Ba10/5 3rd gear whine, how much time do I have?

[teamsmith]

Hello everyone. I finally got my MJ on the road and have put about 400 miles on it. When first driven (first 2-3 miles), I noticed the transmission whined badly in 1st and 2nd. I parked it and changed the gear oil with Mobil 1 GL-5. Now it only whines in 3rd and gets louder with the RPMs, although still not as loud as it did when I first took it out.

 

It seems to stay in gear and generally behave but does like to cry about it in 3rd. I realize that an AX-15 swap is in my future and have read a variety of threads on that subject. My question here relates to the remaining life of the BA10/5. Do you reckon it will start to degrade quickly, like in the next couple hundred miles? Or maybe it will last a few thousand miles? It is stock height with 30x9 tires. I do not plan on taking it off road. Any thoughts?

 

Basically, I'm trying to prioritize the budget and my project time. If I have a couple thousand miles I would like to focus my immediate attention on the inadequate brakes (it has new pads/rotors/front hoses but does not like to stop) and do the brake booster upgrade.

 

Thank you for any advice.

[hillbilly51]

Hard question  to answer.

 

I drove my 88 Comanche Chief for over 2 years with a bad bearing(s) in a Peugeot BA10/5.

It shifted OK but made a h*** of a grinding noise in all gears.

It finally failed me by suddenly getting hung up in reverse.

I was about 15 miles from home, but I finally got it out of reverse by stopping the engine and letting the truck roll slowly with the clutch in while pulling on the shifter.

After that I made it home, and a month or so later I was barely able to get it to my cousin's shop (with a  lift) to replace the BA10/5 with another BA10/5 that I got for a good price. I ended up stuck in 3rd gear for the last few miles.

I only use the truck for hauling firewood in the winter and any other misc. hauling I need to do.

My truck only has 133K miles and it's already on it's 3rd. BA10/5.

I know that I need to convert it to a better gear box and will when (and if) this transmission lets go.

So far it's real quiet and shifts smoothly.

I'm running 90w Gear oil and a can of STP in my transmission.

I'm not recommending that for you, it's just what I put in mine, your mileage may vary..

 

If you only have a whine in 3rd. gear and it doesn't sound like a bearing going bad, you can probably get some mileage out of it yet.

I wouldn't drive it far from home though if it was mine.....I won't drive mine far from home as far as that goes.

 

hope this helps

steve 

[yxmj]

If you want to buy time.......don't use 3rd gear....... :dunno:

[teamsmith]

Thanks guys. I wondered if just staying out of third would prolong the life; although it seems that 3rd is the gear I need most often for my driving. So, since there is no grinding or popping out of gear I'm probably good for a while?  

 

Thanks again.

[Eagle]

What weight gear oil did you use?

 

I've kept noisy transmissions happy for periods of several years by changing to a heavier weight than specified. It makes shifting a bit difficult on cold mornings but, other than that, there's no penaalty and it keeps the gears and bearings happier.

[teamsmith]

I used the Mobil 1 75w-90. What would you recommend?

 

From your responses I believe I'm probably ok for a while. It's a good thing because I just got a line on an '02 WJ booster/MC for $75 so that will be the project for this weekend. I will be on the look out for a low mileage 94+ XJ to rob an AX15+bell housing+clutch+TC.

[Eagle]

I used the Mobil 1 75w-90. What would you recommend?

That's the spec, although it should be GL-3 rather than GL-5, I believe. But I think that's more important in the AX-15.

 

I used 85W-140 for keeping a whiny transmission quiet. I drove it for a couple of years, sold it, and the new owner had no problems for a t least a year. Then we lost contact.

[hillbilly51]

I added the can of STP Oil Treatment to my 90W gear oil just to increase the viscosity of the gear oil.

I don't know the viscosity of STP but it's really thick and took a while to get it in the transmission....

It's also very slippery and I didn't figure that could hurt either.

 

The transmission has been very quiet and shifts smoothly.

[teamsmith]

Thanks. That is good info. I will drive it for a while and see how it goes. If I run out of things to do one day I may let a little out and add the STP treatment to see if that helps.

[teamsmith]

 

I used the Mobil 1 75w-90. What would you recommend?

That's the spec, although it should be GL-3 rather than GL-5, I believe. But I think that's more important in the AX-15.

 

I used 85W-140 for keeping a whiny transmission quiet. I drove it for a couple of years, sold it, and the new owner had no problems for a t least a year. Then we lost contact.

 

Eagle,

If I decide to put 85w-140 to replace my 75w-90, can I just drain the box as usual and fill with as much 85w as I can or do I need to flush it somehow to get the 75w out of the TC? My concern is with mixing the two weights; any problem with that?

Thanks

[Pete M]

just drain and refill.  mixing is not an issue at all. :thumbsup:

[benjy_26]

 

I used the Mobil 1 75w-90. What would you recommend?

That's the spec, although it should be GL-3 rather than GL-5, I believe. But I think that's more important in the AX-15.

 

I used 85W-140 for keeping a whiny transmission quiet. I drove it for a couple of years, sold it, and the new owner had no problems for a t least a year. Then we lost contact.

If I'm not mistaken, the Mobil 1 75-90 is yellow metal safe, even though its classified as a GL5.

[teamsmith]

just drain and refill. mixing is not an issue at all. :thumbsup:

Thanks.any issue with mixing conventional and synthetic? For the 85w, I was thinking of going with Lucas which is conventional.

Thanks again

 

edit: nevermind, I answered that for myself; I'm good to go. You reckon I should also add the can of STP like hillbilly mentioned to add some more body to this cocktail?

[Eagle]

Thanks.any issue with mixing conventional and synthetic? For the 85w, I was thinking of going with Lucas which is conventional.

Thanks again

 

edit: nevermind, I answered that for myself; I'm good to go. You reckon I should also add the can of STP like hillbilly mentioned to add some more body to this cocktail?

 

 

What are you adding STP to -- 75W90, or 85W140? Those numbers refer to viscosity. STP (and the Lucas oil treatment) is a "viscosity index improver" -- which means it makes oil thicker and stickier. It wouldn't hurt to add something like STP to 75W90, but I think it would be a mistake with 85W140.

 

Many years ago I had a friend who was heavily into drag racing. Somewhere along the way, he "discovered" STP. He threw a quart in at an oil change, and he felt that his engine ran smoother and had more power. So the next oil change he used TWO quarts of STP. Then he tried three, and blew the engine. Pulled the pan, and stuff in the crankcase was sort of like J-E-L-L-O.

 

Too much viscosity is just as bad as not enough.

[MuddFoot]

my buddys ba10/5 had super bad whine we ran 100% lucas oil stablizer read the bottle says for noisy gear boxes use 50-100% ran it for 2 years finally took a $#!& when wheeling only had 1-2 and rev 

[MuddFoot]

http://lucasoil.com/products/engine-oil-additives/lucas-heavy-duty-oil-stabilizer

[teamsmith]

 

Thanks.any issue with mixing conventional and synthetic? For the 85w, I was thinking of going with Lucas which is conventional.

Thanks again

 

edit: nevermind, I answered that for myself; I'm good to go. You reckon I should also add the can of STP like hillbilly mentioned to add some more body to this cocktail?

 

What are you adding STP to -- 75W90, or 85W140? Those numbers refer to viscosity. STP (and the Lucas oil treatment) is a "viscosity index improver" -- which means it makes oil thicker and stickier. It wouldn't hurt to add something like STP to 75W90, but I think it would be a mistake with 85W140.

 

Many years ago I had a friend who was heavily into drag racing. Somewhere along the way, he "discovered" STP. He threw a quart in at an oil change, and he felt that his engine ran smoother and had more power. So the next oil change he used TWO quarts of STP. Then he tried three, and blew the engine. Pulled the pan, and stuff in the crankcase was sort of like J-E-L-L-O.

 

Too much viscosity is just as bad as not enough.

I was referring to the Lucas brand conventional gear oil 85w140 and asking if I should add the stp to it. I didn't know about the oil treatment that mudd referred to, so ill need to read up. I did just change the oil and used m1 75w90 about 500 miles ago which seemed to quieten down for a while but the noise is back so now I need to decide on next steps. Maybe add stp to current fill, drain/refill with 85w, or consider this Lucas product.

[reubj]

Use this and never look bck.

 

http://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?product=58304

[MuddFoot]

so what did you do?

[teamsmith]

Use this and never look bck.

 

http://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?product=58304

Are you saying drain my M1 75w90 and replace with redline 75w90? I get that the redline blend might be a bit better but I thought objective was to add some thickening 'body' to the mix.

 

Mudd,

I haven't done anything yet. I replaced leaking Fuel Injectors Wednesday night which were higher priority since I was dumping raw gas into the engine compartment. Then I replaced the valve cover gasket last night to cut down on the steady leak in my driveway. Tonight I will plan to tackle this: I am leaning heavily towards getting a can of STP, siphon a bit of the 75w out of the fill hole, and replace with the treatment. It's both cheaper (in the short term) and simpler than draining the box and refilling with heavier 85w, the lucas treatment, or the fancier redline 75w product.

 

This morning I was surprised with woefully inadequate heat to combat the 25 degrees of Chattanooga's first cold morning. The thermostat looks to be working as it heated up to 210 in ~5 minutes so I guess I will check my HCV to see if it's stuck or look at bleeding air out of the system via a post I saw from Eagle on opening the pressure cap and letting it heat up and watch the bubbles. The more I fix on this truck, the more that needs to be fixed.

[reubj]

 

Use this and never look bck.

 

http://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?product=58304

Are you saying drain my M1 75w90 and replace with redline 75w90? I get that the redline blend might be a bit better but I thought objective was to add some thickening 'body' to the mix.

 

Mudd,

I haven't done anything yet. I replaced leaking Fuel Injectors Wednesday night which were higher priority since I was dumping raw gas into the engine compartment. Then I replaced the valve cover gasket last night to cut down on the steady leak in my driveway. Tonight I will plan to tackle this: I am leaning heavily towards getting a can of STP, siphon a bit of the 75w out of the fill hole, and replace with the treatment. It's both cheaper (in the short term) and simpler than draining the box and refilling with heavier 85w, the lucas treatment, or the fancier redline 75w product.

 

This morning I was surprised with woefully inadequate heat to combat the 25 degrees of Chattanooga's first cold morning. The thermostat looks to be working as it heated up to 210 in ~5 minutes so I guess I will check my HCV to see if it's stuck or look at bleeding air out of the system via a post I saw from Eagle on opening the pressure cap and letting it heat up and watch the bubbles. The more I fix on this truck, the more that needs to be fixed.

 

That's what I'm sayin'. If you put in/make your fluid too slippery the synchronizers won't work correctly.