Please help-New to me ts6m with possible tranny issues.

[Rudebob]

So this is my first post as I am now the owner of an 92 ts6m which is somewhat of a project. This is not my first tow boat- I have owned a centurion, mastercraft and malibu in the past, however, this is my first Supra. Got out of boating last year thinking I was done with skiing at my age and moved on to other activities. However, I realized how much I missed skiing so here I am again.

I bought this boat because I thought I was getting a good deal and did not want to have a lot of money tied up in something I may not use as often I once would have. Generally, the boat needs a good cleaning, aqua buff the hull, carb rebuild, new or repaired prop and lots of misc. such as blower, bilge pump, some switches replaced etc, . The dash is mess which seams to be a normal problem and probably another thread inquiry at some time.

The one scary surprise, however, is the tranny maybe have issues. I did demo the boat on water when I bought it. It ran decent in spite of major carb issues and a dinged up prop. I did not notice any power to prob slipping. I did check the oil in the engine but in my haste to make a deal and get home on time (it was 200 miles away) I failed to check the tranny fluid.

When I got the boat home a quick look at the tranny fluid showed a “strawberry milkshake”. My first hope was that maybe it was due to a mix of the old 20 weight oil with newer Dextron, as it had been recently serviced with no mention of issues from the dealer on the receipt. However, I suspect it is likely water.

Basically, my questions for you “experts”:

If I purge the old fluid and flush with good fluid a few times do think the tranny will be functional for use as is since it seamed alright the last time it was ran?

Is there any other logical source for the water to come from that I should look at besides a leaking tranny cooler before I order a replacement from skidim?

Worst case scenario and the tranny ends up needing a rebuild any recommendations on a source and estimated cost?

I will have lots of questions I am sure as this project continues. Rather start big so I have a realistic idea how much money I will have in this project.

Thanks,

‘Bob

[michael hunter]

First Welcome to the family .
I just went through the same problem with my 84 comp . It was the trans cooler in mine the only other way water can get into the trans is through the vent and you would have to have water up past the floor boards to submerge the vent. First buy a new cooler from Skidim
Then flush the system with the cheapest motor oil you can find . You may have to flush it 3-4 times to get all the pink fluid out. I used a fluid suction tool through the fill hole. Run the engine after each flush when the oil is clear then remove as much oil as you can and fill it with dextron. You will probably be all right providing the boat wasn't ran with the water in the trans too long.

We are always hungry for pics here and a location would be nice.

[Cusefan78]

You're in luck. I just rebuilt my tranny. First off what is it. Pcm of its a pcm I can help. But they are all pretty much the same. The Tranny is pretty basic. They consist of forward and reverse clutches. The water could be getting in from a few places. The tranny cooler would be the first place to look. If you have the slightest mechanical ability a tranny rebuild is pretty simple. If it was my boat I would pull the tranny change all the seals and the tranny cooler. While I had it apart I would change the clutches. It's only a matter of time and if you're if you have it out it takes 20 minutes more to do the job. Take the tranny out and open it up. Take out the shaft and the barrell clean all the residual fluid and the pickup tube. Then take off the retaining ring and put the 4 clutches and 4 spacers in. Change the front and rear seals then change the o rings that go on the front cap. There will be three there. After that change the cooler and bolt it all back together and you'll have a new tranny While you have it apart check the front of the barrel for any small cracks. If there are any then a new barrel is needed along with aligning the prop shaft. Let me know if you need any help. I have rebuild books for the pcm trannys plus I posted a thread on here on how to do everything. It's under tranny help. Good luck I promise it's a pretty easy job.

[trayson]

Well, my tranny had a pretty bad leak. I would lose about a cup of fluid in a 3 to 4 hour day. One day I did it in when I fogot to put the plug in and had water basically filling the engine compartment section of the bilge. My leak must have been bad enough that I sucked in water through the bad seal (or the water in my bilge was deep enough that when I was bow up I suppose I could have sucked it in the vent). Regardless, it was a strawberry milkshake and slipped bad when I attempted to wakeboard (I didn't know it was milkshaked then).

Anyway, look for the threads by me or Cusefan78 for tips and tricks on tranny removal if necessary.

The seal kit and the clutch kit end up being a total of close to $500 from skidim and that doesn't include the needle bearings (the guy at skidim just said he doesn't bother replacing those or removing the big spring.).

A brand new PCM 40i 1:1 tranny was $1500. I opted to send my transmission to Fantastic Finishes Marine in Medina OH. They have a 2 to 3 day turn around and do a top to bottom rebuild for $900. The dry tranny weighs about 55 pounds so you can ship UPS or FEDEX. I was able to fit mine perfectly in a heavy duty rubbermaid rough tote bin. I got a crazy deal on shipping through work and it was $25 = $10 insurance to get it from WA to OH. The return shipping was $20 more for some reason, but whatever.

While I was in there, I replaced my ring gear on the flywheel and replaced the rear main seal.


If yours hasn't slipped you *might* be in luck and a few iterations of flushing the fluid might do the trick. I used a topsider vacuum fluid extractor to do mine. But if it did much slipping, then these trannies are notorious for not being able to handle it and the clutches get toasted quick. When mine was rebuilt, they said that there's no way I would have made it to the end of the season had I only done the seals and not the clutches.

While Cusefan commented that it's easy to rebuild yourself, I don't regret my decision to have it outsourced. I think he's more mechanically apt than me. I was condifent in aligning the propshaft to the transmission though, which is probably one of the most important parts should you have to remove the tranny.

[Cusefan78]

The alignment is the most important part. If its not right you're going to do more harm. The clutch barrel will crack and you'll end up frying clutch discs. There's a good video on YouTube that'll show you how to align everything.

[trayson]

The alignment is the most important part. If its not right you're going to do more harm. The clutch barrel will crack and you'll end up frying clutch discs. There's a good video on YouTube that'll show you how to align everything.

Yeah, that part isn't hard. just takes some time. Getting your motor/transmission stringer mounts so they turn freely is helpful. As is having an 8-point socket to use on the square heads of those mounts.

[Rudebob]

Thanks for all the responses. I just bought a pump to extract the oil and ordered a new cooler for the transmission. I guess I will just cycle a few oil changes to get the contaminated oil out of the system and use the boat until the first sign of slipping. BTW, I am running a 14 X 16" pitch prop on a 1.23:1 transmission. Figuring a normal load of three passengers what speed should be running at say 3500 and 4000 rpm?

Thanks again,

'bob

[92SupraComp]

whoa! thats propped way more than stock... Why such a large prop?

[Cusefan78]

I would have to guess you should be doing around 35. The way the transmission is shaped you're going to have a hard time sucking all the fluid out of it. Roughly you should get a total of 2 quarts out of it. But remember that there will be some in the line and cooler. Keeping flushing till all the water is out.

[trayson]

I would have to guess you should be doing around 35. The way the transmission is shaped you're going to have a hard time sucking all the fluid out of it. Roughly you should get a total of 2 quarts out of it. But remember that there will be some in the line and cooler. Keeping flushing till all the water is out.

When I had to flush mine, I disconnected the top line to the cooler and blew it out with my air compressor. That seemed to help a lot with getting that line empty so I could suck it out with my topsider pump.

I just bought a jug of the walmart tranny fluid and did about 3 iterations of suck out and refill.

[Rudebob]

whoa! thats propped way more than stock... Why such a large prop?

Is that not a pretty standard 3 blade prop configuration for a 1.23:1 transmission? That is what is stamped on the current prop as I bought it (although the prop is pretty beat and needs to be repaired). I hope that is right and not a re-pitched prop because I have already ordered a replacement for it with the same dimensions.

'bob

[92SupraComp]

actually, for a 1.23:1, no thats not bad. Sorry, I was thinking 1:1 direct drive...

[Rudebob]

Well, I got the new transmission cooler today. I replaced it then removed about 2 1/2 quarts of milkshaked oil and replaced it with 2 quarts of Dextron III. Ran the motor for about 5 minutes and noticed several ounces of fresh dextron running into the bilge. What do you think, bad seal? cracked housing? Regardless, I guess I have no choice but to pull the tranny and rebuild. Frustrating, I am thinking the seller must of known about this, that is why he sold it so cheap, although he said there were no issues with it. I guess it was my fault for not doing a better job checking everything before I pulled the trigger.

[trayson]

Well, I got the new transmission cooler today. I replaced it then removed about 2 1/2 quarts of milkshaked oil and replaced it with 2 quarts of Dextron III. Ran the motor for about 5 minutes and noticed several ounces of fresh dextron running into the bilge. What do you think, bad seal? cracked housing? Regardless, I guess I have no choice but to pull the tranny and rebuild. Frustrating, I am thinking the seller must of known about this, that is why he sold it so cheap, although he said there were no issues with it. I guess it was my fault for not doing a better job checking everything before I pulled the trigger.

Some here will say rebuild yourself. I sent mine to Fantastic Finishes Marine in Medina OH. I paid under $100 for round trip fedex ground shipping in a heavy duty rubbermaid rough tote bin. $900 for the rebuild and they turn it around in 2 to 3 days.