The steel end rings are relatively easy to remove but can be a challenge to reinstall. The brass syncro rings press in relatively easy also, but that is not the point I was trying to make. The factory staked them in for a reason, there is a lot of load on those parts and they didn't want them to turn in the drum. The factory and/or re-builder's had to have some sort of tooling to stake them in properly.
I took a syncro out of a 57 trans recently that had a loose brass ring. It was obviously worn out which would cause it to grind going into gear and likely pop out at some point.
Fred
