Back at it....
Time to seat the front bearing race and mount the front bearing housing.
Adding some engine assembly lube to the pilot bearing so it won't start dry.
Just in case I ran into any unforeseen complications I decided to assemble the bearing housing onto the case with a dry gasket to set the depth of the outer bearing race then pop the housing back off to apply sealant to the gasket once the bearing race is set into position. The depth of the bearing race is set by the protruding lip on the front bearing retainer. You want to tap the retainer with a mallet and slowly tighten the bolts of the retainer back and forth to work the housing all the way down against the case, don't just try tightening the bolts to pull the bearing retainer down as you run the risk of breaking an ear off the retainer casting.
Bearing race seated and front bearing retainer removed once again. Be really careful pulling the shift rails through the seals since they are already installed.
Prepping the gasket with Aviation Permatex. I've used this sealant for years with great success, it can be messy but it just plain works.
Slowly working the cover back on for the last time, taking care to make sure the lip seals don't get cut or folded during assembly.
Permatex #2 on the bolt threads. I'm using copper washers under the bolt heads for extra sealing protection, with Permatex #2 under the copper washer as well.
Torquing the bolts to 30 ft/lbs
I decided to leave the interlock pill out of the shift rails, this will allow us to run low range while in 2wd....great for creeping along slowly in parades ect without having to ride the clutch.
Dropping in the shift rail indent balls and springs. I added some gear oil to the spring/ball before installing the cap but I did have a suggestion to add some grease to these parts so I may pull them back apart and add some grease before installing them back in the jeep.
With the front bearing housing complete it's time to turn my attention to the rear output shaft
To start I checked out the original bolts I had removed from the rear bearing housing and the threads were in poor cond. I ran a die over them to clean up the threads but they had a loose fit when threaded into the case so it's time for new bolts. I had some grade 8 bolts so I drilled some safety wire holes in the bolt heads and now had nice snug fitting bolts for assembly.
When I took the transfer case apart I found .182" worth of shims and an end play of .0365".....waaaaay out of spec! Since I'm starting with new bearings I wanted to get an approximate idea of where to start on the shim pack. I tapped the bearing race into place (was a little on the loose side so I will add some Loctite 640 to the race upon final assembly) and got it to about .010" end play, I then used feeler gauges to measure the gap where the shims go with the bearing cap held lightly in position against the bearing race. This was a start...then I would adjust from there.
Each time the shim pack was adjusted I would install the new shims, torque up the rear bearing housing to 30 ft/lbs, tap on the front and rear housings several times with a mallet to seat the bearings then measure the end play with a dial indicator. If the play was to large then it was off with the assembly, adjust the shim pack and repeat the process. These steps were repeated several times.
Factory specs for end play is .004" - .008". Sal from Vintage Jeeper prefers a tighter setup and Novak recommends tighter clearances as well...002" - .006". Playing with a combination of my new and old shims I was able to get the end play set at .0027". Perfect.
Happy with my end play I started prepping everything for final installation. I'll be using copper washers under the bolt heads for added sealing benefits. Ignore the star washer on the short bolt, it gets a copper washer as well.
Pay attention to the three sizes of bolts and where they go into the bearing housing. One bolt is 1/4" shorter than the others, this is necessary to clear the shift fork, if a long bolt is installed in this position it will limit the throw of the shift fork.
Adding Permatex #2 to the bearing housing to prevent any oil from seeping out between the bearing cap and emergency brake backing plate, if any oil ever gets by the threads. I also mounted the emergency brake arm before I added the backing plate with the sealant on it.
Since I didn't feel like the race was a tight enough fit in the case I carefully worked the race back out of the case and applied Loctite 640, this will retain the bearing in the case firmly once installed. If your using this be very careful not to get any on the inner race.
Copper Spray a Gasket applied to the flange surfaces and both sides of the shims.
NOTE: This is the point you want to install your speedometer drive gear onto the rear output shaft.....before you install the rear bearing cap. Notice mine isn't installed here? More to come on that below lol.
Applying Permatex #2 to the bolt threads and under the copper washers.
Back on the case and torquing to 30 ft/lbs for the final time.
Verifying final end play clearance after everything is assembled.
Added safety wire to the bolt heads.
And that is that.....or is it? I hit the bed for the night, woke up at 4am this morning...went to roll over and within 30 seconds of waking up thought..."Dang! I didn't install the speedometer drive gear!". By 4:10am I was back out in the shop taking the assembly back apart to install the gear. I had thought about this set several times during assembly, but never took the time to take the parts out of my parts bin and place them up on the table with the other parts so I wouldn't forget them. Totally my fault on this one and lesson learned.
The Copper Spray a Gasket had set up very well! Brake clean on a rag did a great job of cleaning up the shims and mating surfaces once again.
Installing the speedo drive bits into the rear bearing retainer.
Ahhh....the step I missed that let me do all of this again lol.
Assembled once again, bearing retainer torqued to specs, new copper washers installed on the bolts, fresh Permatex #2 on the threads and under the copper washers and end play clearance verified once again. Right on the money.
More to come.....
Hodakgauy
