VL Trans rebuild

[Grumpa]

Okay I could use a little wisdom here. Rebuilding a VL transmission and not sure where to draw the line. I took the liberty of cleaning up my 2298-15 slider gear, knocking off the burrs and smoothing out the chips. IMG_1961.jpgIMG_1962.jpgIMG_1965.jpgIMG_1966.jpg Would you run this gear?

[RCamp]

Looks like it cleaned up pretty good, I'd run it

[Jim]

Whenever I 'repair' anything, I always ask myself "How much" will I actually ride this machine. It took 80+ years and thousands of miles to look like that. So... how many miles will you actually ride it after you're finished? Just a thought. Good luck with the machine.

OH... so my answer would be, YES I would use that gear as long as you can't see any "cracks" down near the base of ANY tooth. IF you see any cracks, then, no I would not use it. Maybe use a dye penetrate on the gear to search for hidden cracks?

[Grumpa]

Whenever I 'repair' anything, I always ask myself "How much" will I actually ride this machine. It took 80+ years and thousands of miles to look like that. So... how many miles will you actually ride it after you're finished?
I would use that gear as long as you can't see any "cracks" down near the base of ANY tooth. IF you see any cracks, then, no I would not use it. Maybe use a dye penetrate on the gear to search for hidden cracks?

Thank you Jim and RCamp, exactly the feedback I was looking for. Yeah I was balancing the "perfect restoration" i.e. trying to locate all NOS parts and truly respect history and the machine vs reality. My theory comes down on doing my best to have original OEM parts but I'm not above using sealed bearings on this tranny. So yes, I'll probably use this gear unless I find a NOS one at an affordable price. I just didn't know how much I could clean up the gears and what to look for. I didn't think of a dye-pen inspection. I should have done that before my clean-up because sanding can smear metal and hide cracks.

[Grumpa]

Okay so moving on here's the back story on this tranny: It was removed from a 1934 VD and it was a project bike when I got it probably 25 or 30 years ago. When I got it running it would go down the street and then it would seize up; kept running but it was like the brakes were on. Traced it down to some issue with the tranny, put in a stand in tranny and this tranny has been on the shelf since. Finally got a chance to go through it now. Pretty sure it seized when it warmed up because the last guy who was in it left out the 2339-25 spacing collar so the sprocket was rubbing directly on the case. IMG_1937.jpgIMG_1939.jpgIMG_1940.jpg

[Grumpa]

To continue, the Al Qaeda infiltrators who rebuilt this tranny used the earlier mainshaft and drive gear: IMG_1967.jpg

[Grumpa]

So I scrounged and in another box of parts I came across what I think is the correct main drive gear, but I defer to you to confirm or deny my assumption:IMG_1969.jpg IMG_1970.jpgIMG_1971.jpgIMG_1972.jpgIMG_1973.jpg

[Jim]

I'll be the first one to say, I don't know enough about these transmissions to give you any "help" on which could be the correct gear. Although, I think you were correct in that someone had left out the 2339-25 spacing collar so the sprocket was rubbing directly on the case causing the "friction" and slowing you down.

In fact... I have a JD Transmission in my 1936VLH! HAHA!! It goes down the road fine, so... what can I say? HAHA!!

GOOD LUCK!

[Grumpa]

Confirmed the stack-up works:IMG_1977.jpgIMG_1976.jpgIMG_1975.jpgIMG_1974.jpg

[Steve Slocombe]

The 1931-36 main drive gear has deeper teeth than the 1925-30 type, plus it has a bushing inside to go over the 1931 unstepped mainshaft. The late drive gears are getting hard to find, so many are using the earlier type which seems strong enough. When using the earlier gear on the later mainshaft, you need to bore out the gear, which is very hard, or thin down the 1931 bronze main gear bushing.

[Grumpa]

So just to document: IMG_2000.jpgIMG_2001.jpgIMG_2001.jpg

[Steve Slocombe]

That's it. The later countershaft gear has deeper teeth at the small end to mesh with the 1931-36 main drive gear, and also takes the longer 2306-32 needle rollers to replace the earlier 2289-17 caged rollers. The needle rollers need inner and outer thrust washers. Today you can buy the 2308-16 end plate in various thicknesses to set up the countershaft end float in the case from free running to around ten thousandths. Main problem I've found with the early cluster gears is that the short roller wears well past any available oversizes for rebuilding. Many 1925-30 JD/VL owners are replacing the whole countershaft gear assembly with the 1932-36 style. I also use the 1931-36 unstepped mainshaft to avoid soldering those pesky split bronze bushings.

[Grumpa]

Okay so can anyone say with any certainty what the finish was on the Chain Guard Clutch Plate 3812-30 or 3812-32? Or the 2501-25 Clutch Dust ring?IMG_2074.jpg

[Peter Cooke]

I've been assuming the Chain Guard Clutch Plate would be gloss black to match the Front Chain Guard inner upper & lower pieces.

The Clutch Dust ring I have no clue. I had mine CAD plated when I did the g'box lid and kicker cover but it probably should be just parkerised.

[Steve Slocombe]

They're usually covered in rust and filth when I see them, and an AMCA judge will need better knees than I've got, plus a penlight torch and a dental mirror, to prove us wrong. I've had a couple of nos dust rings, I think one parkerized and one black enamel, but that does not mean they were made before 1935. Maybe the early ones were flat nickel, then cad around 1930, then parkerized? On the chain guard clutch plates, the 1932-35 brackets look parkerised, but I have one cad, possibly replated. The clutch plate itself is often shiny under all the dirt. Flat nickel, cad or zinc are all possibilities depending when they were made. These are not items which give me sleepless nights.