A couple of transmission questions

I am removing the guts from my old broken transmission case and putting them in my "new" transmission case. I am trying to get everything into spec, and I have a couple of questions.

1. While checking the spacer lengths for the countershaft gears, I find some of them are up to .010 shorter than spec. HOW do these spacers wear? There is no torque or movement applied to them.
2. The countershaft has movement front to back with all the gears and spacers installed. I do not have the differential back in yet,so the question is once the diff is back in and the countershaft bevel and ring gear are meshed, is that gong to take up this slack? I know the manual says not to torque the countershaft nut until everything else is in place, but I am assuming that is because the input shaft and sliding gears have to be in place so you can "lock" the transmission to torque the nut.

I need a little pro advice!!

The .010 wear is nothing to worry about in my opinion.
The countershaft will move front to back until you get the cover/retainer bolted back on. Even though you don't torque the nut down, it still needs to be installed with shims to get an idea of the mesh on the pinion. After you get the mesh correct, and the preload on the bearings, then install the upper gears and torque the countershaft.

Also, should any of the gears be beveled, or is that from grinding?

Three of the countershaft gears will have a bevel on them to aid in aligning the gears when shifting. The reverse gear has no bevel because the idler has the bevel on it. As long as they are not excessive with burrs, chips or cracks, it's normal.

Thanks for your help guys. I have to get the rear input shaft bearing ( my tranny was the old style bearing and the new case is the new style) and get my backlash set up and then hopefully I can get started on the finals.

Now another question. My replacement trans case has a different size hole for the rear transmission shaft bearing. Mine was originally a roller bearing with a shield on both sides (1950). I assume this case uses the newer needle bearing. Does it matter as far as the shaft goes? Were both bearings the same ID?
Edit- I see the bearing change was in 1954. I also see the last two numbers of the shaft part number changed, but looking at TMs website I see the shaft is sbown as the same throught production years.

To my knowledge, the shaft measurement did not change, just the bearing style.

I have not been able to locate the needle bearing with an oil hole, but TM sells the factory replacement. Also, the 'tranny gasket' set from TM is good way to get all the gaskets and seals for a tranny/diff job.

The service manual has a good write up on getting the differential bearing preload right. It's worth reading, the case is the 'variable' for the shims needed, so replacing the case is not just a matter of putting it back together. Also, the ring gear and pinion (countershaft) need to mesh correctly. They are a 'matched set'.

I have done ALOT of research on the rear input shaft bearing from this site. I am still needing a little clarification and summary...

1. I know GW had some info for a sealed replacement bearing, but AFAIK, it was only for the earlier style case/bearing (1954 and earlier ).
2. Does the bearing from TM have the oil hole or not? Apparently the one from CIH DOES NOT have an oil hole.
3. I know someone was trying a bearing similar with an oil hole, but it was 1/8 inch longer than stock. Could not find any final words on that one.

It would seem that a needle bearing riding on a shaft without an inner race would need to get as much lubrication as possible. I can hardly see the point in a bearing without an oil hole in the outer case. Thats like having a tire with no valve stem...

Edit:BW...looks like we were posting at the same time! If you read my mind, you'll find its an awfully short story...

ok... found an update by Harold R on the rear bearing. He has 5 hours runtime on it without issues. I have sent A PM to see if he has located the part number for the bearing he used. I will post the number, unless he beats me to it!

I have a used extra rear needle bearing. Hours of use unknown.

The needle bearing from TM does not have an oil hole.

The needle bearing from TM does not have an oil hole.

I guess th question to that is " does anyone have any amount of time on this new style bearing without an oil hole?"

The oil hole went away when the production line at The Torrington Company was bought out and shut down. You will have to use the bearing that is available.

The oil hole went away when the production line at The Torrington Company was bought out and shut down. You will have to use the bearing that is available.

Any reason why the hole was done away with, or was it just a money saving production thing? Any idea if anyone other than Harold R has taken all the measurements and tried to find a suitable cross? Longevity of the new bearing? I just dont see any info like that on this site, and if it isnt on this site, I dont think I will find it anywhere....