what are splines?

[kayde75]

my car is a 1991 eagle talon tsi awd. right now it is in the shop and they said i need a new transmission and transfer case. so i called around to wrecking yards and everyone of them asked me how many splines it has. i called the dealership and they said the only way to find out is to take it apart and count them. i'm wondering if there is anyway i can find out without taking it apart. what is a spline anyways? any info would be of great help. thanks

[kjewer1]

The shafts that key into a gear or another part are splined so they lock together and the shaft doesnt just spin. They are basically lines cut into the shaft, parallel to the shaft.

If I remember correctly 90 parts are 22 spline, and 91-99 are 23 spline. But DO NOT take my word for it! I'm not certain that is right. Do a search on it, it wont take you long. Try the big DSM forums like www.dsmtuners.com.

NEvermind, did it myself. In 15 seconds I found this at Team Rip Engineering (TRE), a DSM tranny builder:

89-91.5 AWD, 22 spline output shaft, $1650 w/core.

91.5-94 AWD, 23 spline output shaft, $1650 w/core.

95-99 AWD, 23 spline output shaft, $1650 w/core.


And this was on a FAQ page:

"ONE: If you have a 1990 or even a 1991 with a 22 spline transfer case, then you will need to swap the xfer case as well. This is just so that the xfer case will be able to mate with the 23 spline output shaft of the 2g tranny.

TWO: When you drill holes in the dust shield to mount the starter, this CAN be done with the flywheel/clutch disk/pressure plate intact. On the VERY TOP starter hole in the dust-shield (hole that is higher above the ground), drill downwards towards the other bolt. On the hole in the dust-shield that is lower to the ground, drill upwards towards the higher hole. It is very simple, this can be done with even a file if you wanted to.

THREE: the shifter cables mount to the tranny via shift cable giudes. The information given is kinda foggy. In short, just make the guides look identical to your 1g tranny. Do this by whatever means necessary. I just grabbed a pair of pliers and bent the guides until they looked decent enough to install. It didnt' look all great or anything, BUT it shifts great now. I think that is all that really needs to be mentioned to better the information already given to the archives... And to let DSMers know, the 2g tranny is such a BIG upgrade over my 91 tranny. It used to be SO damn notchy all the time no matter how well you pampered it into gear. Now with the 2g tranny, all the shifts are as smooth as a knife through butter. I haven't track tested it yet but I am sure it will hold to my expectations. I didn't cut off the ballast weight. Mainly because I figured that if Mitsu put it there, then it had to serve some sort of function other than to slow down shifts. If that IS the only reason, then my loss. but I just rather be on the safe side on this one; plus, I never hear about 2g DSMers cutting it off their tranny. So why should I? Hope this helps someone in the future of those that are pondering whether to do the install or not."