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quick 231 rebuild help

tsill

tsill

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Cincinnati
I'm in the process of installing a master kit in the 231. All the bearing and seals went in fine but when I started to install the mode fork and sleeve on the mainshaft it seems like the teeth are clashing on the bottom or the top of the mode sleeve. I cant really get it to sit correctly and have been fighting it for a while now.
 
Do you have any pictures of what parts are interfering?

There's one thing I can think of that it might be, but I don't want to throw it out there without seeing what your problem is first.
 
I dont have any at the moment. I just cant seem to get it. It seems like when the case is in neutral the drive gear just barely doesnt clear the mode sleeve and there is also something meshing/catching at the bottom of the mode sleeve.
 
tried it w the ball in and out. i should mention i havent put the case back together but i couldnt imagine this thing would just fix itself becuase it was tight. the drive gear can be pulled up a 1/16th and then it barely does not contact the mode sleeve. i removed the drive gear from the mainshaft to look at it and it seems like that little bit of play is normal. my thoughts were that i did not have the input gear bearing driven far enough but it sure seemed like it bottomed out and i got a change in sound as i was driving it in.
moving the shift sector lever is really difficult, i would think thats becuase there is no fluid in the case.
 
took a break and went back to check it again. i don't know if i have the shift sector in correctly. the oring and plastic retainer go on the outside of the case in the bore oring first? thats how i have it now and it the whole thing moves in and out of the case a little bit. is this movement normal?

as far as the grinding it seems to be the range fork wants to XXXX a little bit and this makes the input gear lift up the range fork and then it drops back down. its barely making contact but just enough to bind everything. when i have the whole mechanism put together it wont move freely just by moving the shift sector. man i thought this was supposed to be easy.
 
XXXX=rhymes with dock. no accidental cussing apparently :)
 
It's going to be a little hard to spin the selector by hand. You have a pretty big mechanical advantage when it's hooked up to the shift linkage.

My original thought isn't the problem...

Are you checking all of this with the back of the case on? The back end captures the shift rail and without that, the whole linkage system is very floppy. Try just sliding on the back case and putting in 2 or 3 bolts to keep it from going anywhere and see if it still happens. You might need the tailcone too..
 
will do that. thanks asp. the whole reason i'm rebuilding this thing is becuase i had a really bad whirring sound. my front output bearing had a light burr in it and the rear output did as well. i was trying to get this done before i went out of town tomorrow night but it isn't looking good right now.
 
That's a pretty good reason for a rebuild.

It sounds like you know enough to take your time and not just slap it back together. That's good.
 
im with asp. without the support of the output bearings in the back half of the case, everything will be sloppy. as long as everything went together smoothly and in the same order you should be fine. shifting gears by hand should not be very easy if using the little linkage tab on the outside of the case. i say double check everything, that all the snap rings are fully seated as well as the bearings, and put it back together. i see no reason why you cant be done by tomorrow night.
 
juset got back in town and started my project again. bolted the rear half on and put the rear bearing on so the mainshaft is supported. everything seemed smooth in all ranges until i tilted the case forward. then things started grinding and in some ranges binding. it sounds like the same sound as what i was hearing while driving. under braking or coming to a stop it would whir badly. the sound it makes now is the same it seems just that it isnt constant as if it were being pulled down from 60 mph. i have all the rebuild parts in it and there were no broken pieces in the case. all the gears had clean teeth and there was hardly any noticable wear.
 
tore it completely down to make sure i have everything right. i cant get the planetaries into the annulus more than halfway. when i took the snap ring off the input the first teardown the thing dropped out of it in a hurry. when i reinstalled the first time it was really tough to get it in and had to force it. i know. now its in the same place stuck halfway and wont go down. when i did get it to go down the first time it went all the way down, spun freely, and snap ring was fully seated.

i know for a fact i have the thrust washers in the correct spot as well as the retaining ring. the input bearing the mainshaft rides in was seated all the way to the splines. the input bearing that sits in the front half of the case obviously has a snap ring that orients it and the bearing retainer had proper torque.
 
Not sure about your planetary assembly but it is possible to install the dog gear on the mainshaft backwards which prevents it from shifting. The little triangular teeth on the dig gear should face the front of the t-case.
 
Havent looked yet but shouldnt be that becuase after i installed the sye i drove it for probably 40,000 miles w no problems. thanks for the suggestion and i'll certainly look at it. i'm about to take the thing to a dealer to have it put together, which would make me feel pretty stupid but i'm outta time w this thing. it's that or get another one and rebuild it.
 
dog gear teeth are oriented correctly. how much should i be able to wiggle the planetaries after they are in the annulus and the input sanp ring is on and bearing retainer on.

ok this is a seriously dumb question. what keeps the mainshaft from moving backward in the case?
 
another question and i finally figured out what is keeping me from turning free is looking down at the case while assembling and i'm fairly sure i'm in nuetral the top of the mode sleeve is at the exact height of the bottom of drive gear. so i get binding. in other gears i get clashing. the only thing i know that controls the height of the mainshaft is the input bearing in the rear of the input shaft. does anyone know how far the input is supposed to stick out of the front seal. i have 13/16".
 
fixed it. figured i would post it up for others. in order to correctly orient the mainshaft the front and rear yokes must be tightened down. tightening those nuts orient the mainshaft as much as 1/4" so if you have my problems, tighten those nuts down.
 
Are you sure you haven't bound up the oil pump(its an easy mistake) and can have disasterous results!
 
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