Transmission rebuilding

That nasty crunching you hear when shifting from first to second can be blamed on a worn synchro mechanism. Due to the type of syncro used in the Alfa Romeo transmission, synchro failure has become the bane of this otherwise bulletproof design.

The type of lubricant used, frequency of maintainance and driver abuse can rapidly accelerate synchro wear. There are a total of six bearings supporting the main and counter shafts in the Alfa Romeo transmission. Other manufactures of the same vintage, most notably BMW and Getrag, only had a total of four shaft bearings and they were prone to catastrophic failures especially when used in high performance driving conditions.

Actual gear wear in an Alfa transmission is quite rare. When it does occur, it can usually be traced back to longtime use with low lubricant level or incorrect lubricant use rather than bearing wear. Owing to the quality of the major components, the majority of Alfa transmissions can be properly rebuilt without replacing most of the bearings, gears, forks, and shafts. Occasionally we run across a transmission that is quite worn out, in that case I will recommend finding another transmission to use as a donor transmission.

$400.00 Labor

Parts costs vary depending on the condition of the unit being rebuilt. Normal prices for parts can be as low as $200.00 or as much as $1000.00 if the rebuild requires synchros, selector rings, several gears, shift forks and a bearing set. Re-bushings of gears may also be required.

The cost to rebuild an average transmission that doesn’t require replacement of any gears, shift forks, or bearing replacement generally runs around $600.00.