Spicer 5 speed transmission

[warewolff]

Hit it with the torch for like two minutes. Put the impact gun on again. Nothing. It didn't even budge. I'm getting concerned at this point. Why are these so tight?

[BlackJohn]

Have you soaked them with penetrating oil and let it work for a couple of days? You have to also strike them while doing this to set up a vibration that allows the oil to penetrate.
Sounds like your impact gun doesn't have near enough torque to loosen them.
You should also make the bolt red hot before trying to break it, 2 minutes won't heat that much metal with a torch. What are you using for heat?


John

[warewolff]

Using propane torch from Walmart. .... getting discouraged.

[Ronnie]

use a breaker bar with a pipe over it for more leverage.

[BlackJohn]

Any chance those bolts are left hand thread?


John

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by BlackJohn

Any chance those bolts are left hand thread?


John

I was just going to ask this, but doubt that they are. Ronnie's idea was my next suggestion, 1/2" ratchet or breaker bar with a 4' jack handle on one end should do the trick. PB Blaster works wonders and if you can't get it today, as mentioned hit with the PB again and try tomorrow.

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by BlackJohn

Have you soaked them with penetrating oil and let it work for a couple of days? You have to also strike them while doing this to set up a vibration that allows the oil to penetrate.
Sounds like your impact gun doesn't have near enough torque to loosen them.
You should also make the bolt red hot before trying to break it, 2 minutes won't heat that much metal with a torch. What are you using for heat?


John

Heating the bolt would be counterproductive. Heating the bolt would expand that metal making it tighter in the hole. That's why you heat the material around the bolt, so the bolt hole expands faster than the bolt. 2 minutes with a propane torch should be plenty of time.

[BlackJohn]

Originally Posted by o1marc

Heating the bolt would be counterproductive. Heating the bolt would expand that metal making it tighter in the hole. That's why you heat the material around the bolt, so the bolt hole expands faster than the bolt. 2 minutes with a propane torch should be plenty of time.

You are right. Heat expands it but I have seen and done it by immediately cooling the area with ice water to break the frozen bolt. i should have mentioned the cooling but figured heat would likely do it.

2 minutes being long enough? it took me that long today to heat a soldering job putting a valve on a copper pipe. It was cold here today so that might be why. Metal is such a heat sink that it takes a lot of heat.

I would soak them for a good 2 days then try the breaker bar and try not to twist the heads off.


John

[COONDOG96]

Propane is not hot enough. Heat the plug to a mild red take some wax a candal works well and melt it into the threads then hit it with the impact. Make sure your compressor is up to full pressure and oil your impact.

[o1marc]

BTW, once you get it out, put some antisieze compound on it, or the proper LocTite locker and torque it to spec.

[Ronnie]

you will not get it red hot if there is oil on the other side of the plug, as the oil will cool it. so mild heat may help but would not expect or even want to try really hot.

At least on the older transmissions the fill plug and drain plug are a tapered pipe thread right hand.

[warewolff]

Used a breaker bar, got plugs off. Lots of metal on my plugs. Photos attached. How screwed am I?

[Ronnie]

no worries about normal amount if it has not been changed regularly. If you keep the oil changed every 30,000 miles or so next time will not be as much metal on them

[o1marc]

Looks like the magnetic plugs were doing their job.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by warewolff

Used a breaker bar, got plugs off. Lots of metal on my plugs. Photos attached. How screwed am I?

looks just like my plugs when I changed the diffs and trans oil on my subaru.

i wouldnt worry unless its making weird noises.

[warewolff]

Thanks all! That's a load off my shoulders. There was a burning electrical smell a few days ago when I first started out on an 800 mile round trip. This was my first trip since buying the bus bare nearly two years ago. After the first 50 miles or so I never smelled it again ... but it was definitely coming from the clutch or transmission. I notice it's smoother moving the shifter around after changing the oil. The gears never slipped or showed any other adverse symptoms before that but the smell was really getting to me.

[mikerob643]

Originally Posted by Famousinternetjesus

I swapped a spicer from. A 72 dump truck into my bus, you gotta bump second to get the synchros going to get 1st from a stop. But I'm sure modern spiders have 1st and reverse synchronized. Spicers are beefy. Some people say they don't shift as smooth as an eaton m. I don't know I never drove one. Bottom line, in a rv application, your unlikely to
Ever break a spicer 5speed as long as you keep the fluid full.

How hard was the swap ? I have a 1996 7.3 with a allison 545 behind it . it's in a full bus body so I believe i have some more room to work with over a van conversion frame.
Most of my cars have been standard and me and my wife both enjoy driving manual transmissons over automatic . it's a pipe dream of mine to put a spicer manual in our bus and I would love to hear your experience with the process