I bought a used GSR tranny from a local guy and it has a thick layer of this thick black grease crap inside (not actually inside the casing but inside where the clutch would be) and around where the midshaft goes in and also some on the outside of the casing too. Could this be from the tranny leaking somewhere, or the engine leaking oil on it, or what? I sprayed some degreaser on the grease crap and that didn't help very much at all because the grease is really thick.

 

Every tranny I've seen is like that. The gunk is mostly clutch dust mixed with grease.

When you do a clutch job, you slather grease all over the input shaft/fork/bearing. But if you notice the next time you do a clutch job, the grease is mostly gone. That's because the input shaft is like a centrifuge and it expels all the excess grease onto the inside of the bellhousing. The grease becomes glue for all the clutch dust.

I used to always clean the housing when I was a noob. But since it always gets dirty again (within about 10k miles) I gave up. I used to pressure wash it (messy) but Brakleen also works wonders. You'd need a dozen cans of it though. Like I said, not worth it.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Shepherd &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Every tranny I've seen is like that. The gunk is mostly clutch dust mixed with grease.

When you do a clutch job, you slather grease all over the input shaft/fork/bearing. But if you notice the next time you do a clutch job, the grease is mostly gone. That's because the input shaft is like a centrifuge and it expels all the excess grease onto the inside of the bellhousing. The grease becomes glue for all the clutch dust.

I used to always clean the housing when I was a noob. But since it always gets dirty again (within about 10k miles) I gave up. I used to pressure wash it (messy) but Brakleen also works wonders. You'd need a dozen cans of it though. Like I said, not worth it.</TD></TR></TABLE>

But the input shaft and release bearing don't need very much grease at all, just a very thin layer. The grease in that tranny is THICK and EVERYWHERE, even outside of the inside (on the tranny casing and near where the intermediate shaft goes, which is sealed off from where the clutch is). My 97 LS tranny is 100% spotless in and out as far as I can see and the only thing keeping it from looking brand new is a little bit of red clutch dust. But, I'm sure you have more experience since this is my first time seperating a tranny from an engine, I just want to give all the info of my situation.

Anybody else have any input?

 

The first thing that comes to mind when you said "thick black grease" was CV joint grease from a broken boot. You're saying it's also inside the case? The rear main seal is on that side of the engine. It could have been leaking there too.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ffHeart &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The first thing that comes to mind when you said "thick black grease" was CV joint grease from a broken boot. You're saying it's also inside the case? The rear main seal is on that side of the engine. It could have been leaking there too.</TD></TR></TABLE>

It's even thicker than fresh CV joint grease, but maybe that was part of the problem. It's not actually inside the case where the gears are, only 'inside the case' where the clutch would be between the engine and tranny. What seal is the "rear main seal" you're talking about?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hatch_R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
What seal is the "rear main seal" you're talking about?</TD></TR></TABLE>

#27

 

I'm telling you, I've never seen a bellhousing without that sludge. Just clean it off. If your rear main seal was leaking, you'd see oil run marks down behind the flywheel and onto the side of the oil pan.

 

Actually, the rear main seal won't be your problem since you bought the tranny by itself. The rear main seal exists between the crankshaft and oil pan; in other words, it's part of the motor, not trans.

Worst case scenario - you have a bad seal around the input shaft. But that's highly unlikely.

I wouldn't worry about any of this. If you want to be safe, completely clean the trans housing. That way you can identify any new leaks once it's installed.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Shepherd &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Actually, the rear main seal won't be your problem since you bought the tranny by itself. The rear main seal exists between the crankshaft and oil pan; in other words, it's part of the motor, not trans.

Worst case scenario - you have a bad seal around the input shaft. But that's highly unlikely.

I wouldn't worry about any of this. If you want to be safe, completely clean the trans housing. That way you can identify any new leaks once it's installed.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Alright well I'll try to clean it as much as possible before I put it in. BTW I did buy it with the motor, but I'm not putting the motor in, at least now for now. I got a B16 engine with bent valves and the GSR tranny together (tranny is also old) for $350, and no it is not stolen, I am 100% sure of that. This guy I know locally blew his engine, already has a brand new one to replace it with, and didn't want to mess with the blown one so he gave me the engine and tranny for $350 instead of the agree-upon $200 for just the tranny. I'll check that seal when I look at the block again.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hatch_R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

BTW I did buy it with the motor, but I'm not putting the motor in, at least now for now. I'll check that seal when I look at the block again.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I was wondering why you were trying to figure out what type of grease it was if you bought the tranny separately. That explains it. If the rear main seal was blown, it can drip oil all over that side. When you do get around to rebuilding the B16, I'm sure you'll replace any seals at that time.