Steve Austin: Part III

Continuing on with reassembly of The Six Million Dollar Transmission (actually, more like The Three Hundred Dollar Transmission)...

The next steps are to install the selector forks and their rods.  First up is reverse gear.  Here it is in the neutral, then engaged positions.

 

Next in line are the 1/2 and 3/4 selectors.

Then, you install the reverse gear selector rod, pushing it through a hole in the 3/4 selector.  The selector rod is locked in place by a bolt and retaining nut, in this case through the drain plug hole.

Once that's in, you drop the double-ended lockout plunger in the hole on the middle left of the frst picture below.  That lockout plunger is vital--it prevents you from accidentally engaging reverse gear along with any forward gear.  The second picture shows it in place, so I have proof I did it.

 

The 1/2 selector rod goes in next.  Here it is, first in 1st gear, then 2nd gear.

 

Now, we're on to installing the 3/4 selector rod.  This is not super clear from the Haynes manual, though after you do it the instructions do make sense.  The gist of it is, there are two detent balls that keep the 1/2 and 3/4 rods in the correct position when you shift.  The balls go between the 3/4 and 1/2 selector rods.  The first ball goes in a hole on the side; the second ball goes in a hole on the underside of the case.  The balls go in before you insert the rod all the way into the front of the case.  Once the balls are in place, they fit between the rods and won't come out.

In the first picture, the rod is in the position it has to be to insert the balls. The first ball is pushed in to the hole on the bottom right, as far as it can go.  The second ball is inserted in the hole at the top right of the second picture, across from the drain plug.  Once the balls are in position, the rod is inserted until it starts to poke out the front of the bellhousing side.

 

Once that's done, there is a long retaining bolt that fits in the hole across from the drain plug, and a detent plunger and spring with a short retaining bolt that goes in the hole on the bottom right of the second picture.

Here are the balls and detent plunger I'm talking about, on the bottom of this picture.  In the top of the picture are two more detent plungers and springs that fit underneath the side cover, in the holes on the right side of the case, along with all of the side cover washers and nuts.

Once the balls and plunger are in place, the selector rod can be locked into position on the fork. All the forks and selectors are finally installed!  In this picture, the gearbox is in neutral.

Here's what everything looks like as you run through the gears.  Starting with reverse (it's a little hard to see)...

Now 1st gear, 2nd, 3rd and finally 4th.

   

It's time to fit the side cover.  Install the detent plungers and springs (they're the same, so it doesn't matter which goes where).  Then install the gasket and take your nice clean side cover and bolt it down.  Note that one spring will stick out farther than the other; that's OK, because the cover has a recess for the spring (you can see it on the left of the second picture).  Also, be sure the springs don't get stuck underneath or bind on the gasket; I had to widen the holes a bit so the gasket fit properly.

 

And that's it for the gears.  I tested them all, and they work.  I can't shift into reverse if I'm in a forward gear and vice versa.  Everything meshes well and it's much tighter then before; the first and third motion shafts don't wiggle like they did before I started all of this.  And I didn't have any leftover parts, so it may definitely be right.

Now, its just a matter of fitting the front housing.  Here's a pic of the nice, clean front housing and re-bushed release bearing arm.  I love having a blasting cabinet; have I said that already?  Because I do.

The gasket goes on, then the shim (invariably 0.006", according to Haynes, so I went with it), then the cover.  See how the laygear shaft is in the right position? It has to look like that, or the cover won't fit.

 

And oh my God, we're done with the hard stuff.

All that's left is the remote control housing.  That doesn't look too hard; I just have to clean the parts up, fit new gaskets, and bolt it all together.

Whooooooo.  I'm beat.  I spent most of the day installing a new pet door for my father in law, and boy are my arms tired.