I just picked up my newly rebuilt swing axle trans. Is there a proper way to break it in? All the builder said was not to run synthetic gear oil.
Any pointers would be great,
Ted
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I fill it up while the car is level. this may sound crazy but I usually warm the quarts up so the gear oil flows better. once full, I start the car on the stands and let it idle for a few minutes and then gently run it thru the gears. after several minutes downshift it, check the shifter movement as for being adjusted properly. you may need to adjust your shifter even though you may have not moved it when you removed the trans, but if you had worn bushings in the front housing it may be difficult to shift.
after you ran it for a while, recheck the level. I always try to overfill it a little since some of the oil goes down the axle tubes to the axle bearings.
have you got it installed? Is the motor in?
Ted,
when I put my new trans in the shop said to just make sure the gears were fully engaging. And that things will loosen up after about 500 miles of shifting.
Stephen
Yes, Stephen....
It seems that EVERYTHING 'loosens up' about every 500 miles!!!
With a swingaxel transmission the outer axel bearings are lubed with gear oil from the transmission..... When you have topped off the oil level, checked shifter travel and are happy with it, take the car for a spirited tour through some twists to sling oil from the transmission body out to each axel bearing..... Then top off the gear oil again....
Depending on camber, you can put a significant amount of oil down the axel tubes....
They're pretty when they're new, aren't they?
This may or may not be necessary any longer, due to newer lube oil formulations and such, but I've always run the transaxle for 1,000-2,000 miles on the first batch of oil, then that's drained and replaced with whatever I'm going to run for the next 50,000 miles or so. The drain plug has a magnet on it, so that must be cleaned when the oil is drained but that's about it, other than all of the tips up above (all good).
Transaxle oil never gets black, like motor oil, and the magnet picks the microscopic dust cast off from normal operation so there is no maintenance but it's always good, especially in a manual gearbox, to change the lube every 30K-50K miles.
Anthony - I've used that heater trick on a lot of lubes. Beats the heck out of waiting forever for the cold stuff to flow!
Absolutely change the oil after 500 to 1000 miles. It says so in the Bentley manual, for new or rebuilt trans. I always fill it when it's on the ground and level. Easy for me as I have full access from above. For you Speedster dudes, or the back of the car on ramps and then jack the front up level. Swingaxle does indeed hold a bunch of oil in the axle tubes so it's important that there is weight on the wheels and it's at normal ride height when you check the level or fill it.