How To Rebuild The Mopar A833 Four Speed Transmission! How It Works, Common Issues, And More! 

Here's a tip. I was having problems like you did installing the main shaft and the front synchro falling apart. I used a zip tie to hold it together while jiggling everything together. Once together I simply cut and removed the zip tie. Boy was that simple. I put that transmission together back in 1986 and it still works great! My first time doing one by myself. I had only watched a friend do one a couple months earlier. I'm over 70 and wouldn't want to pull that heavy beast again so I'm glad it's still working. 😊

I went from knowing absolutely nothing about transmissions to knowing "something" lol. I'm far from a mechanic so I really find vids like this interesting. Thanks for the clear footage and explanations. Found those factory tool sets exceptionally cool.

This was really good. Straightforward, and shows some of the difficult areas and tools needed. And of course, you are U-tube Certified.... Hope it gets a ton of views. NP435 rebuild could be another- plenty still in use.

Just watch this . I always wanted to take the 833 apart. Seems not to bad. Thank you for going over this.

And…. Subscribed! Nice video. Needle bearings give me the shivers. The person who developed caged needle bearings should have won a Nobel Peace prize.

Great video. Being a retired Chrysler tech, I would recommend using Vaseline to hold all needle bearings in place. Some grease DOES NOT mix with 80/90 lube and can actually block lube from getting to the bearings. Be sure to lube orings and seals with grease. I’ve noticed through the years that factory seals will come with grease in them, where aftermarket will come dry. I always enjoyed building transmissions, automatic or manual. Good knowledge to have.

I have done several A833s in the past. I remember having the best results getting that tail housing and main gears into the main housing/input gear horizontal on the bench. Dad had some really old grease that was really stiff, it would help keep those roller bearings in place.

I remember in high school in the 70s, a buddy lost a gear in his 67 VW bug. I looked at the shop manual and told him it was a shifter fork, which it was. I used to be able to visualize the gear movement and engagement in my head after looking at the diagram. Well, that's gone now. Brings back a lot of memories though.

Great video they used to be a guy back in the day named four-speed all you could go to his house and get any four speed part you needed or have it rebuilt his kitchen had four dishwashers he used them to clean all the transmission parts his house wreaked of transmission oil his house was packed with four speeds all on shelves some rebuilt some for parts and he was reasonable he was busy thanks for the video

This is a great video. There were too many parts in the trans I had that needed to be replaced so I took my core to Brewers and got a rebuilt trans. Works great.

One important disassembly tip that was missed. Always file the slots on the shift levers BEFORE pushing or tapping them out of the side cover. These levers get hammered thru hard shifting and will create a lip on the slot that will score a groove on the inner bore of the side cover. This will result in leaks that are hard to repair. BTW The hole in your glove is getting bigger......

You mentioned GM trucks with A833, and when you set it up on the bench, I thought, "That sure does look a lot like the Saginaw 3 speed in my 68 C10."

Ahhh, my car being a factory 4-speed, this is exactly the video I need! (I still may farm it out to Brewer's Performance when the time comes, but who knows...)

Great job. And thanks for doing this video. It brought back so many memories of the one I rebuilt way back when I was a teenager. I encountered all the problems you did, only I had no manual, no photos, and no special tools. But with a broomstick, sockets, long heavy flat screwdrivers, an ice pick, various hammers and many improvised tools I finally got the job done. The worst part for me was waiting weeks for parts. And my shift forks were worn very badly. I could not get new ones through the "direct connection". So I had them welded up and machined back down to the proper thickness at a local shop. Oh the fun I had. Amazing what I still remember about that job more than 40 years ago. Thanks again man. Also I'm sure this will help many people.

Really great explanations and detail- clear and straightforward

Just finished rebuilding an NP440 (GM), which shares a lot of similarities to the a833. Your video was helpful as a reference. 👍. Subscribed

Tech tip on the ball bearing install. Heat the bearings. I prefer a non-induction hot plate or toaster oven. I keep the bearings dry so I can handle them with welding gloves. Some people in our shop prefer an old fry daddy with transmission oil, but that means handling the bearing with pliers. Have a hammer and brass punch handy just in case. Heat the bearings to somewhere around 200 degrees F. Have the shaft near. Pick up bearing and quickly install onto the shaft. If the bearing doesn't drop all the way home, tap it down, using the hammer and punch. Work quickly because, with the bearing and shaft being metal, the heat will transfer quickly, and you will lose the advantage you had. Done right, no press, and very little to no hammering need to be done. Do it wrong, well, you were going to press it on anyway.

Favorite youtube channel hands down. Thanks man!

This is an amazing video! Thanks love your content. I proposed the valiant I own in a previous comment but have since decided to hold on to it and finish at least getting it running. Your shop is amazing, mesmerized by all those factory tools you have collected. You get to work on some awesome stuff!

Great video! Thanks for the help. I've never done this before either.

These tools are awesome. Treasures of the past!

Great video, I will be doing mine myself as i do everything myself, for me it’s about the challenge and pride in getting it done and done right, what one man can do, another can do!

Thank you, another awesome video!

My friend needs to rebuild his 833 in his 73 duster. I forwarded him your video and just purchased the book.

Love how you explain what fits what. Or certain models have this... Some say babbling but it's great TV and ty

Fascinating complexity 😎

Great video. Thanks

Nice work dude 👍

Nice!

I bought a 77 camaro done up like a 70 split bumper, with a 350 and the awesome and not prone to failure at power levels a lawn mower produces Saginaw 4 speed. Now it was nowhere near done when i got it and as i was in the military and living in an apartment complex, the manager of said complex told me i could keep it their for a week and make arrangements then it needed to disappear. So i did the responsible thing and took the plate from my recently sold mustang, slapped it onto my new to me charriot (im from pa and this was in Delaware) and rode dirty as hell all the way up to the mountains in Pa. I was aware that the 1:1 4th would cause high rpm on the highway but my god trying to do 65mph was scary as hell. By the time i pulled up my dads driveway that motor sounded like an ashmatic sewing machine. But that, at the time, 40 plus year old sbc did 2hrs of 3k rpm while puking oil everywhere and antifreeze leaking from the wp weep hole😅

I have found that leaving the input shaft retainer for last makes it a whole lot easier when installing the mainshaft assembly. That extra 1/4" movement forward makes all the difference. The mainshaft just falls in place, and the input rollers don't fall out.

New drinking game- take a drink every time Jamie says "that's not important."

Excellent video, Editing must have been a pain. For autos vaseline works just like the red and tacky grease 👍

This is awesome

Wonder if bacon grease would work... Glad to see you using a file. That's what I was thinking of doing. Your shop looks a lot like mine. I keep a lot of boxes empty and with stuff in them too. We took a piece of cardboard and put holes for the bolts in the same pattern as the side cover. I also put parts in plastic bags if necessary.

There's nothing like a '71 'Cuda 4 speed!

I'm convinced that I must have one behind the big block in my 73CHARGER hope it will work with the bench seat all the way forward (I'm short) i think that it would turn the fun factor up to 10 in the car

If doing work on a 1970 with A833, you need to check the actual build date of the car, some were built late 69 for the 70 model year. There was a change in the synchronizers from 69-70 that will ultimately cause issues.

It's a great video! Can you show us how much end play or slop the input shaft has now and a audio of the new front bearing before you install it? I have a early 69 roadrunner 833 sitting in the garage that sounds terrible when turning it by hand .

If only we could solve more fitment problems in life with a BFH! (Bigger F***ing Hammer)

Any videos on the clutch fork & clutch pedal linkage? That's where I'm at now. 🤔

Theirs is a good chance that the gear you swapped will bind. The groove lines on the gears have to match. The one you installed has no lines. Put in second gear and see if it turns smoothly.

Did you take note of the blue 3 digit number on the gearbox housing? It looked like it was "389" if so could that be a factory marking for the gearbox to be matched up to a 389 ci v8 orange painted engine possibly. Just asking because I am from the UK and we use cc / cubic centimetres,plus our manual rear drive gearboxes are direct selector meaning our gear stick goes into the gearbox and operates the selectors through a ball and socket style bar selector built into the top of the gearbox.

Why aren’t needle barings magnatized? Wouldn’t that make assembly easier? Your channel is great.

Does that book cover the GM version of this transmission?

I redone my 69 18 spline using a old chilton manual....just for reference a tailshaft housing from an 1982 d150 is the same as a 69 B body lol..even has the same part number

How much wear on the 1-2 shift fork before you have to replace it?

So... Even if the transmission is in neutral some of the transmission internals are still spinning while the clutch is not depressed?

Reverse is also the only straight cut gear, correct?

How do I fill up oil ? Some leaked out when I pulled it out

Great content 👌 a lavalier mic might be helpful.

What gear oil does these take? I have a 69 roadrunner with one of these and I need more fluid in it but I don’t know which one to get…

Wish you'd shown how to get the new clips in because I can't get them to work. They are nothing like the originals. That's why someone used alternate clips. Whatever they sent me is not going to work. Also wish you'd shown how the levers go on and exactly how they are supposed to fit on the studs.

How's the Charger coming?

I'm a big 340 fan I love that little bulldog I do love big blocks but they don't call the 340 the big block killer for no reason I was thinking on putting one in a Durango or should I go 383 what you think you've don't some swaps you think I could stuff a 383 in there or should I go 340 right now it has 360 magnum and it's 2 gen I think 2001