Opening the old tranny

[VertigoEpidemic]

Well, I bought a new transmission and its now installed. Unfortunately due to the weather I was unable to finish putting in the drive shaft or exhaust, but I sat out in the rain until I got the transmission all the way in... (Stupid top bolt took forever to get in)

Anyways on to my question…

I have this other transmission sitting in my garage, and I got to thinking. What is the mathematical meaning of gear ratios? I mean I know what gear ratios are, but how exactly do they work in relation to engine RPMs and wheel RPMs. And do certain ratios affect ATW (at the wheel) horse power? All I really know is that the higher the ratio the quicker the engine revs up, and the lower the ratio the faster the wheels turn. Am I right?

I was pondering whether or not I should open the old tranny up and toy with it. Maybe fix it up and use it as a racing transmission.

(Special thanks to Mr. Garcia at Prestige Auto Imports in Jacksonville, FL. He was super generous, and a great help!)

[180fan]

did you ever find out the problem with the other tranny?

[Craftsman]

Well the higher the gear ratio, your flywheel is spinning faster compared to your drive shaft...

What specifically are you asking for though? I know what I just said didn't answer your inner problem.

Also your transmission controls the amount of torque from your engine goes to your driveshaft... That's why on a dyno, your goal is to use a 1:1 ratio gear. Usually third on most cars, sometimes fourth...

Matt.

[LOVMUFN]

If your transmission sounds like a coffe can full of walnuts it is probably not worth fixing. If it got stuck in between gears all you have to do is take out the 3 bolts on the center steel piece (don't lose the springs) and wiggle the shifter (might have to wiggle it "agressively" and it may go back to working properly. I took mine all apart and then took out those 3 bolts and fixed it easy as pie. I am real lazy and have not put it back together but it is functioning properly now. If you care or want to know those bolts hold the return springs for shift linkage.

[VertigoEpidemic]

Originally posted by 180fan
did you ever find out the problem with the other tranny?

Not exactly. We believe it was being caused by missing/destroyed spreader springs. The fact that the T-Fluid cap w/ the magnet was covered will metal shaving also gave us an idea that its was pretty messed up in there.

To reiterate my question:

I want to make a racing transmission by changing out the old gears and rebuilding the transmission with different gears. What do I need to know before doing this? (ex. How the gear ratios effect accleration and top speed, etc.)

I know that, say you have a gear that has twice the circumfrance of a partnered gear, the parnered geat would turn twice as fast as the other one. But how does the size of the gears effect the way my car accelerates?