4-SPEED TRANNY WOES . . .

It's time to stop dicking around and get the job done right. I discovered that the leak I have on the left side is coming from the end of the countershaft and not the mainshaft seal. The countershaft has an O-ring on the inside (according to my manual) and I believe that it is no longer any good. Also saw that the engaging dogs on the gears are worn down. That's pretty major and they must be replaced. So it looks like a transmission rebuild is in order. Some of you may remember that I spent $1500 on this "rebuilt" transmission about 5 years ago. Yeah, right.

I suppose it's possible I could do some of the work myself, but pulling all those gears and shafts out scares me. I might not be able to put it back together correctly LOL. Besides, bearings and other things may need to be replaced as well, and I'm not set up to do that kind of work. There's no one around here that works on the old trannys. Any advice would be welcome, boys . . .

This is not meant to be a snarky reply, so here goes: http://bakerdrivetrain.com/4-speed-marketing-statement

I'm certain you can follow the bread crumbs around that site if you want to go this route.
No one on Earth is more knowledgeable about Harley and pseudo-Harley trannies than Bert Baker and his team. Worth a shot just to ask 'em while you're deciding what path to take.

I think you can do it keep the work bench clean for the trans only get a high end manual and take a lot of pictures.Your right it's not going to be cheap to send out and get rebuilt

I quoted a job on a caddy northstar transaxle ttc solenoid one time. Ended up with a parking spot area of parts on newspaper spread on the floor in the EXACT order the came out, went well . Almost every day I work around (factory special tools). Tough to decide in your shoes, I need to work on my R/K tranny before spring. Pictures, a good manual and patience goes a long way. Good luck. How was the gig?

The gig went well. I played about 4 hours with a few breaks in between. Good folks, good eats. It was very late when I left for home. Some good souls even threw money in my guitar case.

Right now, I'm studying my options on the tranny. I think Baker is out of my price range.

If it isn't one surprise after another. While my scooter sat overnight, I found a pool of tranny oil right below the main seal area. ? I had previously removed the clutch basket, hub and sprocket, so I had a clear view of the seal. The oil was leaking from the splines on the shaft, not where the seal actually contacts the spacer.

Well, the last time I worked on this problem, I sent Saddlebagrail $50 for one of his spacers that has a viton o-ring on the inside. It's supposed to solve the leaking that comes from behind the spacer. He sent my money back so I guess he doesn't make them anymore.

Yesterday, I tried getting the seal out so I could take the spacer to a machine shop to get it grooved for the o-ring. The seal ain't coming out, boys. I drilled holes in the dang thing, screwed in a couple of long #12 panhead screws and ended up pulling the screws out and damaging the holes. Next I tried prying out the dang thing but it wouldn't come out. I think I may have used gasket maker on the seal when I installed it last time, probably the wrong stuff, as that seal is in there. Any ideas how to get it out?

I muscled it out with a large pair of vice grips. Now why didn't I think of using the All-American tool?

The seal you speak of is it in the case as oem? The spacer you bought had a sealing surface on the od or id for the shaft? Is there play in the shaft up and down,left to right as in a bearing issue?

No, it's been changed several times. Spacers don't come with an o-ring on the inside. If the MoCo would have designed that little feature on the spacer to start with, tranny oil leaks at the mainshaft wouldn't be an issue.

Saddlebagrail was probably the first to modify his spacer by adding a Viton 0-ring to the inside of it. He had to machine a groove on the inside of the spacer, fit the o-ring in the groove, and then slide it over the tranny mainshaft.

I've been trying to find the mechanical drawing that has the dimensions for the groove and the correct size 0-ring to use, so I can take my spacer to a machine shop and have it done. It's on our forum someplace, but I can't find it. Maybe somebody out there knows where I can get a copy of the drawing.