Club 80-90 Forums

So, I'm trying to pull the low gear housing off the tranny and I've gotten it smoothly about an inch apart. Then something solid seems to have hit. When I look in the gap it looks like low gear is interfering with the reverse idler gear. I've played with it to my satisfaction it won't line up the teeth easily and slide the rest of the way off. I have that bolt off that's inside the reverse gear idler cover (obviously or it won't come at all - heh).

So any tips here? Bentley in it usual sublime way says "remove bolt in reverse gear cover, remove remaining housing bolts. Remove low gear housing" Hmmm.... Heh - thanks. Bentley does mention "rotate transmission 180 degrees" which I took to mean the entire unit so the low gear housing is on the bottom and you can pull/tap it off. Is it supposed to be in Reverse, or Neutral perhaps??

DougM

Doug
basically the pinion bearing has been well worn for a while, allowing the pinion shaft to be pushed forwards in the case under load and the inner hub of RG synchro and the oil face of G gear have been having unlubricated intercourse which has built up a burr on the oil face of G gear which has pinched the needle bearing so G gear won't happily slide off the end of the pinion shaft allowing the reduction gear housing and all to come off
If you can get the gap between the cases to 13mm then it's possible to do a little trick with the reverse idler shaft that will allow the reverse idler gear to move just far enough for it to pass the G gear where it is and allow everything to come apart
you need to drill a 4mm hole in the case where the blind end of the reverse idler shaft sits, off centre, at a slight angle (that's all you can do anyway as the chuck of the drill will limit access slightly - but you want to end up hitting the end of the shaft off centre as there is an oilway in the centre)
you then use a 3mm (1/8") drift to tap the shaft into the gap between the cases, the head of the shaft is bigger than the shaft by a couple of mm, once the head is in the gap you can pull it aside slightly and hey presto reverse idler will pass G gear
you can then use a puller to get G gear and it's bearings off the shaft
G gear and RG Synchro inner hub will need to be replaced
the hole in the case can be tapped at M5 and a suitable threaded insert used to seal it

if you can't get the gap to 13mm then you have to cut the reduction gear case in half which can be done without damaging anything inside and replace the case

I'm sure Daryl would share the secret on Samba if you asked the same q there

Aiden,

Thank you for that, and a big sigh of relief what you describe was not the situation on my box, which has been well cared for by a meticulous previous owner. Turned out I am just a wimp. The low gear case was coming off fine. When it stopped and I looked in the gap with a flashlight and saw two gears in contact, I did what wimps do and stopped for further info. After re reading a bunch of stuff I realized all I had to do was pull and the G gear would slide off. Which it did. The bearings look fine but I plan on replacing them anyhow, and I will double check for the beginning of any lip on the G gear. Hope you are all having a great day - raining cats and dogs here.

DougM

Aiden,

Thanks a million for the comment on the burr last month. Since it quickly came off, I didn't give that another thought until last night during reassembly. I checked and sure enough there was a tiny burr starting. Wouldn't even have checked except I put it in my notes, which made me pull it off again and check before bolting down the low gear housing. Knocked it off with some sandpaper wrapped on a dowel. Probably saved the next guy a bunch of trouble. Hopefully the thinner .8 shim I am using will relieve that pressure. It's all assembled now, just need to put in the differential and the SA oiling plate above the ring gear. Then time to put back in the van!!

So, got the tranny back in this evening, and she drives quietly and shifts waaay better. The gear shifts are smooth snicks and no whine - I'm a happy Syncro owner again! Aiden - thanks for your timely tips. Made a huge difference in my confidence. This is not for the faint of heart. I installed the SA oiling plates, a hardened Weddle Racing 3/4 hub, new bearings and synchros and a reinforced Go Westy gear carrier while I was in there. There are a lot of opportunities to screw this up along the way.

DougM