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Hello,

First time poster,

Have a '49 Station Sedan with an R-9 overdrive transmission that has 2nd & 3rd gear problems. Drained the transmission oil and found one of the syncro clutch plunger/springs in the bottom (not good). Proceeded to take the top off and found that the second gear assembly was loose on the main shaft as it could be slid forward, off of the ball bearings (really not good). OK, looks like a rebuild is in my future. Finally had time over the holidays to remove the transmission and disassemble.

Wow, quite a learning experience.

One of the problems seems to be that the main shaft snap ring has worked its way out of its grove and allowed 2nd gear to become loose on its bearings (see pictures). One of the Packard service bulletins indicates that there should be a 'rolled lock ring' holding the mainshaft together rather than a snap ring. I do know that the transmission was rebuilt in 2012 (previous owner had a garage do it) and, though I'm not 100% certain, I think that the main shaft may have been replaced as part of the rebuild.

Couple of questions:

Is there supposed to be a snap ring holding the main shaft together or should it be the 'rolled lock ring' as indicated in the Packard bulletin? Current experience indicates that the snap ring isn't cutting it.

Do the mainshaft rebuilds from Max Merrett or Kanter come with a snap ring or is a pressed lock ring used?

Has anyone successfully rebuilt a mainshaft on their own?

Thank you in advance for any help or advice.

Tom in Kansas City

Tom - Welcome to P-info - I cannot put my fingers on it right now, but I can tell you for certain that retaining collar has been the subject of discussion here before. i know two transmission discussions concerning the exact issue you are observing, that the retaining collar, well... wasn't.

welcome to another woodie owner, there should be a pressed in collar to hold 2nd gear on-there is a preload for the 2nd gear bearing. at one time someone in canada was rebuilding them, but have no info other then that. u can find them on ebay sometimes. u might have to look for an extra r9 for parts, check or put an add on this sight. good luck. dell

Hello again,

Another question, I'd like to replace the rear mainshaft bearing in the R9 overdrive. The original is still a little rough after cleaning & re-oiling and it looks like it may have "spun" (outer race spun within the overdrive housing) at some point during its life.

An email to SKF indicates that the original, a MRC 5206 BSF2, was a "special" and is not available. Their advice is to use a standard size 5206 (1 1/16" width) and add spacers to make up the difference.

It looks like Max Merritt looks sells an original for $250. Kanter sells a "kit" for $90 though I'm not sure if this is an original bearing or a thinner bearing with spacers (have an email in to Kanter for more info).

The original bearing has an inner race that protrudes several mm from the outer race. The drive shaft U-joint flange bolts onto the end of the main shaft and sandwiches the bearing between the speedo gear and the U-joint flange. In this configuration, the bearing carries the overdrive mainshaft and has to handle considerable thrust and angular torque. As such, I'm worried that a kit with spacers isn't an optimal replacement.

TL;DR

Anyone know of a less expensive source than the $250 from Max Merrit for a R9 rear bearing? Alternatively, has anyone had success with a bearing / spacer replacement kit?

Thanks for your time,

Tom in KC

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Depending on what you learn about potential replacement bearings, know that I should be able to supply an original bearing, lemme see precisely what I gots in the box of overdrive bearings from Jim Hollingworth. I know there were one or two good used of these bearings.

Please post your findings related to the currently available replacement options.

Thank you, I may be looking you up shortly if a modern alternative isn't available.

Cheers,

Tom

Tom, What did you end up doing about your mainshaft?

On the mainshaft, a neighbor of mine, an auto-mechanic / machinist, has it right now. He thinks a heavier snap ring should work. It'll take some minor machining though to fit the new ring. Luckily all of the shaft components are in good shape. I'll post some pictures when it's done.

OK, finally have the transmission back together. A neighbor / machinist was able to rebuild the mainshaft. He turned down the spacer slightly and used a heavy snap ring (almost double the thickness of the previous) so that and some Locktite retaining compound should hopefully hold everything together. The transmission also received a new rear overdrive bearing, 1st / reverse selector, reverse gear & several other sundries. I was hesitant about the Kanter overdrive bearing kit, however, it turned out to be well engineered and fit perfectly. The output shaft tailpiece was badly grooved so it was sleeved.

Had the Packard on the road last weekend and it was doing really well. Hit a long uphill section where it was in 2nd most of the way and the transmission became stuck in 2nd gear. Luckily we were able to manage it back to the garage and push it into place.

Pulled the top of the transmission fearing the worst. Luckily it wasn't catastrophic as the 2nd / direct selector had worked rearwards off of the syncro plungers and the plungers had popped out just enough to trap the selector. During examination the 2nd / direct shift fork was found to have some extra play that allowed it to move 'beyond' second. A new shift fork was found on ebay and installed this weekend. Hopefully the new fork and today's linkage adjustment will solve the issue. We weren't able to road test due to weather, however, it did shift quite crisply while up on jack stands.

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Nice job repairing the tailshaft. Another method is to use a RediSleeve or equivalent. They can be bought from bearing suppliers.

(o{}o)