sclemow wrote:So more questions I’m afraid. I have stripped 2 mainshafts and neither had a snapring holding the 1st/2nd synchroniser hub on. A cortina manual mentions one and the mainshaft seems to have a groove for one, the lotus manual doesn’t mention it though.
Should it have one or not?
Also does anyone have any good tips for removing the bearing from the input shaft?
It is very tight and I don’t want to damage 4th gear.
If your gearbox has a sleeved bush under 1st gear (it should have as it's a 2.5 box) then the 1st/2nd synchroniser doesn't use a circlip - it is all held in place by the big nut behind the rear bearing.
The bearing on 4th gear can be a pain but they usually knock off with a drift if you're careful and you rotate your contact point around the job as you go as the bearing won't knock off without cockling slightly.
I use a press to press the bearing off with a bearing puller clamped around the bearing / in the circlip groove of the bearing.
However, it can be knocked off in a vice. Hold the splines in the vice (tightly, with soft jaws) and tap the edge of the bearing (or the circlip groove - bit safer and further away from precious teeth), allowing it to spin as you go and working at it from slightly different points (imagine a clock face, 12, 3, 6, 9 o'clock etc). If you aren't confident you won't damage the gear teeth you could use the circlip groove in the bearing to clamp up a bearing puller and use the nose of the shaft as the contact point for the puller nose - it has a convenient / purpose built shape in the end of the nose for this job.
They aren't normally all that tight unless they've been fitted with bearing lock for some reason (bearing lock is not standard from the factory BTW). If it is tight then a bit of heat might be needed.
Hope that helps.