Henry,
>To answer your question with a question, was the pin broken when you
>removed the tranny, or did the pin break when you tried to remove it?
It definitely broke a while ago, maybe during or right after the PO's
mechanic installed it. The surface was dirty. The indication from
examining the break on the taper pin was that it sheared, hence over
tightened or over stressed, and the surface was smeared ever so slightly, so
the parts rubbed together at some point. (degree in Mechanical Engineering
and Material Science - I loved the failure analysis courses)
>If all parts are pretty new and the pin was broken in the car, I would be
>concerned, and lean pretty heavy towards the welding solution. If the
>pin broke while you were trying to remove it, convential wisdom
>indicates you drill the fork and shaft at a 90 degree angle to the
>original holes, and replace with another pin or an appropriate bolt and
>nut.
I didn't even consider drilling and bolting. Has this been done before?
The only downside is that I really should probably have a very tight or
light interference fit to eliminate any play. That is the reason for the
TAPERED pin, right? And it has to be done while it is still in the
bellhousing. All of a sudden welding looks good again.
>In reference to welding the fork to the shaft, I have given this one a
>lot of thought. The way I see it, the shaft really never needs to come
>out unless you are replacing the shaft and the fork, or replacing the
>bushes. I think the system has a pretty good life expectancy, except the
>pin.
These parts all have less that 5,000 miles on them, look great. BTW - the
LH bush can be replace by sliding the shaft out until the fork hits the casing.
>The original assembly gives you the ability to remove and refit. The
>only reason I can see to have to perform this replace broken parts or
>renew the bushings. If the T/O bearing fork breaks, what chance is there
>the shaft will be perfect and reuseable? Slim?
Eurika, Bingo, Exactly! plus I am cutting and tossing a perfectly good shaft
right now if I cut it.
>All parts are available from the usual sources. The worse case scenario
>is you will be puchasing $90 of parts IF the shaft, shaft bushes and T/O
>bearing fork needs replacing.
Actually, I will have to cut the shaft later to replace the RH bush,
forks/pins or shaft only; otherwise I am OK. Given the normal life of these
almost new components, that should be longer than five years from now, which
might be when I fianlly get around to overhauling the gearbox.
>If you decide to weld, the fork never moves again on the shaft. Since
>the failure of the taper pin is so common, seems like a good idea to
>help this design inadequacy. When the time comes to rebuild this area,
>you have to accept the fact you will be buying a new shaft and fork.
Eurika, Bingo, Exactly! again, I don't mind buying them when they wear out,
but I won't be buying them now, to replace the nearly new parts I will
destroy, if I don't weld. Except, I could probably save the fork if I cut
the shaft off, reducing my cost to a new shaft ~$40-45. But I bear the risk
of damaging the forks in removing the sheared bolt.
>In case you havn'e noticed, I _think_ I will be welding the fork on my
>next clutch job...
It seem like a good consideration to me, although I question doing it unless
there is a problem, since Moss, and maybe others, sells a hardened taper pin.
>After proofreading my response, it occurs to me you are asking how to
>get the broken pin out of the shaft. I think very careful drilling and
>an EZ-out is the course of action I would look into. I am sure that is
>NOT what you wanted to hear! ;-(
No, not at all. I don't have a problem with that. Not fun, but not bad.
Actually that makes a $45 shaft almost look appealing. But I can't get a
straight shot at it, because the fork is stuck on the remnants of the broken
pin.
>Good luck, I am afraid you are going to need some with your taper pin
>extraction!
That's why I am considering just welding it up. Then the only luck needed
is finding a decent welder as I don't have decent cables or a mask for my
Lincoln Thunderbolt right now.
Thanks,
Jack I. Brooks Brooks@Belcotech.com
Project Manager http://www.Belcotech.com/
Belco Technologies Corporation '60 TR3A
201-560-8861
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