right axle 5spd 88 removal procedure? (Page 2/2)
gjgpff JUL 26, 12:00 AM
Thanks for the info! I feel a bit more confident tackling this.
As an aside; I'd been driving the car for about 100miles after I'd noticed the leak. Because I'd just changed the engine oil and thought it was a very slow oil leak. I did check the trans fluid level but, I misread it. So yeserday I observed the leak and today I finally got a good dipstick reading and I was down a little more than a pint (capacity is 5.3Qt)! Also, the oil smells burnt. I added a pint of Valvoline Synchromesh, To bring the oil level to "full", but I fear that I've done a lot of damage to my transmission.

Right now I'm just going to park the car until the garage is sufficiently empty to work on it. Next week at the earliest.

I have one last question. I can't find any documentation on the 5 speed Isuzu transmission (MT2) drain plug is it this 24mm bolt at the bottom of the transmission (circled in red with the axle/seal circled in green for perspective)? It looks like it's in the right location, though once I take it off the transmission fluid will probably hit the frame rail and go everywhere!

[This message has been edited by gjgpff (edited 07-26-2020).]

fierofool JUL 26, 09:09 AM
As I recall, my Isuzu drain plugs were in that location.

You indicate the fluid capacity is 5.3 quarts. That's wrong and I don't know how you managed to get that much into the transmission. The capacity is between 2.5 and 2.75 quarts.

The Isuzu didn't have a fill port or a dipstick. It's filled through the speed sensor hole. The speed sensor had to be very carefully removed. It has a low and full mark on the VSS shaft sleeve. I suggest removing the plastic gear while you insert and remove the speed sensor until you get the exact level you want. If you were only a pint down, you probably didn't damage the transmission. Once, after having one of my cars serviced, they forgot to refill the transmission. It was totally dry and I drove it at expressway speeds for 30 miles until I got a phone call telling me it was empty. Transmission still works great.
Blacktree JUL 26, 10:07 AM
Did you mean 5.3 PINTS? I'd be surprised if you could even get 5.3 quarts of fluid in there.

[This message has been edited by Blacktree (edited 07-26-2020).]

gjgpff JUL 26, 11:50 AM

quote
Originally posted by Blacktree:

Did you mean 5.3 PINTS? I'd be surprised if you could even get 5.3 quarts of fluid in there.




Blacktree, et al: Yeah, I meant 5.3 pints! By the way, there is a fill, hole: it's that 17mm nut circled in red in the picture. There's a a spring behind the hole which should be removed... and kept safe until filling is done. That's kind of academic, though, because It is much easier to fill through the VSS hole. Also, in another thread, someone measured the distance from the surface of the VSS hole to the "full" and "Low" points and its 9/16" and 3/4" respectively. I found it much easier to set an adjustable builder's square to 9/16" and just use that to measure when my level was right.



I'm really heartened to know that the transmission might not be in as bad a shape as I fear, and I plan to document the removal, installation of new seals, etc (I'll do both because the passenger's side is kind of weeping a little), and replacement in a thread on this forum.

[This message has been edited by gjgpff (edited 07-26-2020).]

fierofool JUL 26, 01:37 PM
Regarding using the fill hole, you would still need to remove the VSS to see if it was up to the full mark. There seems to be a little variation in fluid capacity of the 3 manual transmissions. That port may have been used on the assembly line using pre-measured filling equipment. Something like what a quick lube place uses.

Thanks for passing on the information about the builder's square but I seem to recall there's more like 1/2 inch or more between the low and high marks.
gjgpff JUL 26, 02:37 PM

quote
Originally posted by fierofool:

Regarding using the fill hole, you would still need to remove the VSS to see if it was up to the full mark. There seems to be a little variation in fluid capacity of the 3 manual transmissions. That port may have been used on the assembly line using pre-measured filling equipment. Something like what a quick lube place uses.

Thanks for passing on the information about the builder's square but I seem to recall there's more like 1/2 inch or more between the low and high marks.



I wish there was that much variablility! Looks like it only about 3/16" between high and low.

[This message has been edited by gjgpff (edited 07-26-2020).]

fierofool JUL 26, 03:54 PM
You're right. It's been a while since I removed one. But then guys tend to make things bigger than what they really are.
gjgpff JUL 26, 06:02 PM
heh
I am NOT looking forward to pulling those axles. I was hoping to get a little while longer of a honeymoon with this car, It's only got 54k miles which is way early to have the seal go, even for an 80s car. If there's a silver lining this job works as a pressure plate on the wife to purge some stuff from the garage. If I can get a level, sheltered space, I think the odds of getting the job done over a couple of weekends are good. I'm allowing a lot of extra time because I've never done anything this complicated to a car, and I wouldn't even consider attempting it if I didn't have the support of the people on this forum.