Cleaning Up

This is going to be a short one.

I had some advice from someone that basically went, "Go and buy and case of spray solvent, like brake cleaner. You'll use it." Well I didn't buy a case. But I bought six cans. I happened to use Brakleen brand. It turned out to be the cheapest. It's what I use all the time anyway, and it does a good job. It's a highly volitol solvent that washed away all the grime and doesn't leave a film or any residue.



They also make a non-chlorinated version that comes in a green can. I don't know if it's actually "greener" in the eco sense, but I assume so. I would have got that, but the store was all out.

I went through 5 cans doing the cleanup of all the parts. I didn't bother cleaning the clutches since those are going in the trash bin anyway. I have 1 can left that will just about do it for cleaning up both cases. So maybe a full case is a bit more than you'll need.

My method was this. My wife was getting rid of an old 8 quart roaster. I sprayed the parts over this pan and let the excess run down into it. When that got about 1/2" of fluid in the bottom I started just rinsing the parts in that. If the part needed a little extra I'd spray some more from the can. I then dried the parts with compressed air using a normal air nozzle. It worked really slick.

After cleaning and drying the parts I put the major subassemblies on the cookie sheets and put them in a plastic garbage bag. It's so dry here in Colorado I don't really worry about the parts rusting in this situation. If I were somewhere else where there's more humidity I'd probably dunk the parts in some fresh transmission fluid before wrapping them up.

I spent the better part of a Sunday doing this. It is a littel time-consuming. But cleanliness is the key. Remember: no lint in the transmission!

Here's the major subassemblies, all wrapped up, just waiting for the UPS truck to come with new parts.



That's about it for the cleanup. Next: the "brown truck" comes with the new parts.

Tear Down

Although I already tore down the transmission a few weeks ago, I thought I'd put a post in here about that. First things first...I ordered an FSM (Factory Service Manual) before I started on this. It was recommended to me as probably the best step-by-step for the 46rh tear down and rebuild. When it arrived, I WAS impressed. It's about 4" tall and some 1600 page. It covers the Cummins engine as well which is nice to have. I got it from Books4Cars.com. They were about $20 cheaper than anywhere else I could locate. I had it in hand about 5 days from when I ordered it.

First, a couple of things people and books have said over and over.

1. Be sure to keep everything clean, clean, clean. The books emphasize to NOT use any rag or towel that will leave lint behind as that will foul up the valve body later. They specifically say to use a "lint free shop towel." I don't know what that is, and I doubt that it even exists. Everything has lint. So my procedure has been to clean the parts with solvent then dry them with compressed air. No rags envolved.
   
2. Take your time. Lay everything out in order. Keeps bolts in the places you found them, etc.

I first pulled my transmission. I'm lucky enough to have a pit in my garage. I also purchased a pretty decent transmission jack a years back for working on my father-in-law's truck. With the pit and jack combined I can have the transmission out in about 2 hours.

Here's a photo of "The Dog" over the pit. You can see it, just barely, under there.

I hit upon an idea from some other's that have done this before me to use pans for the parts. That way, the transmission fluid doesn't run all over your bench. I found these handy cookie trays at the local dollar store for, yes, a dollar. They've worked out wonderfully although I was they were a tad larger.


Here's all the parts laid out, just mocking me!

And the cases. The left photo shows the main case on the left and the overdrive/extension housing on the right. The right photo peers down into the main case. That's the overrunning clutch cam down there in the bottom.



Once into the transmission I found out what my major problem was. The 3rd/direct clutch pack was toast! The frictions and nothing left on them, and the whole pack was cone-shaped instead of flat as it should have been. I think this happened because, a few years back, my throttle valve cable fell off. That essentionally engaged the clutch pack with very little line pressure. Lot's of slipping occured and the frictions went to the bottom of the pan.

Here's a couple of pics of the "best" friction. The others had no material at all left on them.

This is the whole clutch pack. What a mess.


This is a sideways view of one of the steels. It should be flat; almost paper thin. Instead, it has a cone shape to it. The whole clutch pack was like this.


Since the friction material had all worn off, the thickness of the clutch pack was quite a bit less then standard. This caused the forward clutch engage piston to push out (against the clutch pack) more than it was meant too. Too many times of that action and the seal was comprimised. This was my real problem; no 3rd gear and hesitant reverse (not enough pressure behind this piston to engage the clutches).


The coning out of the clutch pack also chaffed the pressure plate for the forward clutches. You can see the abrasion on the inside edge. I'll have to get a new one of these.



That's about it for the tear down and what I've found in the internals. Most of the thrust bushings show considerable wear as well. I'll post pics of them in the respective rebuild sections to follow. Follow the procedures in the manual for the tear down. It's crystal clear.

Next: cleaning up the parts.

Transmission Bands

I've been doing some shopping for transmission parts. I think I've finally decided on the package of upgrades I can afford (I of course want MORE). But I've run into some confusion regarding the bands. There's 2 in my transmission (and most transmissions). You can choose between rigid and flexable, and there's different friction materials as well. You can get OE quality. I have no idea what that's made of. You can also get Red Eagle style, Kevlar, or Carbon Fiber. So far, no ones' been able to tell me what the differences are in these. I'm looking for what the shift, wear, and longevity characteristics are. I of coure want durability, but I also want performance. And we all know that those don't always go hand in hand.

These are the three different styles. Red Eagle, Kevlar in the middle, and Carbon Fiber on the right. These are also the rigid style bands.


And this is the flex style band. This one happens to be carbon fiber as well.

I think I can get most of what I need from here: TransmissionCenter.net. The website is a bit clunky but they seem to have everything that I'm looking for, and lots of info to boot.

If anyone has any knowledge on this subject, feel free to post a comment.

Rebuilding the 46rh, AKA the wimpy A518, Transmission

A year has gone by. So I suppose it's time for a new post on my "blog". Of course the quotes are supplied for the simple reason that a blog by the most meakest definition should contain an update once in a while. This one hasn't. But I aim to change that.

For the latest Nerdy Thing I Do I'm going to chronical the rebuilding of the Chrysler "slushmatic" 46rh transmission from my 1992 Dodge D250 pickup. The transmission recently took a dump...3rd gear refused to engage. I guess the Cummins finally took it's toll on it.

Being the "frugalista" that I am, I couldn't, with a good conscious, take my truck to a transmission shop to have it rebuilt. The cost is just too high. And, being the upgrades addict and constant tinkerer that I am, I decided to do it myself. This way I can have some upgrades for strength and durability and not break the bank. Of course, I really want to go all out on this project. But the funds, and the wife, just won't allow that. So I'm shooting for some middle-of-the-road position that will give some amount of strength for mild upgrades I've made to the Cummins.

So look here in the coming weeks for most posts, and pics of course, of how it's going and what I'm doing. Maybe it will help somebody along their own transmission journey.

And, to begin with, I'ld like to thank all the boys (and most likely a few girls) over at DieselTruckResource.com for all the help and adive they've given on the project. I literally couldn't have done it without them. Check it out. If you've got any year of Dodge with a Cummins diesel, the community there is friendly and extremely informative. Everyone on the forum, and especially the 1st genners (guys like me that own a Dodge Cummins between 1989-1993), and more than willing to pitch in their $.02.

More later.