Nope not the lock rings. I was asking about the outer races. They are not loose but they can be turned in the housing. I looked it up in the workshop manual and they mention heating the housing to remove the races so I take that to me there should be an interference fit. Is this condition not normal like the race on the Diff side of the Pinnion shaft?

 

Race movement is not acceptable, and leads to premature bearing failure. It also can affect gear life because of the slight lateral movement the extra clearance can allow the P/S and M/S to have. The picture below shows how the diff housing must be reinforced, and usually hand peening + Green LocTite (sleeve retainer) is sufficient for the bearings that you're asking about. I've only had to replace a couple of center housings that were so bad that they couldn't be used. Hopefully you'll be able to see the steel ring around the installed bearing race in the picture...

 

This one might be easier to see...

The spacer is pressed in with heat, and then the race is pressed into the spacer with heat.

 

Nice pictures, Pete,.......

This is the time to mention that ALL of these 915 transmissions are showing age-related issues and this is one of the biggest issues. We are seeing a LOT of the aluminum-cased 915's come in with outer races that are either loose in the housing, or have already damaged it requiring an extensive repair.

The fix is to weld the aluminum, machine the housing to accept a steel insert and install a new outer race into that. Frankly, this is how the late magnesium-cased 915's came from the factory and they are proving to be more rugged than the aluminum ones in this regard.

We finish the job adding either a 930 bearing retaining plate or the nice Wevo one and now you have a very rugged and reliable 915 tranny that will give many years of service.

 

It's truly amazing how much better magnesium transmission cases were able to cope than were magnesium engine cases. Even relatively fragile 914/6 gearboxes, we had a few cars that were putting 250 hp through them, were largely trouble free. Our IMSA GTU car pulled the studs/threads out of the tail cover, but after that was fixed the boxes were bullet proof. We rarely had any trouble at all with long hood "S" cars, maybe intermediate plate bearings at about 100K miles, that was about it.

Glad to hear that you're doing case reinforcement! If my guys retire (they're in driving distance for me) at least I'll have someone to send my stuff to!

 

How well does the aftermarket plastic tool for setting the shifter forks work?

 

That's up for debate. I've had the factory steel one for 30+ years, so I've never used one. A recent thread about the plastic tool for a 901 box stated that the tool was not well made (sloppy bearing holes), but I don't know if that carried over to the 915 plastic tool.

 

Thanks, Pete. I have the 930 one in steel (only way to get it), but I was hoping to save some $$.

Can anyone vouch of a positive experience with the plastic tool? It's too much work to do this job twice, compared with the $$ savings on the tool. Still, I would love to save the $$.