My major Winter project this year is the TRansmission on my 73 TR6. It was
making a lot of growling noise when it was in neutral with the clutch out
(engaged). I only want to do this once, so I want to do it right. I was
reading Bob Schaller's book ("More B.S from Bob Schaller"), and he rants for
a paragraph or two about the use of needle bearings in TRansmissions and how
they contribute to the design life limit of about 7 years (Biblical isn't
it?) by gradually hammering away at the surface of the shafts. He
recommends replacing these bearings with bushings that theoretically are in
constant contact with the shaft rather than the tiny surface that the needle
bearings afford.
The question I have (yes... there is a question somewhere in here), is has
anyone actually done this substitution of bushings for bearings? If so,
what was your experience? What did you use for bushing material? What
clearances did you machine them to? Am I being a candidate for DPO of the
century, or do I have advanced shipwrights disease? Therefore should I
forget the bushing thing and go with new needle bearings? When I drained
the oil, my magnetic plug was covered with metal bits - like it grew a bushy
beard. I think that this may be proof of Schaller's theory about the
bearings being "self destructive".
In any case, this should be good for a thread or two.
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