VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 1929 Transmission Check/Rebuild

as many know i have been working on the engine and having it rebuilt, in regards to the transmission... would like to give it a GOOD once over before i get the engine back and ready to go in.

I see that The Filling Station sells an overhaul kit with new shafts (counter & Reverse Idler) and related bushings, as well as a bearing retaining, new shaft bearings. the overhaul kit and bearing retainer are produce by C&P Automotive (Billy Possum) 


1923-1931 Transmission Rebuild Kit. Due to bushing and shaft wear the gears in the transmission are allowed to move away from each other, increasing the load on the gears and causing excessive noise. This kit contains a hardened and ground countershaft and reverse idler shaft, countershaft bushings, reverse idler bushings and the main drive gear bushing. The expansion plug and cotter pins required for assembly are also included. All parts are identical to the originals but with sintered bronze bushings for long life. p/n 328671, 328662, 590236, 590199, 590412, 117923 and related cotter pins


1925-1931 Transmission Main Drive Bearing Retainer (with elastomer seal). This aluminum part remedies the problem of warp in the original pot-metal retainer and the elastomer seal prevents grease from leaking out of the front of the transmission. p/n 590409A

how can i tell if bushings and shafts are in need or replacement ?? gears look to be in good shape, no chips or breaks on any of the teeth.

well decided to get started on the transmission...

here is the Transmission Rebuild Kit & New Bearing Retainer I got from The Filling Station (Made by C&P Automotive) also got the new bearings while i was at it. very nice kit, has 2 new shafts, pins, cap & required bushings. 

Following the instruction in the 1929 Chevrolet Repair Manual, took my time and tore down the transmission.

Here is the initial ROUGH Tear down to bare housing...

housing with internal components

housing looking inside

front view

rear view

passenger side (fill port)

bottom

drivers side

now here are the internals broken down...

shafts, gears, keys, and pins oh my 

now to clean everything down and then prep for rebuild

going to soak and scrub the gears down then inspect them for defect, chips, cracks, etc...

see what it all looks like after some cleaning :)

well got all the gears cleaned up as well as the housing...

shaft

Cluster

Splined Shaft

Cluster 2

cont...

They look good to me, especially the main drive which I had to replace on mine.

Thanks Bearsfan, I’m going to be getting into this shortly. Big help.

hope to start putting it together soon

question for anyone that has rebuilt their Chevrolet transmission using the kit & parts i noted above.
did you remove one side (facing inwards) of the bearing shield or leave it in ?? any issues, concerns, and/or recommendations ??

The rear bearing should not have any shields so oil can enter the U-joint. I would remove the inwards shield on the front bearing.

I followed The TFS instructions for the Main Drive Bearing and removed the inner seal. As I remember it was not difficult.

well got around to re assembling my transmission. been trying to get everything in order for our annual swap meet so been busy !!

laid out everything on my bench then started to reassemble. used my Harbor Freight 20 Ton Press to press on the bushings. i used a lights coat of oil to ease to process. this was really easy to do, as long as you ensure everything is straight and in line.

did this for all the bushings on the gears/shaft. took my time and made sure it war correct.

once all the bushings were installed i did test fit each shaft to ensure that they went in smoothly and freely and spun with easily with no slop or play. 
also use a technique previously discussed to put in some grooves in the bushings for oil.

next up was the bearings... this was a little more tedious, as wanted to make sure i supported the races on the bearings that i was pushing/pressing against. do not want to scar or flat the balls.

the black gook on the shaft was grease, used grease and oil coat to ease installation...

first to go in was the counter shaft cluster and shaft... then the reverse idler cluster and shaft. used the new shafts in the C&P Automotive rebuild kit.

this was a test fit, still need to line up holes and drive in shafts then pin them in.

next up was the main drive gear and shaft,

then the spline shaft assembly and gears. used my press again to press in the bearings into the housing and seat everything.

then i made sure that all the gears moved freely and that i could work the gears into all ratios with out an issue

i have not pinned the shafts in yet, just in case.

next up will have to pin the shafts to secure them in place, and then start on the u-joint housing and assembly !!

Nice job! That does look like a nice discrete project that all fits on a single workbench.

thanks, yeah not many parts, and nice to lay it all out :)

drove in the shafts lined up the holes, put in the pins, and pulled them over. shafts are now in there to stay !!