SL82 gear box maintenance?
- Thread starter Raider89
- Start date
StratusChaz
Veteran Member
I know at Stratus, we rebuild the gearboxes about every 6 months. We do about 1,500 miles per race weekend on average so that would be a ballpark of almost 9,000 miles. It's important to inspect the gears, oil, and ring and pinion after every event though - any damage would impact that timeline.
Raider89
Member
I change change the gear oil every other weekend, so depending on HPDE event, would be every 400-500 miles. I dont race W2W, just do HPDEs. I have not seen any metal or concerning issues with gear box, but have not removed and looked at internals either. What does Sadev do if we send it to them and what is approx cost? How do yall package for shipment if necessary? It sure sounds like the OEM 1,000 mile instruction is extremely conservative, thus curious what others are doing. I sure would like to wait longer as that is a fairly large effort for my DIY.
At around 1,200 miles or 2,000 km, Sadev advises that the ring and pinion teeth, 1-6 gear teeth and dog rings should be inspected. The best method is to disassemble the transmission to inspect which is why Sadev advises to send to them. There are many factors that effect the condition of the gearbox. Short sprint races versus long endurance races. Gearbox temps. Driver habits, Oil quality, etc.
If the box is sent to SADEV, they will do a complete disassembly of all the parts: All parts are cleaned and inspected, The 1-6 gears are rolled on a fixture that measures for tooth deflection, they will always install a KITREV (a small parts kit that contains all seals, o-rings, springs and snap rings.) And then, once reassembled, they will dyno test the gearbox for proper operation and make sure that the temps and dyno loads meet the factory's specifications.
Typical pricing:
Complete service labor = $1695.00
KITREV = $313.49
If needing parts/repair:
1-6 ratios = $611.53
Ring and Pinion Kit = $3793.36
The best way to ship the gearbox is in a 120qt cooler. It is UPS Ground shippable. They typically quote 2-3 weeks turn around but I have seen them do it faster when needed. Typically it is easier to have a rebuild done from Apr-Oct than from Nov-Mar.
I have attached a document that Sadev likes to have with the gearbox when sent in for service.
If the box is sent to SADEV, they will do a complete disassembly of all the parts: All parts are cleaned and inspected, The 1-6 gears are rolled on a fixture that measures for tooth deflection, they will always install a KITREV (a small parts kit that contains all seals, o-rings, springs and snap rings.) And then, once reassembled, they will dyno test the gearbox for proper operation and make sure that the temps and dyno loads meet the factory's specifications.
Typical pricing:
Complete service labor = $1695.00
KITREV = $313.49
If needing parts/repair:
1-6 ratios = $611.53
Ring and Pinion Kit = $3793.36
The best way to ship the gearbox is in a 120qt cooler. It is UPS Ground shippable. They typically quote 2-3 weeks turn around but I have seen them do it faster when needed. Typically it is easier to have a rebuild done from Apr-Oct than from Nov-Mar.
I have attached a document that Sadev likes to have with the gearbox when sent in for service.
Hey. I know this post is a few months old but thought I'd send you my 2 cents. I have Chassis 42 with now about 6400 miles on her. I had much the same questions and you.
I'm not a mechanic but I do all my own work on the car. So take my advice with that in mind.
My feeling is:
Yes it needs to be inspected. No it doesn't need to be pulled off the car every 1000 miles and send to Sadev.
My home track is Sebring - the most brutal track on cars because of the bumps - and I run there 90% of the time. DE, not much racing. I change the transmission oil after every weekend.
I didn't check my transmission for the first 5000 miles. In retrospect that was risky. I ended up replacing 3rd gear at that point and just replaced 1st and 2nd last weekend at about 6400 miles.
My personal schedule is to inspect every 1000 miles now. Breaking off a tooth one of the gears will destroy the gearbox.... $600 to replace the bad gear early is much cheaper than 14k+ for a new box.
Inspecting the gears is actually an easy job if you're patient and ok doing your own maintenance (or you really trust your local shop). You need 2 special tools you can buy from Sadev but nothing crazy. Basically you take the wing assembly off the transmission and unbolt the end cap from the transmission and then slide all the gear ratios and dogs out to inspect. If they are pitted they need to be replaced in pairs (primary and secondary shafts together) but only the bad gear, not the whole stack. Lower gears take the most abuse in my experience.
I use a video bore scope to inspect the ring and pinion in the middle of the case that isn't visible from the back and is a bigger job to get access to. It still looks great to me without pitting.
I plan to pull the transmission and send to Sadev for a full inspection and seal replacement this summer.
I hope this helps. I think I have a video around on how to do the tear down if that would be helpful. Feel free to reach out if you have a question.
This was my 2nd gear primary shaft ratio. Heavy pitting.
I am on the SL75 transmission though, so it might be a little less robust than your 82.
