jd transmission mainshaft split bearing

[mred]

what is the best way to attach the split bearing to the mainshaft? silver solder, silver braze? or? thanks

[MMasa]

I use silver solder after tinning the insides of the bushing as well as the shaft. You have to be careful with the heat so you don't overheat the shaft and affect the heat treatment. I've warmed the entire shaft up in an oven prior to soldering on the bushings. This greatly reduces the time, and total heat, involved to get the solder to flow. 350 to 400 deg. Far.
Mark Masa

[Steve Slocombe]

Changing to the 1931-36 unstepped mainshaft is also worth considering. You'll also need to bore out your main drive gear to take the later one piece bushing.

[MMasa]

I'll second what Steve said. Not that it only works on 1925 and higher units due to the length of the Mai shaft. Pre 1925 Mai shafts are shorter.
Mark Masa

[mred]

i have a 31 shaft and drive gear i will use in another project. i have 2 jd mainshafts, 2 split bearings, 2 drive gears i would like to use to complete 2 trannys. what would be the best solder/flux combination to join these 2 dissimilar metals?

[MMasa]

Crazy as it sounds, I use the silver solder and paste flux used for sweating copper pipes together. The stuff you get at home depot or lowes. I'll tin the parts each separately with the flux on a flux brush and a torch (again, be careful here with the heat) once the pieces are tinned, I clamp them together lightly by wrapping a piece of wire around the assembly, gently heat it up and then sweat the solder in. After it cools, I true it all up and size it on the lathe. Once you do it a couple of times, it's easy.
Mark Masa

[mred]

thanks for the info guys! just a thought, i am concerned with heating the shaft , so have you or anyone tried jb weld in this application? do you think it would work?

[MMasa]

No. I don't think that would work.
Mark Masa

[rwm]

can you buy new split bearings?

[mred]

i got them from rat at harbor vintage

[mred]

i will solder the split bearings on the shaft. thanks mark

[MMasa]

i got them from rat at harbor vintage

They make them? That would be GREAT if they did. Saves me from having to do it.
Mark Masa

[mred]

i do not know.mine might be old ones

[Robert Luland]

Well it’s early Sunday morning. Mama and dog are still out cold leaving the perfect opportunity to ask a lot of stupid questions. The other day I took my 22 three speed apart. My first observation was, boy those engineers back then had some imagination! When I pulled the main shaft out of the main drive gear I came across what I assuming is the jist of this thread, a split bearing. Bear with me boys; this is where the questions are really going to get dumb. First off I can’t find any reference to a split bearing or main drive gear bushing in the parts book. There is a combination bearing listed. So what did the factory call this puppy? The ones on mine have indentation in them to index into a slot on the main shaft. Did this system not work as for the reason here for soldering them? If this is the case, what would keep one from machining a new bearing and doing an interference fit on the shaft followed by machining to the desired fit in the main drive gear? Then again what would keep ya from simply sliding a bearing on with a tight fit and pressing it into the two existing indexing slots on the main shaft? OK mama and dog just strolled out. I’m done! Bob L

[Steve Slocombe]

Dear Bob, my parts bin is labelled 2277-25 Mainshaft Bushing, but now I can't find it in the 1930-40 parts book. The 1922-26 parts book is also silent on what I imagine is the shorter 2277-19 for the 1919-24 mainshaft. Huh! This is one area where the engineers were too clever for themselves, and the 1931 plain mainshaft with the bushing in the main drive gear is a real improvement.