83 argo trans problem. transmission teardown

[rmthomson218]

just thought it post some pics of my argo trans teardown/rebuild. while driving in either forward or reverse the argo would hop and had a loud chatter coming from inside. so i removed the trans and started tearing it apart and found several gears that were severly stripped20130220_142022.jpg20130220_165604.jpg20130220_160140.jpg20130220_160122.jpg20130220_160101.jpg

[rmthomson218]

more pics

[Mike]

I feel for you. You've got quite a few gears to replace. At least you know what the problem is and what needs to be done to get you back running again.

[Bazooo guy]

Ouch
It looks like you had pieces floating around in the oil and running thru the other gears.
Is there a magnetic plug on that tranny?
If not I would put one in it.

[JohnF]

The first picture makes my blood run to my head. But having crawled around in a Argo it does seem awfully familiar.

And then,
Wow.

<crickets>

I don't know what to say. How much would you say is still good?

I would be inclined to throw a post into the wanted forum to see if someone has an older parts machine with a good transmission in it.

[rmthomson218]

ya not a fun job. all 6 spider gears have nicks in them aswell so they will all be getting replaced. the dealership says 2 hours to remove and it only took me 20 mins. and they say 4 hours minimum for a complete rebuild which only took 20 min to take apart. its a good thing these machines are simple.

new parts are already ordered. the biggest gear you see there is a $550 part. ugh.

[Muddaddy]

Looks like the problem started with water in the gear box, gear oil turns that color grey when mixed with water good luck regards muddaddy

[Moosetalker]

Argo dealer here in Edmonton quoted me $2300 Canadian for a new 3.3 1 tranny told me its the Only trans that can run tracks
He proceeded to inform me the older machines trans are good for plastic tracks only.

[thebuggyman1]

I'd look for a "used" replacement. It may take a while to find one at a good price, but I'm sure they are out there.
Meanwhile..... it might be a good time/ good excuse to upgrade to more modern machine.

[kdubban]

Whats the secret to splitting the housing in half? I've been banging away at mine for close to 4 hrs and can't get it to split apart. I see in your pictures you didn't have to remove the oil seals, so I assume there are no snap rings that need to be removed. Mines an 83' any help you could provide would be great.

[Mike]

Whats the secret to splitting the housing in half? I've been banging away at mine for close to 4 hrs and can't get it to split apart. I see in your pictures you didn't have to remove the oil seals, so I assume there are no snap rings that need to be removed. Mines an 83' any help you could provide would be great.

Have you downloaded the manual in the Argo section on the front page of this website? If not, take a look. Depending on your exact transmission model, there are a couple of different tricks. The few that I have been exposed to all had threaded bosses on the transmission case itself. That allowed you to run a bolt in one side of the case which would push apart the other side. The manual should point you in the right direction though.

[kdubban]

Thanks Mike,

I did have a look at the manual and have followed it as close as possible as my transmission is slightly different than the ones in the photos. I guess I will just try beating on it a little harder for now and see where that gets me. What could possibly go wrong?

PS the transmission serial number 7080J which I know makes a difference when ordering some parts.

[ARGOJIM]

There are 2 dowel pins going through the front cover plate, assuming you've removed the output shaft snaprings we've had to drive screw drivers in at that point and pry up while using a soft hammer to drive the shaft off the bearings and progress to larger pry bars ( requires 3-4 hands). The little snap ring on the reverse idler shaft also needs removing and may hang up there as well.
It may just be that you are fighting all the bearings hanging up on the cover plate and shafts. The manual covering your style trans is basically the same from 71 to 2006 with minor case variations.

[kdubban]

Thanks Argojim,
I already had the snap rings off but still no luck, its just being difficult I guess. I'll try the pin trick you suggested latter, now I have to go out of town for work for the next few weeks so I get all that time to think about it. While I'm gone I might just soak the whole thing in penetrating oil and hope that helps.

[kdubban]

20131107_110137.jpg20131107_104539.jpg20131107_104531.jpgWell It finally split open but not without a lot of verbal abuse and prying. Now onto the re-build, it turns out that a few of the gears are chewed up pretty bad and I found about 1/4 inch of filings in the bottom of the housing.

The pictures don't really due it justice.