1980 Hustler/Sidewinder build

[Stonewall]

Here I am Stonewall, haha.

Right on time!

By the way, I've drained gear oil out of T-20's and then thoroughly cleaned the internals and the bands and they were still usable and last as long as ones that weren't in gear oil, but like Stonewall said, if the band go, they can eat the surface of the drums, and drums can get pricey. Let us know if there's anything else we can do for you.

Damn right they can! When I rebuilt mine, the teeth that engage the shift collar on the ring gear drum were gone, so I had to have a new ring gear drum. $250 for that!! I ended up spending over $800 on that transmission, and I've rebuilt it 3 times chasing a leak... I should have just forked over $1200 for a new one and saved myself the heartache...


I had a band relined by Transmission Crafters. It was $35 bucks, plus shipping there and back. They recieved the band, relined it, and shipped it back on the same day. Superb service!!

[turtlecrawler]

Well.....along with all the little things I am starting on....I guess reviewing the tranny video several times will be on that list as well......I will dig into it this weekend and let you all know what I find...will post pics for viewer imput.....

[Hazard85]

That's some pretty interesting looking stuff that came out of your tub! I think Mike should post a new sticky thread called "What did you find in the tub of your machine?".

I'm a little nervous about my T20 as well, but I did get the lower plug out, and ATF poured out! I live close to member duckhunt81, and he has agreed to help me go through mine when the time comes. You may want to see if there is someone close to you that is willing to walk you through it as well. I have read the how-to, and the T20 seems fairly simple, but I would like to have someone looking over my shoulder the first time I crack it open.

[turtlecrawler]

I will have to do a shout out to anyone here in Colorado that has some knowledge on these trannys.............WHAT"S UPPPPPPPPP............lol

[turtlecrawler]

Well today was productive.....I"ve got the frame cleaned off and am building support brackets for the steering and the transmission.....I also tore half way into the tranny and I think I am finding good news so far,,,the drums are spotless and have no wear marks...the bands are the same width , no cracks , and the material is the same thickness throughout.....I will post these pics for all to see. Please give your imput....


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[Stonewall]

Wow, looks good. Clean all of that gear oil out and put in new thrust washers, o-rings, and gaskets, and you should be good to go!

[jpswift1]

The internals of that T-20 look really, really good! Perfect surface on the drums, lots of meat on the bands. I'd say give the parts a good cleaning, throw some new gaskets and seals in there and you'll be in good shape! Good idea on reinforcing the T-20 hold down as well......you'll be happy that you did it right the first time when it doesn't work its way loose, don't ask me how I know, haha.

[turtlecrawler]

What kind of cleaner so I use in the tranny.....I don't want to use the wrong product and mess anything up......

[hydromike]

Any good degreaser will do a good job. I've taken a liking to some of the industrial stuff that Zep makes (I find it at Home Depot). You can use it straight for really nasty stuff, or cut it all the way down to 10% for light duty jobs. So long as you don't soak the bands in some sort of Cold War-era Soviet tank-cleaning solvent, you should be safe.

[turtlecrawler]

Well .....torn into the left side ofthe tranny this morning...all the major parts look good , but the bands are a little worn. I am thinking about having all the bands re-done, hopefully it will save me headaches down the road.......I do have a question my THRUST washers were on the oppisite side of the three gears (refering to the how to section) Is this wrong ? Do I need to change it to like the picture (how to section) when I re-assemble the tranny ?

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[turtlecrawler]

My little rig has a new set of SHOES.............

[jpswift1]

24x12x12 Carlisle, I'm guessing. Those will fill the fenderwells up nicely!

[turtlecrawler]

jpswift1..........You are a very wise one aren't you.........lol

[Stonewall]

jpswift1..........You are a very wise one aren't you.........lol

lol JP is the master

[turtlecrawler]

Well too many years of multiple layers of paint.....I just cannot get them all off....So I decided to clean the bottom up the best I could and give it a new coat of paint...I hope to get the top back to its orignal color if not I will vinyl wrap it in a neat color....

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