Transfer Case Rebuild Question (High Low gears on output shaft) (1 Viewer)

[TroutFJ]

After getting everything put back together (but still on the work bench) I'm second guessing something I came across in the process of rebuilding my transfer case this weekend. I noticed something and am not sure if it's ok or not. I installed replacement bushings on the high/low gears for the output shaft from Marlin that I picked up with the Terrain Tamer kit. My question is that after pressing in the bushings, new bearings, etc. the low gear spins freely but the high gear is locked in on the output shaft. Is that normal or should the high gear spin on the shaft like the low gear does? Unfortunately I didn't take notice of this before breaking everything down down for the rebuild so am not sure if it's supposed to be this way or not.

Thanks in advance!!

 

[g-man]

don't the low and high gear get pressed onto the output shaft? how else is the gear going to turn the shaft and splines and transfer the power to the drive shaft?

 

[g-man]

I think it would be easy to bench test this. shifting the shifter to low and high and with the trans in neutral turn the transmission input shaft and watch for the rear output shaft splines to turn

 

[TroutFJ]

Yeah, I've done the bench test with the following results.
2H- Rear companion flange turns
4H- Both companion flanges turn
4L- neither turns, wasnt sure if this is because an engine is much stronger than I am and I just cant turn by hand or not.

Thanks for the help! Something definitely feels not quite right but I'm also sleep deprived with an 8 week old baby girl lol!

 

[g-man]

But you should be able to turn the transmission gear/shaft easily with the trans in neutral even with the t'case in low. You'll need to take off the rear cover and see what's going on.

 

[g-man]

Make sure the detent ball and spring are in right and the hi/low shifter is getting into the "lo" position. Don't forget there is a neutral position between hi and lo on the t'case shifter. Still nothing there should jam you up. I'm guessing a gear on backwards or not meshing with the idler gears.

 

[TroutFJ]

Detent balls and springs are in correctly cause it shifts just fine between 4H neutral and 4L. During reassembly I made sure to test movement in the gears through every step. Everything spins freely and well until 4L. I'm thinking I must have messed something up pressing everything back onto the output shaft. It doesn't sound like that low gear should be able to spin on the shaft like it does. Guess I'm breaking it back apart...again! Getting pretty good at pulling everything apart now!
Thanks a ton for the help!

 

[TroutFJ]

Just found this video of a rebuild on YouTube. Check out at 34:50. That's what I'm talking about, both high and low gears spin on the shaft after he's done pressing it all together. I must have pressed the bushing on wrong or something....

 

[tmxmotorsports]

That internal bearing puller tho i used a different style that one pulled it with ease. I see what your talking about something must be wrong.

 

[ChuckDelta]

Great thread! I'm probably going to have to tackle this myself soon. My 4H pops out into 2H whenever there is torque on the engine. Even driving while holding the shifter with one hand doesn't really work, as it pops out with quite a lot of force. It doesn't do this in 4L, so I have to use low whenever I need 4wd. I'm wondering where you got your rebuild kit? I've seen quite a few different ones, some with just flanges and seals, and others with bushings and sleeves and all sorts of bits. How do you know how big your centre pin is without taking it apart?

 

[TroutFJ]

Yeah, mine was doing the same as well as some weird grinding/clicking sound from the t case when it would happen. Thankfully no ground gears or metal shavings when I broke everything down.

I got my rebuild kit from Marlin Crawler but cruiser bros I hear is awesome to deal with! The gear bushings I bought separately.

I used calipers on my idler shaft to figure out the size. Where it pops out of the rear half of the case is where I measured (38mm)

 

[60Works]

Both high and low gears should rotate. The shift collar is what locks it onto the output shaft, not the gear squeazing the shaft (@g-man). If your gear is tight after replacing the bushing, you need to hone the bushing.

BTW - The teeth on the output shaft are supposed to be castleated. It's not (all) wear. The castleation helps hold the collar in place when under load yet it is easy to shift with the clutch in.