Metal chunks in transmission fluid, junk?

[TheAmazinGreat]

Hey all, I am the new owner of a 1979 X that looks to have been sitting for some time. I am in the process of pulling my motor to clean it and the engine bay up and while draining the transmission fluid noticed some large chunks of metal stuck to the magnetic plug.

My plan was after cleaning everything up to put the original motor back in just to get the car running and driving with the thought of a K swap later down the road but if I found issues with the transmission or motor during the pull to go ahead with the swap.

If it was just a few sparkles on the paper towel I probably wouldn’t worry about it, but with how big these chunks are I am wondering if the transmission is toast as it sits. What do you think?

 

[Dr.Jeff]

First, congratulations on getting your X1/9. Is this your first one? Also, welcome to the forum.

Hopefully one of our transmission experts can identify exactly what some of that debris is. It is common to find metallic particles on the magnet, but some of those are fairly large....particularly that longer piece seems a bit worrisome to me.

These transmissions are prone to some very typical failures; grinding when shifting, popping out of gear, reverse gear damage, synchro wear, damaged cases, etc. Some of that is similar to many vehicles of this vintage, but in my opinion these seem to be more susceptible than most. And it is pretty expensive to rebuild them, and that may not last long depending on the quality of the replacement parts (which has become an issue).

It sounds like the car wasn't running/driving already. Therefore the condition of the engine is another question to ask. Are you able to do a compression test, or a leak-down test to help assess its status? At the very least you will be spending money on a full service and basic maintenance just to get it running/driving.

If you have already decided to do a powertrain swap then I think it might be a good idea to go ahead and do it now. Some people will prefer to get it driving and put off the modifications. But be assured you are very likely to find more issues with the old engine/trans as you dig deeper into it. So why deal with all that only to replace it a little later? The swap is a big job so the car will be off the road for a while. I'd prefer to get it over with and really enjoy the full potential of the car (with the swap) sooner rather than later. Just my opinion.

 

[ng_randolph]

If you see shavings, you might be OK, but you are seeing "things" come out of the transmission. I think this calls for opening that box up.

 

[Steve Hoelscher]

Yes, its not uncommon for the drain plug magnet to have some debris on it. Normal debris is tiny steel particles. You will also find "glitter" in the gear oil that is aluminum. Not great but mostly normal.

That longer crescent shape is very likely part of a 1st-2nd gear synchro spring. There are two and these rarely break on their own and are not likely to come adrift inside the transmission. Assuming I am correct, that one probably got spit out for some reason and ingested between a pair of gears and broke that end off as a result.

If that is a 1-2 synchro spring then I would expect that either 1st or 2nd, or possibly both, synchros are non-functional.

 

[johnph]

The cheapest, most expedient way to go is to refill with appropriate gear oil, drain again and look to see if there are any more big chunks. If not, then refill. Mean while practice on another car your double declutching skills. This transaxle may have plenty of fun miles left in it if you have the skill to baby a non synchro first and 2nd. Since a K20 swap will cost you 6 months of part time labor and at least $5500. Why not continue on your refresh what you have project, get it so you can drive it and enjoy it for 1000 miles and then decide if you want to jump into the world of customizing, fabricating and engine swaps.

 

[Steve Hoelscher]

If you find the transmission isn't serviceable one option is to buy one of my remanufactured units. Message me for more info.

 

[TheAmazinGreat]

Thanks for the help everyone. This is my first X and hadn’t seen or heard of them before finding this one. I was between projects and looking for something different to do next so I was glad to find my car!

I’ll be getting into testing the engine next now that it is out of the car. When I got it, the timing belt was off and starter was missing so I haven’t tried turning it over at all. I figured the engine condition would be more of a tell but didn’t expect the find the large pieces in the trans.

I expect the car to be out of commission for a while with everything else I plan to clean up so it will give me some time to think over all the options. If the engine is good I do like the idea of throwing it all back in and seeing how it drives if all it will take is some careful shifting.