thetundrawolf

So I just rebuilt my W50 transmission. I found a factory manual online for it, which says it is for the W50 trans, but while it is 80% similar, 20% of what it shows, and says to do, do not apply whatsoever to my transmission.

Mainly the shift forks.

I got it all together, the only real logical way they could go, but when I put the trans together, it doesn't shift right. 1st gear locks the transmission up, neutral is not smooth when I wag the shifter right to left. Obviously I don't have it right.

In this regard the manual is completely useless, the shifting system it shows is different than mine.

Here's how I have mine:





Here's a video of a guy in Australia with a W50 transmission:


His shift forks are different, too.

It's making me wonder, do I really have a W50? It was picked up out of the dirt in a junkyard so nobody knows what car it came out of. The rebuild kit for the W50 fit it perfectly.

Can someone help?

thetundrawolf

I cannot say for absolute certain, but I am 85% sure I have discovered the problem. The shift drum thing (The middle one) was in backwards. Both the manual and that guy's video showed an entirely different piece (It had teeth around it, mien is smooth on both ends) so i had to guess, and I guessed wrong.

When the shift rod forks are all aligned, the transmission should be in "Neutral", creating an even void between them.

In this position, you can clearly see that it is in gear. So, I took it completely apart save for a gear assembly on the end of the main shaft, and reversed the drum. Now, when all forks are in alignment, the transmission is fully in neutral.

This is why it was locking up. I have to buy a circlip for a bearing end, and some orings to seal the speedo drive gear, and then it's ready to go back together. Ye-Haw!

P.S. If anyone need help rebuilding their W-50 I can help you. Just ask.

The thickness of the circlips is vital, and I have part numbers and reference pictures that you *will* need if you are doing a rebuild.

Thanks!

enigmaT120

I think my gearbox is different than yours, mine is a 4 speed. Do these need any elaborate shimming during a rebuild? Mine needs some work. Maybe just the top part, as it kicks out of third and fourth gears easily.

Do you have enough pictures that you could do an illustrated write up, like the ones on de-smogging?

I had planned to get a rebuilt one from Marlin Crawler, but this business where I work (at a job I don't care about) to earn money to pay people to do things I enjoy doing, is getting old.

thetundrawolf

I had a 4 speed in my RV. Actually, elaborate shimming isn't really required as much as you'd think. It's a matter of using feeler gauges, and slipping them into the snap ring groove when the gearset/ bearing/ etc is in snug, and finding out what is "tight", then backing off just a hair.

What i did was, I kept trying combinations of feeler gauges until it fit snug, (not too snug. I *did* have to take some material off of the clips I had to buy form Toyota) then I used my calipers to give me a thickness.

Using an exploded diagram, (Readily available, by the way...) I found the circlip, then browsed the series of circlip thicknesses until I found one within the range I wanted. (For example, I needed a 2MM thick snap ring, I used the 1.8-2.0MM thickness one. If you get the 2.0-2.2MM you will no doubt be taking some material off with a dremel. I did this, and actually achieved a fairly consistent thickness this way.

On some, the snap rings/ circlips were just not available. I used standard snap rings from Napa for that, sometimes two two of them, and thinning one out so they snugged up good.



That might sound complicated, but it's not. It took me a while to get it done, only because I was waiting for parts, and becoming irritated with the other things that kept popping up (Driveline related). Knowing what I know how I could probably do it in about a day if i had the parts there.

Damn, no, I don;t have a writeup. I was considering it, too.

Well, if you want, I can walk you through it. You can post pictures and I can tell you what is what. An exploded diagram is going to be your biggest help.

If you do decide to undertake it (I recommend you do, provided you find a good rebuild kit with bearings and syncros) take pictures of everything. It would have saved me some trouble had I of done that. To have picture references.

I have to say, that if you are experiencing popping out of gear, it may just be your shift bushing and collar. If the shift bushing is worn (Replaceable without taking the trans apart) it will not fully go into gear, though it feels that way, and will pop out.

Take your shift lever boot off, and remove the shift retainer plate from the housing, and look down inside. There should be a black rubber or plastic bushing that the ball rides on. If it's not there, or the shift stem has no plastic bushing, or that bushing allows play, then that may be your only problem.

enigmaT120

I never heard of using the snap rings themselves as shims. I was thinking the shims would be like on my BMW motorcycle gearbox, just basically washers of varying thicknesses.

You're probably right about that bushing, and Marlin sells a rebuild kit just for the top part, and say they have upgraded the bushing material. I'll decide later; right now I drive with my hand on the shifter, lightly, until I'm in 4th.

Did your gearbox have worn bearings or gears? Did you replace all of the bearings?

thetundrawolf

I actually knew nothing about shimming a transmission at all... I went out and bought a ton of common auto parts snap rings to fit, then I found the manual for the transmission that stated they needed to be a certain thickness.



Makes sense!

Actually, despite it having a ton of sludge inside, the bearings were all in excellent shape. I replace them anyway, along with the syncros. Because it is going into an RV, and these W50's are known for "Weak input or output bearings" I figured this one's going to be seeing some heavy use I better replace the bearings. I also removed the dust shield from the input bearing, it seemed like it would only trap any contaminants inside the bearings (As it is sealed on both sides anyway- no dust can get in at all).

I am also running Royal Purple in the trans, diff, and and engine, so help with any problems that may arise from a weakness in the drivetrain.

PoopScoopersUnion

You said you had part numbers for those circlips? May I please have them? Thanks for posting!