4 speed box front bearing retainer

[david.g.chapman]

Hello again.

I am trying to get to the front oil seal on my gearbox. I have a couple of questions:

1. I have the 3 bolts off on the bearing retainer but it refuses to move. It looks as if it's trapped behind the bellhousing, but it's hard to see. Do you have to remove the bellhousing first?
2. When the bearing retainer is removed while the input shaft is held, does anything come with it that might spring away?

Dave Chapman.

[promotor]

The front bearing retainer is a very good fit in the bellhousing - the bellhousing doesn't hold it in as such, they just have a good tolerance of fit. You can remove the bellhousing first to make life easier if there is crud and rust between retainer and bellhousing.

When removing the retainer make sure you are pressing the input shaft back into the gearbox - you don't want it to move forward as you may dislodge the 4th gear baulk ring. Getting it back in means taking the top off the gearbox and a bit of fiddling.

If you plan on taking the bellhousing off put the 3x retainer bolts back in to stop anything moving until you've "persuaded" the bellhousing to move!

Once you have the retainer off you will notice the front bearing has a circlip around its outside diameter within a groove - this circlip sits against the front gearbox face and stops the bearing from floating backwards and the circlip seats against the retainer to stop the bearing travelling forwards - make sure it stays tight up to the front of the gearbox until you refit the retainer.

[david.g.chapman]

Thanks promotor for such a brilliant response!

Dave.

[david.g.chapman]

Thanks to that reply, I was able to remove the retainer by tapping against a lug with a club hammer and drift. Once it started to rotate I was able to rock and then withdraw the retainer while holding the input shaft steady.
As promotor has said, the bearing is exposed on the gearbox with its circlip. The oil seal is contained in the retainer and easily extracted.
Job done!
Dave.

[promotor]

No problem - glad it helped and that it all went smoothly!