need 6 gear help

[longboardnj]

dont know much about 6 gear trans i had 1 over 10 years ago and sold it now i have 3!! i just rebuilt the 1 on the left (nice 48 pitch gears inside). but it did not have bearings on the outdrives . so i went to take the bearings out of my stock parts trans on right. but they would not fit all the way on. my other 6 gear car looks like it just has some kind of plastic insert there. i tryed to file a bit of the outdrives (burs) but still didnt fit. what do i do ? sand them down a bit or should i not run bearings with this 48 pitch aftermarket kit?? can i run no bearings without a plastic insert??

[aconsola]

I have not had the 48pitch gears myself, but with the stock gearset, the difficulty in getting bearings over the outdrives then whty have been used is usually the burrs from the dogbones. they are verry stubborn and will not go on unless the outdrive is perfectly round and clear of any high spots.

will the bearings go on all the way if the gears are out of the gearbox? It is possible that the outdrive is not perfectly centered in the space if the spine plate was trimmed a little to free up the gear mesh. (Unlikely, but possible.)

as for the plastic spacers in the outdrive, they are there to keep the felt washers/seals in place. It is one or the other, seals/plastic washer, or bearings, but not both.

[civilguy]

To continue with what aconsola just said-- the felt seals don't support the outdrives at all. So you can run the transmission without anything there, but dirt will be able to easily enter. The outdrive bearings just helped with premature wear on the inner bushing/bearing.
I always had problems getting the outdrive bearings on. The slightest bit out of round and they were so tough to get installed.
I also never had the 48p conversion and there is a possibility that the outdrives are slightly larger especially if it was just intended to be run with the felt.

Good luck!

[rctenracer]

What size bearings are these ?

[scr8p]

What size bearings are these ?

3/8 x 5/8. same as the 2.25 stealth outdrive bearings.

[shodog]

I have a tranny with the thorp 48 pitch gears and I'm pretty sure I have bearings on the outdrives. I'll have to double check though.

[longboardnj]

yea looks like i have to sand them down and fit the bearings

[jwscab]

Yep, sand them down a bit at a time until the bearing fits on. These parts, whether stock or the 48 pitch are not exactly 3/8" so once in awhile, you have to massage them to fit properly.

Use a high grit sandpaper, maybe somewhere around 800 grit or so.