how to: itr tranny rebuild and upgrade

[Black R]

more progress today:

I went to visit my friend Jenson at Galaxy Machine.

The countershaft nut came off with air gun thanks to Jenson. Then he got the top bearing off the countershaft with a couple of flathead screwdrivers.....




Next, the second bearing was a total bitch to come off that way, so it went to the giant press...



The top bearing on the countershaft comes off without too much effort though. I'll probably replace it anyway, so *shrug*. The 2nd bearing is a 2-piece, with a removable cover. It is a bitch to get off. There are 3 tiny indentations in the shaft where it seats so you can get a tiny flathead or chisel type punch and knock it a bit to get the clearance to squeeze a bearing splitter or gear puller fingers in there..... I'm probably going to replace this as well just to be safe.....

As for the bearing on the mainshaft... it just comes off rather easily... no muss, no fuss..... just slides off with your fingers and a little elbow grease...

It looks like I'll probably replace the 1-2 syncro sleeve set as well...

If you're unfamiliar with the parts, here they are thanks to Len and Baranco Acura:

http://www.barancoacuraparts.c...Irno=

http://www.barancoacuraparts.c...Irno=

[Black R]

I stopped by Baranco Acura and saw Len. He hooked me up with all the bearings and seals for my tranny rebuild - as well as the 1-2, 3-4, and 5-R syncro sleeve sets! :thumbup:



I disassembled the mainshaft (fully in order from left to right):



Of course I refer to the helms for every detail:





Next, I disassembled the countershaft in order:



Helms for this section:





Then I laid out the ATS gearset next to the components they'll be replacing (1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th):



ATS 3rd gear on mainshaft side (left) vs stock usdm itr 3rd gear (right):


ATS 3rd gear on countershaft side (bottom) vs stock usdm itr 3rd gear (top):





ATS 4th gear on mainshaft side (top) vs stock usdm itr 4th gear (bottom):


ATS 4th gear on the countershaft side (bottom) vs stock usdm itr 4th gear (top):



ATS 5th gear on the countershaft side (bottom) vs stock usdm itr 5th gear (top):


ATS 5th gear on the mainshat side (top) vs stock usdm itr 5th gear (bottom):



One thing I noticed about the ATS gears is that some of them have more teeth - which causes them to be not as thick. They also appear to be made out of a different type of metal... whereas the oem gears are almost of a billet type material. You can kind o see this in the pics. I hope the ATS gears will be able to withstand the abuse that the oem ones did!

In my infinite stupidity, I forgot to order the needle bearings for this rebuild... so I went ahead and did that.

My only other concern is replacing the mainshaft seal and bearing in the case... Luckily they pop right out from the back side with hand tools.

[Black R]

I finally took some time today to get it back together and try to finish up.....

Here's the pics:


parts


assembling countershaft with ats 1,3,4,5 and new syncro set:






using the butt of the hammer to get the gears all the way on:




using a socket to make sure the gears are all the way on:


mainshaft assembled with the ats 3,4,5 gears:


assembled and mocked up to see how the ats gears mesh together:

[Black R]

Some up close pics of the gears assembled:


countershaft (1/ 2 syncro set)








mainshaft

(5/ r syncro set)


(3/ 4 syncro set)

[Black R]

Another local buddy (AJ) brought his expanding bearing puller and slide hammer combo to help me get the bearings out of the case:










And a quick pic of the ATS LSD:




*note: make sure when you install the new bearings that you only touch the outer casing. Also make sure to install the letter side up on both bearings. =)

[Black R]

I have a couple pics to share of the little work area and press at http://www.mainstreamperformance.com that they let me use:

gears pressed on and countershaft nut secured at 80ft-lb + staked:


press:


mess with schlode of oem honda tranny parts:



Anyway, I'm on the home stretch: double checked clearances today with the help of a friend:

mainshaft seal + countershaft and mainshaft bearings pressed into the case with letter sides facing up:


checking clearances between 2nd and 3rd gears on the countershaft:


checking clearances between the shim and 1st gear on the countershaft:


checking clearances on the shift forks:


I'd have the case back together right now BUT it looks like I need to replace the 3-4 shift fork and 5-r shift fork. =(

the helms has all of the acceptable clearance specs, which I can post if you like.

but basically, there is an acceptable thickness for the shift forks. this is a tranny from a 98 itr and it has seen its' fair share of miles. although it had previously been freshened up with a 4.9 final drive and new ats lsd + new diff bearings, we noticed at that time it would need to have the shift forks replaced the next time it was opened up.

sure enough, mic'ing it revealed that the 3-4 and 5-r shift fork would indeed need to be replaced. they are at or beyond the 'service limit' thickness in the helms. another good rule of thumb is to see if there is scarring on the shift forks where they touch the selector rings. if the wear is visible, but can't be 'felt' with a fingertip or fingernail, then it is ok. these had enough wear that you can feel it and the micrometers don't lie. since i'm replacing just about everything else in the tranny anyway, i'm going to replace these couple of shift forks. =)

I order from baranco acura's online site, and pick up from Len.

[Black R]

parts from Len @ Baranco:


old shift fork on the left (5/r) and new shift fork on the left - along with new spring pin to hold the reverse shift piece:


old (left) vs new (right) - see the groove on the old one?


what the helms says about clearances on the shift forks:


using a 5mm punch to get the spring pin out of the old fork so I can reuse the reverse shift piece on the new fork:



somebody requested more pics of the ATS LSD, so here's a couple more quick ones:






and here's the part that concerns me - the gears don't line up just exactly perfect with each other. I don't know if they're suposed to be 'perfect' or if it'll be better once the case is together and the mainshaft is pushed down on the spring washer a bit more..... :crook: