I just swapped out my manual 3 speed for a Saginaw 4 speed. I ended up cutting a relatively large hole in the tunnel to fit the shifter bracket and give me some room to work with. When I took it for a test drive, I could hear what sounded like the gears meshing or maybe a chattering. No grinding. The car drove perfect. I had a bad vibration before, and it is all gone. Its shifts like butter and didn't jump out of gear. When I was driving, I put my hand on top of the trans and it wasn't hot nor did I feel any vibrations. I drove it like a granny and I drove it like I stole it. It performed great. While I was driving it, I laid a floor mat over the hole. I couldn't hear most of the sound anymore. Are manual transmissions generally noisy, but you dont hear it because its under the floor?
Yes they're noisy even when they're in great shape and working properly. You should hear a heavy duty Saginaw 4 speed like a SM465 with the granny low gear used in pickups. They sound like they're gonna chew through the floorboard at you.
yes a manual trans has a mechanical sound to them. But, a saginaw 4 speed is a very smooth quiet trans. yep shift like butter and you can lay your hand on it. The last saginaw i had to put 1000 miles on it before it mellowed out. 20,000 miles on a used trans, and never threw a power shift?? I think i must be getting old
I'd disagree that ALL manual trans are noisy. I've found lots of old truck 4 speeds with noisy granny 1st gear. But many 4 speeds car trans are quiet, and don't make noise in any gear. (The M22 Muncie an exception!) I have a Super T10 in my car and it's quiet in every gear.
I don't know how many miles are on the trans. I know it hasn't been used recently. I had the side cover off and everything looks good, the bearings are tight and the gears arent worn or chipped. Even the synchros look good. I'm just gonna drive it and see if it quiets down a bit. Thanks for the info! dave
Put the floor cover back on, and enjoy..... Manuals tend to be noisier that the automatics, as said above. Should anything begin to show it's wear, you'll notice "something different". 4TTRUK
I had a Saginaw in my 50 chevy delivery. Grew more noisy and more noisy over time. I pulled it out, tore it down [Well, I did leave the reverse idler in the case] and checked it over with a magnifying glass....couldnt' find a thing wrong! Hmmm..slapped it back together with new bearings and it made the same noise! Pulled it apart again and this time I removed the reverse idler...it was chewed up bad from wear...no broken teeth or anything. I still have it in my tool box. Found another idler under the bench at my local Certified Transmission shop with the correct tooth-count and after installing it, the tranny was quiet as a church mouse. The reverse idler is always engaged in forward gears...gets a lotta wear.
There are a few things that make great automotive mechanical sounds: a quickchange a M22 Rock Crusher a blower a solid lifter cam
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