> I checked for a dipstick on the original tranny, but
> while I found
> a round (flower edged sort of) knob, it twisted but didn't unscrew and
> didn't pry easily up.
That certainly sounds like the dipstick ... it has to pull straight up (not
pry at an angle) and can be rather difficult working through the hole in the
tunnel. Turning it helps to work it up, but there are no threads.
> But I also have the steel door hinges which
> supposedly didn't change until 60000. Course, the number is so close to
> 58667, I don't know if it's significant. What's the deal with the
> transmission housing?
The transmission casting was changed at (supposedly) 50000, to accommodate
the long shaft and drive that sticks out of the later starter. If you look
at the RH side of the transmission, the starter bulge on the early casting
is only 4 or 5 inches long. On the later casting, the bulge is more like
10" long. The trans tunnel itself was also modified to clear the later
starter bulge.
Of course, we've seen time and time again that the change points are all
approximate ... one explanation is that sometimes cars that had already had
commission numbers assigned were pulled back for fault rectification and
subsequently completed with later (or earlier) parts.
I also can't count how many times I was told "they're all the same" by
people who should have known better ... not to mention being sold parts that
didn't fit my car.
Randall
|