Transmission

[Guest]

Have 1979 AC 818GT. Transmission pops out of gear when driving. How expensive? Worth fixing?

[Al]

Hi, Your problem could be as simple as a broken spring in a detent, or could be a worn shaft, bearing or gear. Either way the tranny needs to come out. Getting the wheels off will probably be the toughest part. Anyone with one of the tractors with rear wheels held on with an E-ring should pull them off once a year and put some anti-sieze on the axle shafts. Then a flat tire or a tranny problem is easy. We have seen the wheels rusted on so tight that we ended up having to cut them off and get new rims. We usually soak them with penetrating oil for a couple of days, then try a blunt chisel in an air hammer right on the weld bead on the inside, where the center is welded to the hub. If this doesn,t get it we then drill the center disc and put a "C" shaped piece of steel plate behind the disc and use a puller like a steering wheel puller with bolts through the disc and the C shaped back-up plate. Then it is the puller, air hammer on the back side and torch heating the hub. If it won't come then we take a torch amd cut the hub loose from the center, then we take the torch and "Peel" the hub off. One needs to be careful to cut beside the axle and not to point the torch so the cut goes into the axle. We contacted the factory several years ago about this problem and the last few years they have been putting anti-sieze on when the wheels are installed. Good luck with your project. AL

[Al]

Hi, Just wanted to add that an air chisel doesn't "beat" on the retainers in the spider gears, and the vibration often "cracks" the rust and powders it. We usually try the air chisel first before the penetrating oil. Also if you have bolts that don't want to come out, an air impact wrench switched from forward to rev and back quickly will often free them up, depending on the size turn the torque down as appropriate. Using a wrench and turning is much more likely to twist a bolt off than an impact wrench because of its hammer action. Another 1 and 1/2 cents worth, and its free. Good luck , Al

[dlcentral]

IF and that's a BIG if! you can get the wheels off the axles,the parts for that trans.[Peerless] are really reasonably priced.If they are rusted fast you can take the trans. apart with them on,but it makes the job a lot more clumsier/harder. it's and probably cheaper and easier in the long run, to find another parts tractor for a good trans.With wheels attached of course! Good Luck to you on removing those wheels! dlc