This simple project just got a lot more expensive

[CraigArizona85248]

So my plan to replace the main shaft and main drive gear bushing in my transmission just got a lot more expensive. I pulled the transmission yesterday and today I pulled the lid getting my first look at the gears. These are Andrews gears with about 75k miles on them. 1st gear (both main and counter shaft) are toast. I've never seen wear/pitting like this. 2nd gear shows a little wear, so I'll replace that too. 3rd and 4th are good. I wonder if the heat treatment of the first gear wasn't done correctly. I'd expect to see more wear on 3rd/4th than 1st/2nd. $500 in additional parts ordered this afternoon.

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First gear, counter shaft.

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First gear, main shaft.

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Third gear, main shaft, looks good.

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Counter shaft group. 2nd gear (left) has a little wear. 3rd/4th both look good.

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Main drive gear looks good but needs a new bushing.

[CraigArizona85248]

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3rd/4th shifter clutch looks good.

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Looks like the woodruff key on the kicker clutch was just a few kicks from failing.

[Fugawee]

Ouch...gotta' love those projects that surprise You.

[Hossamania]

That is a bummer, but good thing you caught it before it grenaded on you when out and about.

[turboprop]

I bet Andrews would like to see that 1st gear set.

[Deye76]

What turboprop said, Andrews just might help you out.

[Dave_R]

Hey Craig,

What did you ever do with that transmission you built from spare parts?  Can you run that one in the mean time?

- Dave

[speedzter]

A hardness test on the non load side of the gear would be interesting.
Did you ever see any metal in the oil at any stage ?
As a matter of interest, what oil did you run ?

[CraigArizona85248]

Hey Craig,

What did you ever do with that transmission you built from spare parts?  Can you run that one in the mean time?

- Dave

It's on the shelf. It's winter here and snow is flying so I'll just rebuild this transmission. I hate to use a "correct" 1947 transmission in this old chopper. It should be used for a proper restoration.

[CraigArizona85248]

A hardness test on the non load side of the gear would be interesting.
Did you ever see any metal in the oil at any stage ?
As a matter of interest, what oil did you run ?

I never noticed any metal in the oil. I have what I drained out in a coffee can on the bench so I can look at it more closely.
I've been running Lucas full synthetic 75W-90. I think I'll switch back to Redline Shockproof Heavy.

I don't think this is a lube issue. Only 1st gear has this damage and the others all look great still. I would have expected 1st to have the least wear since it's probably engaged less than any other gear in the transmission.

[CraigArizona85248]

I bet Andrews would like to see that 1st gear set.

I'll reach out to them.

I did discover that the counter shaft end play was out of spec. The spec is 0.007-0.012" and I measured it at 0.015". But I don't think that could have caused this damage. And why only 1st gear?

[nmainehunter]

You got some miles out of it but it looks like your shafts aren't square to each other. It would be interesting to put some bluing ink on your gears, after you rebuild it, to see just where your at.

[CraigArizona85248]

It does look like something is off. But I would have expected other gears to show similar wear. I'm definitely going to look at how the gears are meshing after assembly.

[JSD]

How good are those Revtech cases for alignment? 

[CraigArizona85248]

Well, the first gear set went 100k miles and came out looking great. So the alignment would seem to be pretty good, except that this gear set didn't fair as well. I'll be checking the gear mesh with gear mesh compound during assembly.

These RevTech cases are really stout. They're made by CCE and branded for RevTech.

[CraigArizona85248]

The last of the parts needed arrived yesterday.

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Started doing the reassembly today. Honed the new main drive gear bushing. Assembled the main drive gear in the case, then the main and counter shafts along with their components. 1st and 2nd gears are all new Andrews parts. New needle bearings for the main drive gear and counter shaft. New bushings for the 1st and 2nd counter shaft gears. Tomorrow I'll use some gear mesh compound to check that everything is meshing well.

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[JSD]

What rollers did you use I found a shop here in Australia that had all sizes made by Sonax USA . Also what is CCE do you mean CCI . I remember years back a mate bought a Revtech 4 speed and it was made in South Korea . 

[CraigArizona85248]

I also use Sonax roller bearings.

You're right. It's CCI, not CCE. I think CCE went out of business years ago, but their name sticks in my head. RevTech is made in south Korea. But they get they don't cast their own cases.

[CraigArizona85248]

A little more work done today. Got a nice even pattern with the gear mesh compound.

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[CraigArizona85248]

A little more progress today. Installed the lid and the kicker cover. Than put the transmission back in the frame. I'm relocating the clutch cable and using a different clutch release arm to tray and get a lighter clutch pull. Hopefully that will work out well. New inner primary tin (aftermarket Paughco). The old OEM early panhead tin had so many stress cracks. Four of the outer tin mount tabs had broken off and both rear frame mount points were about to let go.

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[JSD]

I see you have a late model shift Drum .

[CraigArizona85248]

Yes. I like the earlier lids without the neutral nanny switch. But for an old chopper, the price was right on this one.  My main requirement for this lid was no chrome. I like the look of the sand cast pieces.

[CraigArizona85248]

No snow yesterday and roads were clear so I got in a good test ride. The transmission shifts beautifully and no more gear whine. The clutch release mod is excellent! I now have a 2-finger clutch that isn't going to cramp my hand anymore. Very good release too. No jump when I go from neutral to 1st and easy to find neutral from 1st or 2nd. I'm happy with the result.

[Tacocaster]

What did Andrews have to say, Craig or did I miss something?

[cheech]

The clutch release mod is excellent! I now have a 2-finger clutch that isn't going to cramp my hand anymore.

Need a longer clamp on the aft end of that hose in the primary. 

And that bike is already cool enough, but if you end up with cramps with your new setup perhaps a foot clutch is in order. 
It'd be right at home on that bike.

[JSD]

No snow yesterday and roads were clear so I got in a good test ride. The transmission shifts beautifully and no more gear whine. The clutch release mod is excellent! I now have a 2-finger clutch that isn't going to cramp my hand anymore. Very good release too. No jump when I go from neutral to 1st and easy to find neutral from 1st or 2nd. I'm happy with the result.

Tell about your clutch release mod . Please. 

[CraigArizona85248]

Need a longer clamp on the aft end of that hose in the primary. 

I actually swapped that clamp for a proper size!  It bugged me when I looked at the photo. And even though its under the primary cover, I'd know it was there!  I'm kind of OCD like that. 😂

Tell about your clutch release mod . Please.

Yeah, the details would be helpful!  😂
I replaced the short mousetrap eliminator release arm with a foot clutch release arm. It's about 4" longer than the mousetrap eliminator release arm. That required moving the clutch cable purch so it points at the end of the new release arm. I moved it to the inner primary tin.

This mod won't work with all levers. Your lever needs to have enough throw to pull the longer release arm the full distance to get a good clutch release. I reshaped my lever a bit to maximize the throw.

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