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Tranfer case hodgepodge

joshs1ofakindxj

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I'm getting everything from case with the shifting problem cleaned up and making gaskets as I go.

You can see 2 pictures of the mystery fun parts that were in the bottom of the transfer case when I opened it up next to a quarter for reference.

My plan is to reuse everything out of the case I have apart, except for the top input shaft, which I will take from the air shift case with the broken mount. That shaft assembly should contain anything causing a shifting problem.
 

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gringeltaube

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The other day I didn't believe it when you said it was pieces of the bearing race...; but WOW, those in fact are! That T-case must have been "agonizing" for some time before exploding that bearing...

Actually that piece belongs to one of the 4 bearings marked as BL210Z, in the pic below.....


G.
 

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joshs1ofakindxj

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It's been a little over a year and things are a bit rustier than I left them, but I bought a house and moved everything and did a lot of work to the house and other mechanical projects so now it's back to this.

Tonight I started taking apart the other transfercase with the broken casting, as the case with the bad internals is still disassembled, BUT I got stuck! Everything is apart except the input shaft snap ring will not come out of the case. I messed with it for an hour, shifting the input shaft gears around and pushing it, trying to get that snap ring exposed to pull it out. I'm ready to get destructive since I have a spare snap ring but man, it is frustrating. Anyone got some suggestions? This is the metal snap ring that holds the bearing in the cast case cover on the transmission input end of the top input shaft. The middle shaft can't come out of it's bearing race till the input shaft is removed.

0826032132.jpg
 

gringeltaube

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Well, normally one would lift the FRONT housing (cover) off of the case, not the other way around! The front bearing #6310 will remain in its bore; you can address that snapring later. A little persuasion via brass pin & hammer on the shaft end (with the nut in place!) while prying up - will do the trick. I don't remember this ever giving me a fight.
You might want to try prying/wedging the input shaft assy up while tapping on its end from underneath. Or take that offending part down (much safer working on the floor...!) and use a puller, hooked under the front bearing retainer, and this one held with some long bolts. Or use your shop press but make sure you have something arranged to securely "catch" your heavy gear clusters - both shaft assemblies - before they hit the floor - or something more fragile....!


G.
 
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joshs1ofakindxj

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Wow, that sounds easy now. Sometimes you just need to stop and take a break. Seems pretty obvious now the way you described it. Thanks! I should be able to start on reassembly tonight.

I got new input/output seals from rock auto for $7 eash, I did some research and found people using the Rockwell axle pinion seal. Hopefully they work. I have a mix of yokes to pick from at least to get the nicest seal areas.
 

joshs1ofakindxj

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I had to tackle a bunch of other things tonight but I got the gears in the good case at least. Man this thing is kicking my butt.

So I have gaskets cut out of 1/32" thick gasket material and I filed down the split lines with a file then a knife sharpening stone. Should I still put a coating of RTV gasket on each side of the gasket material?

0827032126.jpg
 

joshs1ofakindxj

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It was a long weekend. I'm whooped. I finished rebuilding the air shift during the week so this weekend I removed the sprag unit. It wasn't too bad, just about 8 hours needed, from removing the hard top to dragging the case out from under the truck with my civi truck and my surplus rigging.
IMG_3102.jpgIMG_3103.jpgIMG_3104.jpgIMG_3106.jpgIMG_3108.jpg

My mount bushings were in bad shape. Waiting on new ones now before I can put in the new case. My mount bolts were a little loose. I would say go check your mount bolts for tightness if your bushings are as tired as mine (only the ones on top of the mounts were crushed of course, they looked good from below).

IMG_3111.jpg

There is a difference in the driver side mounting, first what I got with the air shift, second what came off my truck. I hope this doesn't cause any issues.

IMG_3113.jpgIMG_3114.jpg
 

gringeltaube

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joshs1ofakindxj

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Thanks for that info!

From that thread, I found this, and I was wondering if you could clarify it some more? I think I have all the parts left over from the two air shifts to convert my sprag to a spare air shift, but I'm not sure what you mean by the "remove 33 tooth gear from both rear output shafts". Can I just swap the bottom shaft and gears from the air shift case?

"I'm wondering if it would be easier to change the input and output housings, rather than the internals of the main TC housing...."

I thought it was clear…..
To convert your sprag TC: open both main cases, clean and inspect synchro, shift fork, gears (dogs) for wear, check brgs., recondition companion flanges, remove 33T gear from both rear output shafts, swap these alone, not the gears!, re-assemble with new seals, select shims for correct brg. preload and finally swap entire front output section.

Sounds simple but besides the didactical aspect and value it is a lot of work on heavy stuff and I would only recommend this if your sprag TC really deserves to be saved from scrap as a low noise, low mileage unit!
Maybe better find a new owner for it (some still seem to prefer them) and try to get a sound air shift for more or less the same $$$.

G.
 

gringeltaube

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Josh: those large 33T-gears (#7521240) are exactly the same for both model T-cases. (as all the other gears inside the main housing are identical too, respectively.)
Also, I have yet to find a high mileage unit where you could actually see/ feel/ measure ANY wear or other damage done to the gears. Those parts just seem to last forever.
So of course you can swap the output shafts WITH their gears still in place. BUT... it is always better to keep used gears as matched sets; so if you already are that "far & deep" into your TC - and have access to a shop press or large puller - just go that extra step, for peace of mind at least.

A more practical alternative would be rebuilding your Air-shift TC by using the parts from the input shaft, out of your sprag unit...?


G.
 
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joshs1ofakindxj

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Ok, so the difference is not in the gears themselves, but the shaft they're on. I follow now. The remaining air shift parts I'm left with that could build one transfer case are not pretty, as you may recall the broken input shaft bearing, busted case, and also other items are worn like the yokes in the seal areas and so on.

My initial thought is it would be nice to convert the sprag to air and have a whole spare case to swap in a failure situation then repair at my leisure but I will be keeping the sprag parts around regardless, as it was a good running case with no slipping out of gear issues.
 

Heath_h49008

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Call me contrarian, but I would just get the mount welded. It is done all the time at salvage yards, and any competent welder should be able to do it for less than the cost of the gaskets and lube needed to crack that case.
 

joshs1ofakindxj

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Heath, as a project manager at a steam turbine repair shop, we always avoided welding castings, even with a high nickel content rod, preheat and post heat, it might not work. Metal stitching is the best repair, but not an economical option for me.

And not to mention that case is already stripped and in the scrap pile.
 
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joshs1ofakindxj

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Well getting the air shift back in wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I went for a 10 mile drive and it functioned fine, shifted on the fly, didn't pop out of gear, no noise. No problems. I did stop and feel the case, the bearing ends felt hot to the touch, couldn't keep my hand on it. I'll have to keep an eye on it. I'm going to change the gear oil tomorrow to get out any dirt that was left inside.
 
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