn't want to try! Thank you Spetty for ALL of your help!

The bad transmission we pulled.


The new transmission we installed.