Last night I managed to drop the little speedometer drive gear down inside my Chevy 3-speed manual transmission. It is an open drive line, and it is bolted up to a 235 straight six. I unfortunately have no idea what year it is, but it does have a shorter tail. Any idea what tooth and where I can buy another one?
take the side cover off where your shifter brackets are and pull it out. It will drain the fluid but you can catch it and put it back in.
Don't think that's gonna work, would probably require the removal of the rear extension housing which means partial transmission disassembly. Unless there is a big enough oil hole I'm not aware of. (if it's a 50's-early 60's trans as I suspect)
Those things were chock full of loose needle bearings. The drive gear is in the tailhousing and it must come off to pull the output shaft. You need to pull the trans and stick it nose down in an old wheel or bell housing, Remove the 5 bolts and pray the needles stay in the input shaft. There is a snap ring that has to be compressed so the tail shaft will come out of the tail housing. I believe the order of the needles is the big ones at the bottom then a small ring then the big ring and then the other needles.
This sounds like a lot of work to take apart. Is there any way to go in through the speedo drive hole with a borescope and a crooked pair of tweezers. If doctors can get inside your heart a speedo gear should be a piece of cake.
We're these gears plastic? Can I leave it and just let it get munched? I think it fell forward so maybe the oil sump area is deep enough it would just lay in the bottom? Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
If it is/was a plastic gear, the transmission will reduce it to plastic dust, with zero effort or damage.
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!!!!!! Turns out there is some cast webbing that stopped it from falling all the way into the bath/sump area, and I "fished" forever until I got it!! Thanks again guys!!!
I know-look at me go! I've been spoiled with having my own inner sanctum (garage) for the last 20 years. Little things like NOT having to remove my transmission in my current parking lot, really make me happy!