Home  |  Forums  |  914 Info  |  Blogs
 
914World.com - The fastest growing online 914 community!
 
Porsche, and the Porsche crest are registered trademarks of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG. This site is not affiliated with Porsche in any way.
Its only purpose is to provide an online forum for car enthusiasts. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
 

Welcome Guest ( Log In | Register )

 
 Reply to this topicStart new topic
> Transmission question, Aluminum billet intermediate plate
mettelman
post Oct 7 2014, 05:27 PM
Post #1


Member
**

Group: Members
Posts: 120
Joined: 10-November 12
From: Stillwater, MN
Member No.: 15,132
Region Association: Upper MidWest
I have a standard magnesium transmission in my 914-4 vintage race car. My race shop recommends a billet aluminum intermediate plate for more rigidity and longer life. I have had zero problems with the current unit. The price tag for removing the transmission, shipping it to Gbox, making the modification and reinstalling it seems high at $3,300. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/WTF.gif)
Has anyone made this change? Is it worth it and is the price in line?

Thanks
User is offlineProfile CardPM
Go to the top of the page
+Quote Post
Mr.242
post Oct 7 2014, 06:47 PM
Post #2


May your glass be smaller so it's always FULL!
***

Group: Members
Posts: 1,079
Joined: 10-June 08
From: Seattle
Member No.: 9,160
Region Association: Pacific Northwest
Seek out Dr. Evil. That's a steep price. YIKES!

And what HP you plan or running thru the transmission is key. The current plate has held up for 40+ years. Rebuild it and your fine for another 40 years.
User is offlineProfile CardPM
Go to the top of the page
+Quote Post
shoguneagle
post Oct 7 2014, 10:27 PM
Post #3


shoguneagle
***

Group: Members
Posts: 1,180
Joined: 3-January 03
From: CA, OR, AZ (CAZOR); New Mexico
Member No.: 84
Region Association: Northern California
Doc will advise you the right way and give valuable insight, etc.

Steve
User is offlineProfile CardPM
Go to the top of the page
+Quote Post
race914
post Oct 8 2014, 06:30 AM
Post #4


73 914-4
***

Group: Members
Posts: 1,006
Joined: 31-October 05
From: Nipomo, California (Central Coast)
Member No.: 5,027
Region Association: Central California
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)

Enthusiastic +1 for consulting with Dr Evil

If you decide to get the work done, my 'tip' is

Buy this bin from Home Depot


Then look into Fedex for ground shipping. I've done it for around $90 coast to coast a couple of times...

I did replace one of my intermediate plates but only because finding some cracks while changing out some gear ratios
User is offlineProfile CardPM
Go to the top of the page
+Quote Post
mettelman
post Oct 8 2014, 07:38 AM
Post #5


Member
**

Group: Members
Posts: 120
Joined: 10-November 12
From: Stillwater, MN
Member No.: 15,132
Region Association: Upper MidWest
QUOTE(Mr.242 @ Oct 7 2014, 07:47 PM) *

Seek out Dr. Evil. That's a steep price. YIKES!

And what HP you plan or running thru the transmission is key. The current plate has held up for 40+ years. Rebuild it and your fine for another 40 years.



Thanks, I am running a F.A.T. 4 with about 140 hp. I do not really push to the limit often and am looking for reliability and durability,
User is offlineProfile CardPM
Go to the top of the page
+Quote Post
mepstein
post Oct 8 2014, 09:32 AM
Post #6


914-6 GT in waiting
***************

Group: Members
Posts: 19,254
Joined: 19-September 09
From: Landenberg, PA/Wilmington, DE
Member No.: 10,825
Region Association: MidAtlantic Region
Seems a like a lot of money for something you say is already working fine. I would put some of that cash to building a spare trans. So if you do have an issue, you pop in the spare while the first one gets fixed.
User is offlineProfile CardPM
Go to the top of the page
+Quote Post
stugray
post Oct 8 2014, 11:58 AM
Post #7


Advanced Member
****

Group: Members
Posts: 3,824
Joined: 17-September 09
From: Longmont, CO
Member No.: 10,819
Region Association: None
The price is definitely steep as you can get a newly rebuilt (with new parts even) for less than that. IIRC, there was a rebuilt race trans with LSD for about that in the classifieds a few weeks ago.

The ONLY reason the price is high is that the pinion drive shaft is "paired" with the intermediate plate.
If you swap out either one of those, you have to reset the pinion shaft depth which few people know how to do correctly.

Dr. Evil can definitely do it, but otherwise not a DIY operation.
User is offlineProfile CardPM
Go to the top of the page
+Quote Post
Matt Romanowski
post Oct 12 2014, 11:20 AM
Post #8


Senior Member
***

Group: Members
Posts: 878
Joined: 4-January 04
From: Manchester, NH
Member No.: 1,507
That is probably a reasonable price. You have maybe 6 hours labor to pull and install the transmission, then shipping it out to GBox, parts and labor there, and freight back. The intermediate plate and bearing retainer are almost $600 by themselves.

Is it needed? I can tell you I won't build another race car transmission without cryo treatment, REM polish, billet intermediate plate, and billet side cover. I build mine local, but I would send it to Roger at California Motorsports if I was not going to do it myself.
User is offlineProfile CardPM
Go to the top of the page
+Quote Post
Matt Romanowski
post Oct 12 2014, 11:27 AM
Post #9


Senior Member
***

Group: Members
Posts: 878
Joined: 4-January 04
From: Manchester, NH
Member No.: 1,507
QUOTE(stugray @ Oct 8 2014, 09:58 AM) *

The price is definitely steep as you can get a newly rebuilt (with new parts even) for less than that. IIRC, there was a rebuilt race trans with LSD for about that in the classifieds a few weeks ago.


The parts can run at least half the price of a $3k transmission. The intermediate plate and bearing retainer are close to $600. Then new bearings are around $700 (wholesale). A billet side cover is $330. Add in $150 per set of dog teeth that it needs, a couple hundred bucks per slider if needed, gasket kit, and you can easily spend north of $2k on parts. Then, resetting the ring and pinion can take anywhere from a couple of hours to two days (if you lose the original markings and have to go through setting patterns).

Ed has a race car that he travels with. It would be penny wise, pound foolish for him to skimp out. The travel from the Northeast to Sebring with support is more than the transmission rebuild. To get there and not be able to run because the car broke is a terrible waste of money.
User is offlineProfile CardPM
Go to the top of the page
+Quote Post
mepstein
post Oct 12 2014, 11:51 AM
Post #10


914-6 GT in waiting
***************

Group: Members
Posts: 19,254
Joined: 19-September 09
From: Landenberg, PA/Wilmington, DE
Member No.: 10,825
Region Association: MidAtlantic Region
"I have had zero problems with the current unit. "

Why I thought a low cost spare might be an alternative to breaking apart a good running trans.
User is offlineProfile CardPM
Go to the top of the page
+Quote Post
stownsen914
post Oct 14 2014, 11:46 AM
Post #11


Senior Member
***

Group: Members
Posts: 913
Joined: 3-October 06
From: Ossining, NY
Member No.: 6,985
Region Association: None
An aluminum intermediate plate will no doubt hold up better than a stock magnesium unit. But I'm surprised that for 140 hp it would be necessary. I've been running 260 hp through my 901 for many years without an issue.

Scott
User is offlineProfile CardPM
Go to the top of the page
+Quote Post
« Next Oldest · The Paddock · Next Newest »
 

Reply to this topicStart new topic
1 User(s) are reading this topic (1 Guests and 0 Anonymous Users)
0 Members:

 

Display Mode: Standard · Switch to: Linear+ · Switch to: Outline

Track this topic · Email this topic · Print this topic · Subscribe to this forum

- Lo-Fi Version Time is now: 3rd May 2024 - 10:59 PM
Invision Power Board v9.1.4 © 2024  IPS, Inc.
All rights reserved 914World.com © since 2002
914World.com is the fastest growing online 914 community!
We have it all, classifieds, events, forums, vendors, parts, autocross, racing, technical articles, events calendar, newsletter, restoration, gallery, archives, history and more for your Porsche 914 ...