mycruiseagent
Vendor
I have a suggestion for the procedure and for ongoing maintenance. I was one of the very early adopters of this mod (January of 2006) and have enjoyed it very much.
However in July of 2012 (after a little less than 100,000 miles) I nearly had a catastrophic failure. The center bolt on the large gear backed out and the synchronizer hub came in contact with the transmission end cover. The outer ring of the hub assembly wore through the cover while everything continued to function (the ring stayed in contact with the inner hub). The catches and their retainer springs were destroyed in the process.
I purchased a new hub assembly and synchro and put the whole thing back together ... running it for a short while with fresh lube, then dumping it and replacing the fluid to be sure I got any metal particles out from the damaged end cover.
david_594 and I did the original install of these gears back in 2006, so I'm pretty sure we followed his guidelines for torque. Given my experience, I'm not so sure that the 59 ft-lbs called out in the procedure is sufficient to flat load the Bellville disc spring.
At the very least I would recommend that people who have done this mod change their transmission lube at something like 75-80K and take the time to pull the end cover and check the torque on the large bolts.
MCA
However in July of 2012 (after a little less than 100,000 miles) I nearly had a catastrophic failure. The center bolt on the large gear backed out and the synchronizer hub came in contact with the transmission end cover. The outer ring of the hub assembly wore through the cover while everything continued to function (the ring stayed in contact with the inner hub). The catches and their retainer springs were destroyed in the process.
I purchased a new hub assembly and synchro and put the whole thing back together ... running it for a short while with fresh lube, then dumping it and replacing the fluid to be sure I got any metal particles out from the damaged end cover.
david_594 and I did the original install of these gears back in 2006, so I'm pretty sure we followed his guidelines for torque. Given my experience, I'm not so sure that the 59 ft-lbs called out in the procedure is sufficient to flat load the Bellville disc spring.
At the very least I would recommend that people who have done this mod change their transmission lube at something like 75-80K and take the time to pull the end cover and check the torque on the large bolts.
MCA