Transfer gear reassembly quesitons

redbarchettaredbarchetta Band Wagon
in Engine & Drivetrain
ok, so I've been going through the transmission replacing bearings on the transfer shaft. Pretty much every one of them were ate up rather nicely.

I've been reading the Helms procedure for reassembly, and the procedure for thrust shim selection mention using some special tools such as a drive gear gauge and a dummy pinion shaft.

Step 4 introduces this tool

Step 3 here has the Drive gear gauge thingy

And here it shows how these are used to determine the shim thickness:

Are those tools/steps really necessary? Could I use the actual gear / shaft instead of the gauge / dummy shaft to check the shim clearance? Is the whole point of the shims just to get proper tooth contact? And couldn't that be done using the Prussian blue procedure described a few pages later?

Comments

  • DD Wagonist
    Are those tools/steps really necessary? Could I use the actual gear / shaft instead of the gauge / dummy shaft to check the shim clearance? Is the whole point of the shims just to get proper tooth contact? And couldn't that be done using the Prussian blue procedure described a few pages later?

    First of all... if you were to actually try to order the honda special tools, they're probably discontinued, and if they have stock, they will be hella expensive.

    Honestly... in this instance, i would personally just re-assemble, and if it's not horribly loose/tight (by feel), i'd go with it. Notice their spec for preload... 4.3-6.9 lb-in... I don't even have a torque wrench/angle gauge that is worth a shit in that range...you? it's more like a 1/4" drive ratchet, and just being able to turn it lightly. Shrug...

    Replaced both of those tappered bearings with OEM honda pieces???
  • redbarchettaredbarchetta Band Wagon
    yeah, using all OEM bearings.

    I fully don't expect to ever see these tools. This is my first foray into a transmission, so I was mainly wondering how successful I am likely to be without following those procedures, as I imagine shim selection is fairly critical to longevity.

    I suppose if it spins nicely and has the correct tooth contact, it should be good to go.
  • DD Wagonist
    redbarchetta wrote:
    yeah, using all OEM bearings.

    Call me curious... just wondering how much you've spent on new bearings... frankly, i've come across more than a handfull of 84-87 4x4/awd transmissions for quite cheap... my spare was $60 i believe.
  • redbarchettaredbarchetta Band Wagon
    probably around 150 so far.... I only paid 700 for the car, so it's not that big an issue for me. I have not seen any other rt4wd's around here; on the road or in the salvage yards.

    One other part I've found that is bad is #3 on this diagram. The surface that rides in the bearing is pitted in a few places. Majestic says they can't get it, so I guess I'm gonna need to find one somewhere else or find out if I can either get this polished.

    Mine is an 89. Are the 84-87's the same as the 88-91's? Diagrams look similar, but the parts numbers don't quite match.
  • DD Wagonist
    redbarchetta wrote:
    probably around 150 so far.... I only paid 700 for the car, so it's not that big an issue for me. I have not seen any other rt4wd's around here; on the road or in the salvage yards.

    One other part I've found that is bad is #3 on this diagram. The surface that rides in the bearing is pitted in a few places. Majestic says they can't get it, so I guess I'm gonna need to find one somewhere else or find out if I can either get this polished.

    Mine is an 89. Are the 84-87's the same as the 88-91's? Diagrams look similar, but the parts numbers don't quite match.

    I'll wait for someone else to chime in regarding the 84-87 vs 88-91... i only have the earlier...

    If you can't find #3 from majestic, there's probably no hope finding a NOS part. Might get lucky posting on rpr (www.redpepperracing.com) and seeing if anyone can help you out... lots more traffic there than here.
  • akiraboyakiraboy HondaCivicWagon.com Founder
    I would consider the prussian blue necessary to insure the transfer case gears are interfacing properly. As far as repairing the #3 gear you can look around on the internet for companies that hard chrome...adding material back onto existing gears to compensate for wear/loss.
    Talk to a reputable machine shop or try some other honda dealers, they sometimes have better info over the counter(not always but sometimes)
    I would hate to see you perform all this work to see it fail
  • redbarchettaredbarchetta Band Wagon
    I would consider the prussian blue necessary to insure the transfer case gears are interfacing properly.
    absolutely. My original question was mainly: is the prussian blue sufficient for shim adjustment, or are those special tools a necessity...

    as for the gear, I'm awaiting word from SL honda whether or not they can get it. If not, I'll see what my options are finding a used tranny or getting this piece repaired. Just so you know, it's the machined surface that rides inside the bearing that is pitted, not the gear portion itself.
    hmm, I thought I saw an edit up there earlier...
    well I'd say you should be able to determine shimming witht the prussian blue

    so the answer is yes

    did you need the speciality tools...maybe not but I personally never handled this part myself
    a dial indicator wouldn't hurt though
  • DD Wagonist
    here you go, AWD trans for $50.

    http://www.redpepperracing.com/forums/i ... opic=30712
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