Speed Freek

iTrader: (2)

So I just pulled the motor/trans again after only getting about 5 miles out of my "Repair" and upgrade.
As you can see the cage bearing is actually twisted!!
And the Reverse gear where it rides on the washer showed of signs of heat (some purple discoloration) on both the gear and bushing.

The inside of the cage bearing needled were worn flat even!

I wonder if it could be contributed to possibly not enough lubrication on that bearing during assembly...I almost thing I may have put it in there dry and thought the trans fluid would lube it pretty quick just driving it around the block slowly a couple of times, however I am 90% sure I put trans fluid on all that during assembly.

Seems something else is going on due to both failures being almost exactly the same result so I am thinking its something else, just trying to figure out whats going on here.

Speed Freek

iTrader: (2)

So I pulled the drivetrain to fix my trans when I failed back in Nov, last year!! Ended up doing the usual upgrades (billet fingers, brass fork slides, steel sift fork and all parts that were damaged or missing (disentegrated!)

When it failed initially it made a weird squealing noise and just didnt feel right and ended up pulling over and gettting towed the rest of the way.

I pulled the trans apart and the reverse cage bearing was COMPLETELY vaporized! Reverse gear bearing surface was in bad shape and the main shaft was ruined by the reverse gear and bearing gouging it as well as melting the plastic thrust washer.

So I repaired all the broken parts did the upgrades and put it all back together and 5 miles into my test drive, it sounded and acted almost identical to the previous failure.

Its now safe to say I didnt fix sheit! I simple replaced broken parts like a shop monkey and figured it was just a bad bearing that was the cause, well, I dont think that was it!!

Trying to go over this thing and see what could be the culprit with a fine tooth comb right now but any ideas, theory or better yet first hand input would be much appreciated.

BTW when it failed this time I was in 6th gear just cruising at hwy speed (going about 65-70)not going fast or on the gas at all just trying to "feel it out" and then the squealing came and I got it to the shoulder ASAP and called AAA to come get me!
Here's another pic of the plastic thrust washer, it has some "windows"

Speed Freek

iTrader: (2)

Nobody has seen this before? Just scared to throw it back together again with new parts to have this happen again, I looked it over about 500 times and cant figure out what could be the culprit.
Seems weird how the reverse gear experienced so much force in both directions since it ate the plastic thrust washer (forward) and left an impression in the steel washer on the backside (rearward) so it was seeing forces in both directions somehow, might be due to the bearing twisting pushing the gear somehow.
Looks like I am going to just replace everything again with tons of lube and hope for the best. According to the schematics everything was spot on.

Reverse has its own idler that spins fine and no load should be seen on reverse when in other gears, seems odd that it failed in 6th gear. Makes me think that it was friction.
If it wasnt lubed enough, the bearing would certainly fail like it did. But that doesnt explain why it failed the first time a few months ago when I know it wasnt dry and had been driving for over 3 hours that day when it initially happened.

I hate not being able to figure out a problem..unless the bearing did fail the first time and it was just too dry on re-installation causing it to get hot and bind the bearing?

I cant find any other people that have had this problem so it certainly doesnt seem common.
Was thinking maybe a bent reverse shift fork but I dont ever have to force it into gear and the fork looks dead straight to me, never had any shifting issues in the 30,000 miles I have been running this swap.

jmm98LS1

iTrader: (28)

This is strictly a guess just from looking at your pics. The snap ring that retains the reverse syncro hub is missing, and it looks a bit like the hub is not seated fully....indicating the 5/6 cluster beneath it is not pressed onto the mainshaft fully.

Speed Freek

iTrader: (2)

I pulled that clip off and it was fully seated but I know what you mean that would allow contact between the two parts but the clips and washers were in and fully seated..I just slid it back together checking stuff and then took a pic.
All I can think is that it must have been awfully dry and just self mutilated.

Thanks for the feedback though, I appreciate anything at this point!!

I am just going to replace the parts and liberally lube the everliving hell out of everything this time. Cant imagine what else is even possible at this point.

Mikey 97Z M6

iTrader: (37)

Sorry about that luck....

This is a fairly common failure on rebuilds, more than people like to admit. When I was building T56's I saw a couple come in to me like this that other local shops tried to rebuild previously. Saw a few that actually destroyed the mainshaft because the bearing got so hot. Took out the gear, bearing and shaft. Once even overheated the syncro hub so bad it discolored it and needed a new one.

Load up that bearing, thrust washer and mating surfaces with TransGel assembly lube. Same with the 5/6 counter shaft gears.

jmd

iTrader: (4)

I haven't seen the B-W logo on a reverse gear in a while!

New bearings definitely warrant lube to give them time before splash lubrication gets to them.

The worst reverse gear failures are when an owner ignores the 5-6 vibe and the cluster gear walks back, shoving the synchro through the lock-ring.

calhoon

iTrader: (6)

That failure is a "pinched" gear. That is , there was not enough running clearance on the shaft for the gear. The likely cause is the 5/6 gear moving rearward( as Mathew has said). The spool gear must have a good press to retain it in place.

Speed Freek

iTrader: (2)

OK so I fixed it again and put a lot of assembly lube on it, have about 40 miles on it without issue, I am going to pull the tailhousing and check for any wear on the bearing/gear.

Looks like i just assembled it too dry the first time and it just got too hot once I hit the freeway.

Sucks to have to pull the trans apart again, but I NEED to know if its wearing normally now.

Thanks for the input guys! Just wanted to give an update!

Carnutsx2

Back from the dead...

Did it last ? I did a t56 twice and gave up , it killed the output shaft and reverse gear. I never did find out why.