Are all 2g Transmissions the same?

[REDspydergst]

Hi, I recently blew my 1996 2g manual transmission and I wondering if I could run an awd 99 tranny with my transfer case? Are the gears on my tranny all the same as the one I have as spare.? If someone could point me out in the right direction it will be great.

 

[Ernie D]

97'-99' transmissions drive ratio between the tranmission and transfer case is different, to be able to run the 99' tranmission you will have to run a 97-99 transfer case

 

[T is for TURBO]

You can take any 1995-1999 AWD 5-speed transmission and make it usable with any year transfer case you have by switching out the front diff ring gear

 

[REDspydergst]

Ohh dangg. I hate tranny problems. How hard is it to change those rings.? I think I'm better off just getting my blown tranny build since I'm already making over r 450whp. I heard good thinks about jacks transmissions. Has anyone ever got a tranny built by them?

 

[Agent Ezzard]

Jacks is top notch! I'd give him a buzz.

 

[T is for TURBO]

Tim Zimmer (TMZPerformance), Jacks, Shep, TRE are all pretty reputable.

Tim Built my trans and I couldn't be happier. I have nothing but good to say about him. He also deals Southbend clutches, which so far is my favorite clutch

 

[twicks69]

The 1997-1999 transmissions are not directly interchangeable with the 1995-1996 transmissions unless they are disassembled and the front differential ring gear is swapped to the 58-tooth unit. Otherwise if you put in a 97-99 trans without the adjustment the 57-tooth ring gear will make your front wheels rotate ~2mph different than the rear wheels and will destroy a bunch of stuff.

The swap requires a transmission teardown but you don't need to touch the gearset; you only need to replace the end shaft nuts, and viscous coupler snapring for non-reusable parts. I would still strongly recommend refreshing it before installing it as the intermediate shaft and input shaft bearings are high wear items along with the center differential upper pinion gear oiling washer that normally fails and wrecks the center diff pinion gearset and center diff housing cover along with other wear issues. As well, the 3rd/4th gearset hub and slider on the input shaft is notorious for imploding at the 400-450TQ range and should either be upgraded to the better material broached Evo 1 3rd/4th hub and slider, or be entirely replaced with the late 91-early 92 3rd/4th gearset or Evo 3 gearset with either a late 91-early 92 3rd/4th hub and slider for single synchro use or the Evo 3 hub and slider to accommodate Evo 3 gears and/or double synchros on DSM gears. The 3rd/4th shift fork and 3/4 rail require replacement as well to either the 91-92 3/4 rail or the better Evo 3 HD 3/4 rail.

 

[REDspydergst]

Ooh ok that all makes sense. I think in just going built my blown tranny. I mean I know a lot about Dsms but I have never rebuilt a tranny or even attempted to. I even built my ownengine and I'm pretty sure I can swap those gear rings out from from my old tranny to put them on the spare one I have but I dont feel like doing that. I'm just going save up the cash and get a built tranny from either one of those shops mentioned from t is for turbo. Meanwhile my gsx will be on jack stands for few months. =( thanks.

 

[GRNDSM]

The 1997-1999 transmissions are not directly interchangeable with the 1995-1996 transmissions unless they are disassembled and the front differential ring gear is swapped to the 58-tooth unit. Otherwise if you put in a 97-99 trans without the adjustment the 57-tooth ring gear will make your front wheels rotate ~2mph different than the rear wheels and will destroy a bunch of stuff.

A bit old but... wouldn't it be easier to just use a matching transfer case? New, transfer cases are over $1k, but used units can be had for $50-$100.

 

[T is for TURBO]

A bit old but... wouldn't it be easier to just use a matching transfer case? New, transfer cases are over $1k, but used units can be had for $50-$100.

Yes, but if you have a 97-99 trans, you might have a hard time finding a matching t-case. The 95-96 trans works with 1991.5 to 1996 t-cases, and those t-cases are much more plentiful.

 

[GRNDSM]

91-96 transfer cases are more common than 97-99 units, but... not enough to justify complete tranny teardown! Look at it this way, it might take you extra 5-10 mins to find a late model transfer case, you can't swap gears in that time!

Now, for more useful information:

90-96 transfer case ratio: 1.09:1 (aprox 12/11 tuns)
97-99 transfer case ratio: 1.07:1 (aprox 15/14 turns)

I tell them apart by the number of turns, is there any other marking that we can use?

 

[T is for TURBO]

91-96 transfer cases are more common than 97-99 units, but… not enough to justify complete tranny teardown! Look at it this way, it might take you extra 5-10 mins to find a late model transfer case, you can’t swap gears in that time!

Now, for more useful information:

90-96 transfer case ratio: 1.09:1 (aprox 12/11 tuns)
97-99 transfer case ratio: 1.07:1 (aprox 15/14 turns)

I tell them apart by the number of turns, is there any other marking that we can use?

Counting the turns is the only way that I am aware of. Unless you open it up.

 

[twicks69]

Counting the turns is the only way that I am aware of. Unless you open it up.

You would have to open them up; the housings are the same.

12 revolutions for 1990-1996, 14 revolutions for 1997-1999 to confirm ratio of the transfer case by marking both the input and output splines at a known spot (like 12-o-clock position), installing a marked output shaft to count full revolutions and then confirm the orientation of the markings.

You would otherwise need to count teeth of the drive and driven gears to calculate the ratio or look at the gear tooth profile. The 90-96 teeth are considerably larger profile than the fine tooth profile of the 97-99 gears.