A-555 Bearing Noise?

Hey all,

Got a concern with my '89 A555 tranny. Please do forgive my lack of correct terminology, I have little transmission experience. I've noticed when driving, a sort of low-pitched metallic rustling sound. To me it sounds like when a bearing's rollers/pins wear and there's some extra play in there, like a bad roller skate bearing.

I jacked up the front of the car and grabbed an old-school automotive stethoscope and started poking around while I had my dad spinning the front wheels. I noticed the loose bearing noise most prominently in the housing that the axles mount into (differential housing I assume?)

I need help with how to check that area of the transmission for wear/damage.

-Is this something I can do without removing the transaxle?

-Do you need a press or shop equipment to remove/replace these bearings if necessary?

Any help you can provide is appreciated. With instruction I should be able to tackle this problem, I just haven't had the need to do this type of tranny work/diagnostics yet.

Cheers,
Zach

You'll need a bearing splitter or the special tool to remove the bearings from the diff. You'll need to remove the main shaft to properly set the bearing preload after reshimming it. This process really needs to be done with the trans out of the car. There isn't a ton to the 555s, but there are a lot of specialty tools involved which are hard to find these days, and expensive when you do.

I'm not much help, but, I have had two A555s and an A520 die of the same sound you describe. They basically started 'growling' with a low pitch noise any time the car moved. As far as I remember, it even did it in neutral. I always wondered what the hell happened to them and they still just sit here on the shelf!

My fix was to use A523 or A568 and never look back which has worked well. As far as I was able to determine, one of the main shaft carrier bearings in the case failed.

Thanks for the replies guys. I was hoping that perhaps I would be able to pop in some new outer bearings in the differential housing by hand and see if that resolved the noise. This Lancer is my daily driver and I didn't want to start a large project on it if I didn't need to. However, it appears that my trans will need to come out and go to a shop based on what I'm hearing here and elsewhere.

iTurbo: Yes, it does sound like a smooth "growl" in a way, nice way to put it. May I ask if your trannies ended up failing completely, or did you just pull them out of the car ahead of time to avoid said failure? I do have need to use the car to get me around town right now and it does not seem to be getting any worse whilst I drive it like a granny for maybe 6 miles a day.

As far as getting the transmission fixed - What do you all recommend? I am aware of this place offering rebuilds: http://www.turbododgeparts.com/html/transmissions.html
This seems like the proper, professional way to go. I was/am not prepared to dump nearly $1k into my car, however.

Any other suggestions for fixing/replacing this A-555 trans? Could really use one of those "forum member hookups" right about now lol.

Kind regards,
-Zach

There is nothing special about these transmissions. Rebuilding them isn't any more complicated than any other manual transmission. Look for a good local transmission shop, or buy a service manual, take it apart yourself, and have a machine shop change the bearings for you.
If you farm out the bearing work, the only specialized tool you will need is a dial type torque wrench to check the bearing preload.

Contact Johnny Spiva at Polybushings. He's in your area and may know of a good transmission shop.

http://polybushings.com/

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ajakeski

There is nothing special about these transmissions. Rebuilding them isn't any more complicated than any other manual transmission. Look for a good local transmission shop, or buy a service manual, take it apart yourself, and have a machine shop change the bearings for you.
If you farm out the bearing work, the only specialized tool you will need is a dial type torque wrench to check the bearing preload.

Contact Johnny Spiva at Polybushings. He's in your area and may know of a good transmission shop.

http://polybushings.com/

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Hey Ajak.

I understand that many members here would consider rebuilding a transmission a walk in the park, but I am not formally trained in any way, nor do I have extensive experience. I've never rebuilt a transmission in my life. I did personally rebuild my engine once (Albeit machine shop work), and it still runs to this day so I'm fairly capable at learning. However, with a bit of research on rebuilding the trans it seems to me that you can easily end up with early failure if even the smallest mistake/oversight in clearances/procedure is made. If I had a personal friend/acquaintance that would want to help me with the job, well by golly I'd be far more confident in doing it and learning the procedure. As it stands, I'd be far too concerned with somehow screwing it up.

I have worked with Johnny before when I bought all poly suspension bushings for the Lancer. Thanks for reminding me, I'll have to give him a ring and see what he recommends for local assistance.

If anybody has a detailed procedure, or can provide service manual printouts (Chiltons had zero information on rebuilding internals), I may be willing to give this a shot. Without having the technical resources readily available it would be a shot in the dark at a small target for this "shade-tree mechanic".

-Zach

Do you have the FSM? I have a bad video that I made long ago. I really need to put an OBX in a trans this summer and record that process.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qZkXYXMWno

That's the best bad transmission rebuild video I have ever watched.

You can find factory service manualson Ebay and if you search enough, a 555 manual.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ajakeski

That's the best bad transmission rebuild video I have ever watched.

You can find factory service manualson Ebay and if you search enough, a 555 manual.

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You're way too kind. I really need to do another one this summer that's more in line with my current abilities.

Thank you so much for posting the vid, Cordes! You've helped me a few other times on here and I truly appreciate your assistance and guidance. I've been working 12hr shifts the last couple days and so haven't had a chance to study your video yet, but I will be thoroughly checking it out tonight or tomorrow.

Ajakeski - I'll have to source and pick up some factory service manuals, I've been disappointed too many times by the lack of detail in your standard Chiltons/Haynes manuals. Thanks for the tip, I might link to the manuals I look at buying to make sure I'm not getting the wrong books by mistake.

-Zach

Here's a link to the 1989 manual set on Ebay. There are three for each year. Engine, electric and electrical diagrams. Engine manual covers the transmissions very well.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1989-Dodge-D...5Y8Sj1&vxp=mtr