Reviving a 1930 4 speed Transmission

[Graham Man]

I picked up a 1930 chassis out of a field for the 4 speed transmission.  Oiled up all the bolts and let it sit.  Last weekend I was able to pull the transmission off fairly easy.  Anyway now that it is out, I pulled the top cover with the shifter.  The transmission was water free!  Everything looks good but it will not turn.

 

My question is how do I bring this back to life?  I filled it with waste oil to try to rehydrate it and break it free.  Should I just put the entire transmission in a parts cleaner or just try to pull it apart?

[Rusty_OToole]

Looks pretty rusty to me. I think you should take it apart and replace the rusty bearings and possibly other parts as necessary. But,  I am no transmission expert.

[keiser31]

2 hours ago, Rusty_OToole said:

Looks pretty rusty to me. I think you should take it apart and replace the rusty bearings and possibly other parts as necessary. But,  I am no transmission expert.

I totally agree with Rusty.

[Graham Man]

Looks like the bolts hold the bearings in place, but otherwise it looks like everything slides out the front? 

Looks like three main bearings? 

Anything I should be careful of?

 

I do have a parts transmission, with a broken case.

[Bush Mechanic]

My approach would be to fill it with a 50/50 mixture of ATF and Acetone, leave it sit for a couple of days then start tapping those gears back and forth on their splines with a bronze drift. The bearings will most likely come out without needing to turn. I am assuming they are roller bearings. Good luck with it.

I love the photo of the old girl pulling into the petrol pump. 'Fill her up'!

[DonMicheletti]

I am in Rusty's camp.

[Rusty_OToole]

By the way hope you are not planning on driving that car anytime soon lol.

 

Wonder if it would help to fill the trans with molasses solution to dissolve rust? I have never done this, have no idea if it will corrode bronze, just throwing the idea out if anyone has more experience with the molasses, or other rust removing methods.

[lump]

Love the look of that thing. I would like to put something like that out back of my hunting cabin in Southern Ohio, as yard art. Then plant flowers around it. 

[Graham Man]

The stuff on top of the gears is not rust, well it is, but it was from removing the shifter cover.  The rust fell off the shifter slides.  The transmission oil is dried up leaving a tar like film on everything, locking everything up (I only tried to spin it by hand).  I am assuming I need the gears to slide back and forth before the main shaft will come out?  I might have to get creative on keeping the ATF and Acetone in the transmission, the rear seal gone.

 

Thanks again for the help 

[Rusty_OToole]

6 hours ago, Graham Man said:

The stuff on top of the gears is not rust, well it is, but it was from removing the shifter cover.  The rust fell off the shifter slides.  The transmission oil is dried up leaving a tar like film on everything, locking everything up (I only tried to spin it by hand).  I am assuming I need the gears to slide back and forth before the main shaft will come out?  I might have to get creative on keeping the ATF and Acetone in the transmission, the rear seal gone.

 

Thanks again for the help 

In that case a thorough soaking in kerosene or varsol should dissolve the old grease. If you can get everything moving it will be easier to tell if the bearings work smoothly or not. The gears don't look very worn for a non synchro trans. It may be all right after all.

Edited March 7, 2018 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)

[Graham Man]

A machinist friend recommended an aluminum drift.  He said the aluminum mushrooms more but chips less, so less clean up.  He is always laughing at the project I am working on...  The bearing look pretty common, if I can find replacements I will just put in new ones.