The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 3 spd. rebuild ?

I need to rebuild my 3100 3spd. tranny. What do you all use for tools since the tools the manual calls for aren't available to me? For instance how is the clutch gear and bearing removed using something similar to the left hand thread puller as used in the manual? If I can't get past that starting point,the job don't get done...at least by me.

Do you need to replace the bearing? If not, I wouldn't worry about removing it. I didn't on mine. Just left it on the shaft, cleaned and inspected it as a unit.

without sounding snotty, if you're asking a question like that, the job don't get done by you, unless you rent the tools. would you know how to use them if you rented them?

why do you want to rebuild it? bec after all is said and done, rental/time/mistakes, it'd be easier to buy a rebuilt. that is, unless you want to ride the bleeding bark of the tree of knowledge in order to be proud of what you MIGHT accomplish.....
i do it all the time, bec i'm into pain, but i wouldn't recommend it

Haha. Not snotty at all. Well, I actually thought I'd try it since it's a learning thing and it doesn't look that hard. I just don't have all the tools, but if you know someone like NAPA might have the right tools,I think it's worth a shot. 1st and reverse gears are kind of worn, so I thought a replacement is in order. And who the heck rebuilds standard trans any more?

A pair snap ring pliers is about the only special tool you need. What do you call "worn" on 1st and rev. If you are talking about the corners of the gears looking kind of chewed up, almost all of them look like that and it doesn't hurt anything. The first sign of trouble usually appears with the transmission jumping out of 3rd gear. This is usually caused by a worn synchronizer and shift fork. If its not jumping out of gear, I would leave it alone.

hey cren - not a bearing press for the clutch gear bearing?

and it really isn't that hard, but like most, including me, without a tutor, yer almost bound to ruin at least one bearing. i happened to have access and a tutor, so i made my own press from scrap around the sheet metal shop. standard rental places rent tools, even presses. and i couldn't put a finger on it in my 'library', but there are complete rebuild kits out there somewhere

If the clutch gear bearing good, there is no need to remove it. If its bad, it needs to be pressed off with a press and bearing splitter. I also would suggest he have someone with who has been into transmissions before

These trannys are dirt simple to work on. Theres about 10 moving parts. As for the first and reverse gear, it will be mostly chewed up on the 1st side, (since it sees first more often then reverse) and the gear can be turned around so that the chewed parts are on the reverse side. They come up often enough on ebay and I think I paid $10-20 bucks for mine.

Do you have a copy of the three speed rebuild manual? I can shoot you it in a few emails if youd like.

Jeff

Good Morning guys.
Logged off last night, so missed all your informative posts.The trans hasn't been used in 2 years.I don't remember much grinding.I just thought that at nearly 60 years old it could use some attention.

Anyway,crenwelge,that is exactly the description of my gears.
And I take it, leave the clutch bearing alone as it does seem to operate ok.

rustednuts,I didn't know about just turning the gear around.I'm using a shop manual for '48-'51 and also didn't know of a Trans Manual. Maybe the Old Car Manual Project has it online. I'll check. If not, I sure would appreciate your copying it to me. I'll let you know.

Thanks guys for your help.

the '48-'51 is the same as my '48-'53, so you should be in good shape there. clean(don't spin with compressed air clean) and inspect the clutch bearing very well, ie, take the whole assembly to a bearing supplier for an inspection. they're generally helpful. and they are dirt-simple to work on. i did a few with no hands-on experience, but what a spooky feeling when i heard the needle bearings fall into the case, no idea where they came from, and didn't know about greazing them in for re-assembly. you sound willing. go for it

Many years ago I down to were I could that tranny out of a 64 Impala, replace the slider gear. Put it back in the car in 1.5 hours. I was just a dumb kid out of high school. The boss though was an ex Chevrolet service manager, so I had a good teacher. Just have plenty of sticky grease.

Larry

Good Morning! Well, the diassembly went quite well. I didn't lose any parts, , however, I did find that the Rear Mainshaft Bearing had rust on it(??) and was slightly seized. I haven't a clue as to why it was rusty except that I had drained the trans a long time ago and even though the inside of the case had an oil film, I guess water condensated from sitting. Anyway,that's my guess. I haven't removed that bearing because of the funky style snap ring. I might have a shop take it out.

Older parts houses had a press and bearing splitter for replacing rear wheel bearings. If you bought the bearing from them, they would replace the bearing for next to nothing. I don't remember if its pressed on, but they should have the snap ring pliers.

yeah, the funky style snap is shown in the book as being removable with a special, #9 funky style snap ring tool. i've never done it, so........

Take a piece of flat steel and cut the end to form a point. You can then slide it right into the notch inside the case, opening the snap ring, and tap the rear bearing out.

Okay. Just sort of a flat wedge to spread it. I'll do that.

I can't believe you are not going to spring for a decent, at least Craftsman ring pliars. You will be kicking yourself if you ever need to change out a waste disposal unit under the sink.

In addition your chances of buggering up that ring are high with the method mentioned above, to say nothing of installation after you replaced the bearing. Buy one, you'll be glad you did.

hey cos - the official chev manual lists that device as a bona fide tool

and, i've been doing plumbing for quite some time now, and i haven't found the need under the sink. clue me?

Cos, Oh,I do have several snap ring pliars and use them where applicable. But, if you look at the retaining ring I'm referring to you'll see it has unusual ends that a snap ring pliar would have touble engaging. Plus there isn't a whole lot of room in that area to minipulate the pliars,at least for me. And as Rednate says.GM had such a tool as he described to me. In any case I really do appreciate all the input.

A spreader tool for removing the rear bearing can be made pretty easily. I just ground a taper on the end of one of those rails for holding sockets and it worked great. That tool can be seen in use here:

http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/shop/1948_51truck/51ctsm0706.htm

That bearing retainer isn't not going to hurt or scratch the outer race since it's quite hard. So it's not a problem to pry the retainer up over the edge of the brg and let it drag across the surface.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Just an update: Everything is out of the case for cleaning and close inspection. I actually used a paring knife as my "tool" to spread the retainer ring. The bearing popped right out with a sharp tap. Thanks a heck of lot for everyones help.

Now,where does this piece go?

As long as you have plenty of sticky grease to put the roller bearings back in the main drive, your done.

Good Show,

Larry

After you clean up the bearings hold them up to a light & look inside for any gauling on the races or the balls. If you find any replace it. A small rough area can cause lots of noise & deteriate rapidly.

Already did this myself with a few homemade tools. I did document some of what I did in the tranny rebuild album on the site below. Good luck.

Geezer,Thanks for posting your pic link. I took some pics, but certainly your pics will definitely help me along with your comments as you did your teardown and assembly. Question: What supplier did you use for your small parts and gaskets? It's hard to tell from catalogs how complete these kits are and some sell these as two kits(gaskets/small parts).

Need to apologize, had wrong era 3 speed in mind, wrong clip.

The spring clip I am referring to is on the body of a waste disposal unit, the next time you need to replace one you'll see what I mean.