T-150 transmission lubricating wick

The 1978 FSM says that when removing the transmission there is supposed to be a lubricating wick that comes out with the input shaft. You're supposed to remove it and soak it in oil. When I pulled my transmission there was no wick that I could see. Is this a consumable part and does any one have a picture or a part number since I couldn't find one in the manual?

 

J3189314 was the factory part number
The poor picture in the book isn't worth the scanning effort.
Nothing more than a small circular piece of foam type material that you would soak in oil.
Soaking the replacement pilot bushing overnight in oil would probably do just as well.

 

If you want to put something in there, these wicks used to be made of ordinary felt. You can get some suitable felt from the local crafts store. Cut a disk and soak it in motor oil. The ones I've seen have been trapped behind the pilot bushing, but it looks like these are meant to just go into the pilot hole - I expect either approach would work.

JMO - soaking the pilot bushing in oil isn't going to do much. These bearings are sintered bronze, and the pore size is very small. It will take a long time for a viscous liquid like motor oil to diffuse into them to any appreciable degree. I suspect they are impregnated with oil under vacuum. Set the bearing on a piece of paper and it should leave an oily spot.

 

Here is what the input shaft looked like when I removed the transmission. There was no bushing or wick attached. Am I missing something? I am going to pull the bellhousing off soon so I should find hopefully find anything that's missing.

 

I think it should be in the pilot bushing. It would not normally come out with the input shaft.

 

Thanks Tim, the FSM led me to believe that it would come out when I removed the transmission.

 

it goes in behind the pilot bushing

 

I always thought those sintered bronze bushings were graphite impregnated to give them more lubricity. I think they're made of a composition referred to as "oilite". Or is that a trade name?

 

I've never had much faith in the oil soaked felt between the bushing and crank.
I was taught to pack as much wheel bearing grease in there as possible, a light coating over the input shaft and let the Gods have their way with the input shaft.
that being said, I've never had a input shaft bushing go bad, or a trans input shaft "stick" in the bushing.
I've had some that were, "loose" when I've checked them, but never "WOW! this is worn".
Maybe I've just been lucky or stupid!
Joe
It my '74 jeep and my job to keep the ecomony running. That's why I drop so much $$ into it, not cuz it needs it!bunny with a pancake

 

Mmm. Oilite is just a product name, AFAIK. Powder metallurgy means that they are sintered. The pore size is controlled by the process. A minor graphite component, purpose unknown. Using a sintered bearing without impregnating with oil would be pointless, I'd think.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oilite

"Oilite is formed using powder metallurgy so that tiny pores are present in the metal. The pores are then vacuum impregnated with an oil to improve the materials bearing ability."

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This source http://www.mct-eb.com/pdfdown/Oilite.pdf says
"Fine powders are combined and blended into a mix and are compacted in a die under high pressure. The compacted parts are sintered at high temperature in a protective atmosphere belt furnace. Sintered parts are then sized to obtain the exact dimensions and close tolerances desired. The final step in the P/M
process is vacuum impregnation of the bearings, or filling the pores with lubricant."

No comment on the graphite content, but I expect it has something to do with the powder structure in the sintering, not lubrication per se.

 

I wouldn't pack as much as possible in there. Some, ok but not full. It can hydraulically prevent the input shaft from sliding in all the way. Worst case it can hydraulically force the pilot bushing outward from the crank against the end of the splines of the input shaft. I've seen it happen.

 

Putting any kind of grease in the pilot bearing hole for the transmission input shaft is a mistake. Over time the grease will become tacky or hard and cause the input shaft to stick to the pilot bearing and spin with the crank shaft. The constantly rotating input shaft will cause grinding when your shifting gears. This is a pretty common problem especially when lithium grease is put in the pilot bearing bore. That grease will turn into a hard paste over time.

 

Believe it or not Tim, the FSM does recommend soaking the replacement bushing in engine oil before installation.

 

It would be easy to test if you had a sensitive scale. Weigh the bushing before and after soaking and see if it takes up any oil. Intuitively I'd think that coating the bushing with oil is going to have as much of an effect as soaking ... but maybe not.

 

I took the bellhousing and clutch off. I can see the pilot bushing in the crankshaft but I don't see any felt wick. Either it has just disintegrated over time or it is sandwiched behind the bushing. According to the manual I now need to fill the crankshaft bore with chassis grease and then use a clutch alignment tool and a lead hammer to tap on the bushing. Supposedly the hydraulic pressure from the grease will force the bushing out. I don't have either of those tools so I guess I'll be making a trip to the store.

 

use a bolt that just fits and watch your eyes and yes it will come out with grease...

 

Thanks for the advice sterlclan, I had no idea where I was going to find the tool they show in the manual.

 

the bolt should fit snug or as close to snug as you can find if you are replacing it a scratch wont matter good luck...Jeff

 

Anyone ever use Never Seize,, I just put a dab on the end of the shaft & it lubes good & dosent get hard or brake down from any friction heat,,, Works great on the bearing retainer too,,Just don't use to much as the clutch dosent like it ,,, Its a grafite base lube,, So dont get it on your hands or clothes,,,