Transmission Assembly
 

Andrews says that when assembling the transmission if the spacer ring that goes on the end of the main shaft before the main shaft is put into the main drive gear, is left out, the needle pilot bearing in the main drive will be destroyed. My question is - If this happened could a loud screeching noise occur when the car is decelerating while in first and second gears? This is the only time the noise occurs while driving. I look forward to your responses. Thank you.
some mech 3

Re: Transmission Assembly
 

Hi Some Tech,
I suppose it could be.
In my case, the trans jumped out of gear(can’t remember which one or which ones) However, I had no screeching or any related noise.
I trust you will find the answer on this forum.
Good luck and Happy Holidays.

Re: Transmission Assembly
 

I suspect your problem is more likely to be failure of one or both roller bearings inside the cluster gear. These two roller bearings are under load when in low and second gear. When in high gear they are just along for the ride.

Keep in mind there are two versions of the main shaft, an early and a late. The early shaft has a spacer that is a flat washer on the front end of the shaft that is integral to the shaft and not removeable. The later shaft has a spacer that looks much like a key ring and is removeable. This is the one Les Andrews is talking about. It is always prudent to replace it during an overhaul as the front side is usually found worn flat.

It is important to know which you have. I have taken transmissions apart where someone installed the later key ring style spacer in front of the early flat washer spacer and jammed up the transmission.

Tom Endy

Re: Transmission Assembly
 

Chris and Tom: Thanks for your replies to my transmission noise. Tom, I think you may
be correct. I didn't replace the needle bearings in the cluster gear when I was working on the transmission. I will replace those when I remove the rear end to get at the transmission.
Sam

Re: Transmission Assembly
 

If the cluster roller bearings are worn or damaged the countershaft probably needs to be replaced. If so, might consider new shafts with the O Ring configuration which may minimize oil leakage. Good Luck.

Re: Transmission Assembly
 

Wear on the cluster and reverse idler shafts will usually be obvious . The shafts are not expensive and I always replace them when doing a transmission bearing ioverhaul .

Re: Transmission Assembly
 

If you are going to overhaul the transmission my recommendation is that you replace the two ball bearings, the three roller bearings, the idler shaft, the cluster shaft, and the spacer on the front of the main shaft at a minimum. The two ball bearings can be obtained with seals, the two shafts can be obtained with O-ring mods.

Be careful where you obtain the three roller bearings as the Model A kingdom has been flooded with some very poor quality roller bearings that will fail in 300-400 miles. The better suppliers have pulled them from their stock and are trying to find a supplier that will offer a good quality roller bearing.

I was able to recently obtain good quality roller bearings from Bert's in Denver, Steve is fully aware of the problem and assured me that those he has in stock are the quality bearings.

Tom Endy