TR4/4A Chips of Gears in TR4A Overdrive

[KVH]

I'm about ready to fix my leaks around the operating shaft and be done, I think.

But I found these in the bottom of my OD case, just in front of the piston.

Drive and enjoy? Or stress and pull the whole Transmission for repairs? Advice? Thanks

 

[hondo402000]

I would say more like drive and stress that another chunck gets hung in your gears and locks the transmission up and you got Major problems then

I would repair it

Hondo

 

[TR3driver]

Absolutely, Don, pull & repair. One of the thrust washers has broken, which means things will be slamming back and forth every time you shift the OD. If you fix it now, the damage may not be too severe beyond the washer itself. But it will keep getting worse, the longer you run the unit. And you probably don't have very many miles before it starts becoming erratic, due to pieces of the washer getting ground up and forming swarf that interferes with the various valves. If your luck is really bad, a bit of swarf can block the drain hole in the operating valve stem, potentially leading to the OD staying engaged in reverse. That's a very major repair, as it usually breaks both the sprag clutch and the rear housing.

I went through mine last year, when it started becoming erratic. Fortunately the damage to the gears was minimal, so I only had to replace the thrust washers & seals. The gearbox seemed to be OK, so I took a chance and just flushed it out thoroughly. So far so good ...