We broke out the black RTV...
We broke out the black RTV and wiped it across the front of the countershaft, filled the back side of our stiffening bead and sandwiched it between the bellhousing and the trans. If this doesn't solve the leak, nothing will.
We have several observations from our personal experience with the Chevy version of the New Process 833 OD. We're happy with its performance in our daily driven '62 Chevy Suburban-mileage and driveability over the original Granny four-speed are both way up, and it'd be an improvement over a three-speed, and probably even a regular four-speed by virtue of the overdriven final gear. The truck lopes down the Atlanta freeways in the left lane with the best of them, engine rpm nice and low (3.42 gears, with the enhancement of tall tires). They don't grow on trees though. We've only seen two Chevy units, and bought them both, but others have told us they have no problem coming across them. One of ours had a busted tailshaft housing due to a previous owner not removing the snap ring that retains the housing. The piece can't be repaired, so we were glad we had another for parts.
If you find a complete setup, we'd say go for it-you'll be happy. The one is a direct bolt-in after modifying the bearing retainer, while changing the bellhousing makes the other an easy swap. You'll have less money invested and an easier installation than "the good" T-5 swap (F-body main case, S-10 tailshaft and shifter, hydraulic clutch), but only if you start with a complete unit. Gear splits are the same as a three-speed manual or automatic transmission-some people prefer the splits of a traditional four-speed, though we don't mind. And with the final drive of 0.73:1, you'll drop your engine rpm by more than 25 percent, but still have deep enough gears to tow a trailer.
There are two OE shifters for the Chevy A-833, and another for the Mopar version, all made by Hurst. The Mopar unit is on the far right: note the difference in the fingers. We ran the shifter in the middle for a long time, and sent the one on the left back to Hurst for a total rebuild after it got too sloppy to find Second gear. Note the differences between the fingers and mounting brackets on the two Chevy units; the one on the right seems to be a little beefier. The bracket is certainly stamped from much thicker material, the offset on the bracket compensates for the different offset of the fingers between the two Chevy units. The Mopar unit, while plentiful in junk yards, won't work on the hybrid Chevy A-833. We couldn't find any applications in the Hurst catalog that would work with the Chevy A-833, so the OE shifters are the only option, unless you make your own mounting bracket.
| These are the gear ratios for the |
| MY-6 / New Process 833 four-speed transmission. |
| First Gear: | 3.09 |
| Second Gear: | 1.76 |
| Third Gear: | 1.00 |
| Fourth Gear: | 0.73 |
Hurst offers a shifter rebuild...
Hurst offers a shifter rebuild service. When we sent this shifter to Hurst for the rebuild, it looked like junk-worse than the Mopar unit in the preceding picture. It looks and works like a brand new shifter, for half the price. Hurst's shifter rebuild service is a well-kept secret. They also offer a handle re-chroming option, but we passed-a round, black painted handle looks more at home in our truck's interior.
The best tip in the book when...
The best tip in the book when it comes to ensuring manual transmission longevity whether it be a brand-new transmission, or a used one with high-mileage is to replace the conventional gear oil with a quality synthetic such as Amsoil Severe Gear. Doing so, will immediately result in less noise from gears and bearings, smoother shifting, and ultimately longer transmission life.