Well...I typed out the whole story and lost the post, So I will start from scratch...any saggin'@alls oops Saginaw gurus here? I need help... Many thanks! Cheers, P.
Post an intro first. Then ask a specific question. In the interim, based on your question- here's some info on Saginaw, Mi. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saginaw,_Michigan
Sorry...I didnt know it was that formal....I need more than wiki has to offer but thanks..um well I was talking about the tranny...not the place...thought this was a hothot forum...my mistake.....now what do you desire in the way of an intro?
Ah- that's covered in the "READ THIS FIRST" sticky. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44274 What's your transmission question? (hey. could have been the town, the transmission or the steering box. I had a 1:3 chance to get it right)
You got me there....I have a locked up Saginaw 4 speed transmission, I was looking for forums that could give me some tech, I am getting the feeling that someone here will tell me to beat it with a hammer until it works....I am ready to do just that. while I have built all kinds of kits, customs vettes and cycles from the ground up I never needed to tear into a gearbox before....hence why I was looking for tech. Have a good one, Cheers, P.
http://ronspontiacpage.com/1968PSM/pages/7C.4.speed.saginaw.manual/7C.004.html Might be helpful. Quickly googled. After answering Budd's question, and before you take a hammer to anything- if it's just the shifter that's locked up, disconnect the linkages and see if the forks are jammed or not. If it's the transmission that's fully locked up, you'll HAVE to pull the side cover and examine.
The tranny is a mid engine lay out, the shift rod comes out the lower drivers side up front, I pulled the side cover and everything "looks" okay but since I have never been in a gear box before besides broken metal I would know what to look for, and it looks good in there to me... I cant slide the gears trying to move the rings that the forks ride in....
can you see the brass synchro rings, you should be able to see 4, can you take a pic of the inside of your trans?
if you can see the rings then there is a chance you seized a gear to the mainshaft, i have seized second gear to the mainshaft, second gear, is it stuck in one gear?
I've had it before on Saginaw 3 speeds, the forks get jammed. Sometimes they both get get jammed and neither will go in or out of gear, and yes in that situation I do tap them with a hammer and they come loose. Reason...either the forks are worn or the brass syncro rings in trans are worn. Then you'll need to rebuild it. Hope this helps ya out.
Yes...it is stuck in a gear I do not know which gear, I have to take care of a few things but will get some pictures today, here are a few more pieces to the puzzle, The shifter set up is the corvair style that is a rod that slides in and out and turns, most times in these crown mid engine set ups builders still just used a long rod from shifter to tranny, but in this case the builder used cables, and while they worked they were all over the place, When I got the car the cables were disconnected and the side cover of the tranny had been off and just replaced with the bolts finger tight, This made me believe that the tranny had issues and someone was trying to fix it, but it was in neutral when I got it, when I tried to move the rod at the tranny it jumped into gear and I cant move the silly car now, So it would be nice to get it back into neutral, I have never met a piece of metal or fiberglass that could outsmart me no matter how hard it tried to but with life and other things right now it would be better for me to just hire someone who has been there done that to rebuild this tranny, I am in Orlando fl if any of you guys know a good tranny in the area..ah, transmission rebuilder that is... Many thanks, Cheers, P.
the13bats, Welcome aboard... great group here with a wealth of knowledge.. Above post was correct about an intro etc. but ignore the rudeness and attempted humor.... The search function on here also will bring up a lot of info an most any subject... Saginaw's get a bad rap a lot, but are really a pretty good transmission if not overly abused and generally in a ~375hp power or less range.. Good luck, and keep us posted... Cheers........
Thanks... So I call a couple shops...I avoid places like Aamco but the first shop I call asked what is a sagginog? I just hung up on him. The next fellow heard of saginaw but never has rebuilt one but would love a shot at it....I told him goodbye before hanging up. The next place informed me that a Saginaw from a Corvair is a one off antique piece that is no longer made and parts are no longer made and no one will touch them, ( wrong, the corvair internals are lopo Saginaw ) So... I am in Orlando Florida does anyone know of a shop or a person that knows Saginaws and how to work on them, not some newbie but someone who has done a few, At this point I would even consider mailing the thing to a rebuilder, Is the Saginaw really this far gone? Cheers, P.<!-- google_ad_section_end -->
The garden-variety saginaws are pretty easy to go through yourself, even with the 1st time learning curve. I've never been into a Corvair box though, it could be a whole 'nother animal. Have you tried to locate a Corvair forum? Bob
What I have come up with so far is the Corvair saginaw has the guts/internals of the lopo Saginaws, the shifting is a rod coming out the front lower drivers side...other than that it's "just" a lopo saginaw, The layout in my car is engine > tranny > corvair diff, It's called a "crown" layout, I believe the imput shaft is special so if that is spent it's pretty much a start from scratch idea and time to move on to some modern transaxle, But if this is just some low end issue I might get some more life out of what I have....it's all about budget with me....I dont have a huge stack of toad pelts
here's a pic of a sag, inside, but pretty much any synchronized trans works the same, the red arrows point to the collar that locks the main shaft to the input shaft, on either side you can see the brass syncro rings indicated by the green arrows, if one of those collars is covering a syncro ring then slide it back off.
This would be a win day, I got down and dirty...love it, and I got the tranny not only into neutral but have the side plate on ( very tricky ) and can shift it with the rod...all 4 speeds and reverse...perhaps it will even shift with the engine running....( fixing the shifter and cable item 101 ) I have to get the side cover gasket and am I missing the boat or do these trans have a fill hole but no drain hole, the fluid looks more like caramel sauce than fluid....I will have to find a clever way to get all that out, clean it a bit before installing the side cover with new gasket and then trying it under engine power....fingers crossed. Many, Many thanks guys for all the help.
Yes some if not all the Corvair trans were drain hole less. Simple fix drill and tap a 1/8 pipe thread and use a flush style style plug. Google "Clark's" for 'Vair parts they got dang near everything for them critters.
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