T-176 rebuild questions...

Hi, all.





I just got done rebuilding a T-176. Never haveing done so before, I'm glad that they're "easy" to rebuild, because this one has been a nightmare. But I'm convinced that it's just me.



I have it all together right now. During the process, I've got some questions that don't seem to be covered in the FSM, or instructions that I got with the small parts rebuild kit. First of all, the description (definitions) of the parts in the step-by-step instructions don't always match the definitions of the parts in the exploded view. This drives me crazy.



One question is.. on the synchronizer assemblies...the center of the hub is not in the center. It is offset. How do you determine which direction the hubs face, if you lose the original orientations during handling?



Also...the insert springs that came with the kit have a raised bend in the center of the "circle". My originals didn't. They were circular, with a little hook bend at the very end.



I placed the raised bend in the area of the hub where there is a cutout for the little tin inserts. A tin insert obviously fits over the raised bend, and also two other inserts go in the other two hub slots.



In this fashion, it is not possible to orient the springs 180* to each other, because the hub slots are 120* apart. But, I figure that they're close enough...



Three of the (rectangular) tin inserts that came with the kit have solid short ends on them. The other three inserts have a "mousehole" cutout on one of the short ends. The other short end is solid. Where specifically do these "different" inserts go? And in which direction?



Right now, if I try to slide the third-forth gear clutch assembly, I can get it to slide forward (toward the front bearing), but there's nothing to stop it from going TOO far forward. When this happens, the inserts pop out of their slots, then, the clutch assembly can't be slid back into position unless the inserts are set back into their slots. What is there to prevent this from happening? I cannot get this assembly to slide toward third gear.



The first-second gear clutch assembly moves more freely, and cannot go TOO far in either direction, due to the fact that the assembly will hit first, or second gear. To me, this seems fine.



Without the front bearing cap on, the shafts spin freely. As soon as the cap is finger tight, this freedom quickly disappears. slight finger tightening/loosening of the bearing cap bolts has a large part in how easily the shafts turn. This will not be good if I torque the bearing cap down.



As it stands now, the front and rear bearing are installed, and all snap rings are in place. If the mainshaft assembly is pushed so that the large snap ring of the front bearing makes contact with the front of the case, the rear bearing's large snap ring is about 3/16" away from the case. Is this normal?



Also, the front bearing cap gasket is thinner than the thickness of the snap ring. So, how do I seal the front...with sealant, or cut my own thicker gasket?



I apologize for such a long-winded explaination, but I've had this thing apart a few different times. This is getting old. I am going to have to take it apart again, and hopefully, armed with the right information, it will be the last time.



Thank you very much for reading this, and for your advice.



Rich