I am finally getting to the task of re-assembling my transmission. If you recall, I purchased a transmission from a junk yard to rebuild. The plan was to rebuild the transmission and transfer case, mate it up to the engine I have already rebuilt and then do a “Quick” swap out of both components. Well, so far it hasn’t been a speedy process.

Once I pulled the transmission apart, I discovered that all of the gears on the main shaft were badly pitted and beyond use. Apparently, during the 20 years the donor vehicle sat in the junk yard, the staff never turned the engine over. The gears that were out of the remaining oil dried out, and from the annual temperature changes around here, there must have been a lot of condensation that caused the pitting.

On the advice of many people I avoided buying aftermarket parts, and stayed with genuine Land Rover parts. If you shop around, and spend the time, you can find the genuine parts at prices close enough that it makes sense to stay original. The exception I made was to buy bearings and seals locally.

I’m having trouble with only one part. I couldn’t find the rear bearing race for the main output shaft in the transfer case. I picked up a Timkin replacement, but it doesn’t fit right. The original Land Rover race was 3.153in, and the replacement bearing is 3.150. That doesn’t sound like much of a difference, but it’s enough that I can’t set the preload for the main output shaft. The Green Bible makes it sound like the speedo housing puts pressure against the bearing race and the shims keep the distance and pressure constant, but on mine, the housing doesn’t contact the race. The bearing surface of the race I removed is dull and grey, but not pitted. Should I reuse the ole one, or is there a way to shim the race to get the .003 I need to create a press fit? If the speedometer housing doesn’t hold the bearing in, what do the shims do? Am I missing something?

Any help is appretiated

Dan H
Pembroke, MA
Landy67@csps.com

If the old bearing is not pitted and rolls freely, then I see no problem reusing it.

When setting up the t-case output preload, especially with old bearings, make sure the preload isn't too high. I have seen 2 series T-cases fail because the preload was set too high with old bearings and the t-case seized in low range.

I have had a problem with the Proline Primary Pinion/Constant gear combination I bought for my transmission rebuild. When I assembled the transmission, and then turned the input shaft, I got a horrible grinding. I ended up taking the layshaft out of the transmission and putting it in the bearing in the bell housing. When I turned the primary pinion, I got the grinding noise. I took the constant gear (which looks very rough) and replaced it with the worn constant gear that was originally in the transmission, and the grinding went away. When I looked at the top of the constant gear (the side that fits close to the bearing) the leading edge of the teeth on the bearing are shiny from wearing against the pinion gear. That must be where the grinding noise is coming from.

I assembled the transmission using all new parts, but I replaced the new constant gear with the original one, and it turns smooth as silk, and I can run it through all the gears.

My only concern is the amount of play on the input shaft. I’m afraid that I’ll end up with lots of backlash once I put this thing in the truck. How do you check to see if you have excessive play between the input shaft and the primary pinion? I can’t seem to find any reference to a test in the green bible, and the only person I know who knows this stuff just tells me that “you know by experience”

How do I get that experience by tomorrow night?

Thanks

Dan H
Pembroke, MA
Landy67@csps.com

Sorry, that is difficult to answer. You always seem to get a fair bit of input shaft play, I suppose it is to cope with any slight misalignment. If you have a new input shaft bearing and mainshaft front bearing installed then everything should be fine.