The retainer ring in my 2wd 85 keeps popping out of the cover, especially when I go over to 1st or 2nd. As you can see there is a good amount of wear in the center of the ring around the lever shaft as well as on the cover. I've tried lightly hammering back the cover where it has burred out but it hasn't made much of a difference.

Anyone know of a solution to this?

I think ideally I would just replace the ring and cover (not sure if that is the technical term) but I haven't been able to find them in the parts catalog, wondering if there are some aftermarket out there. I could possibly shim the center enough so that the ring doesn't need to travel as far.

326k miles on this transmission! Really a testament to how well built these are.

 

A while ago I had a leak at the shifter gasket (33599 above) and replaced the bushing (33548F) but didn't replace the seat as I didn't realize the W55 used one when I ordered parts. Does the seat limit the lever's movement left to right? I can keep the ring from popping out if I'm careful to only go as far as I need to shift.