Countershaft bushings in an 833 OD aluminum case

[fueliedart]

Has anybody done the steel bushing insert for the countershaft into an OD trans. Can you buy the bushings or are they something that must be made by a machinist? Anyone have pictures and dimensions? I heard it is not a hard mod to do but just wanted to get other thoughts on doing the upgrade. I am probably going to buy the Passon OD 18 spline gear set and want to modify the OD case I have before I assemble it.

 

[RustyRatRod]

I don't think you'd want steel bushings on a steel shaft. Bronze would be a much better choice, IMO. I don't know the dimensions, though. @Dan Brewer from Brewer's performance might, though.

 

[72bluNblu]

Here's an article that was originally in Mopar Muscle. It describes the "problem" with the 833OD countershaft (the aluminum case and a .005" tolerance vs a light press fit on the regular 833's), as well as the fix, which is a set of steel sleeves pressed into the case.

http://www.hotrod.com/how-to/transmission-drivetrain/mopp-0110-a-833-aluminum-case-buildup/

The sleeves are not something you can buy, they have to be machined. They’re described pretty well in the article.

The article is a bit overblown, there are plenty of 833OD’s out there that don’t have that much wear and work just fine. But if you want to beef up an aluminum cased 833od the steel sleeves would be the way to do it.

 

[RustyRatRod]

Wow. So they are steel. I would have thought from a machining standpoint, steel on steel would be a bad thing.

 

[RustyRatRod]

Here's an article that was originally in Mopar Muscle. It describes the "problem" with the 833OD countershaft (the aluminum case and a .005" tolerance vs a light press fit on the regular 833's), as well as the fix, which is a set of steel sleeves pressed into the case.

http://www.hotrod.com/how-to/transmission-drivetrain/mopp-0110-a-833-aluminum-case-buildup/

The sleeves are not something you can buy, they have to be machined. They’re described pretty well in the article.

The article is a bit overblown, there are plenty of 833OD’s out there that don’t have that much wear and work just fine. But if you want to beef up an aluminum cased 833od the steel sleeves would be the way to do it.

Yeah I see what they're doin now. Good article. Thanks for sharing it!

 

[junkyardhero]

Wow. So they are steel. I would have thought from a machining standpoint, steel on steel would be a bad thing.

i mean, it's not like the shaft is spinning...

a lot of small engines have two piece bearings with the race on the crank-- steel crank, steel inner race goes on the crank, rollers/outer race in the case.

 

[RustyRatRod]

i mean, it's not like the shaft is spinning...

a lot of small engines have two piece bearings with the race on the crank-- steel crank, steel inner race goes on the crank, rollers/outer race in the case.

Right. I missed the "press fit" part.....with my dumb butt. lol

 

[fueliedart]

I have read that article before and wondered if the modification was necessary if there is no wear in that area. I also believe that only the front of the case is the area that would beat out if the tranny saw a lot of abuse. The OD trans also has a super low 3.09 first gear and I believe the Passon OD first gear is a 2.66 which I would think might put less presssure on the case. I am going to be running a slightly built 5.9 magnum with the factory MPFI with 3.55 gears in a 71 Dart . If I had a heavy car with a BB I probably would beef it for sure with the modded case bushing but now from the response of 72bluNblu I side with him on maybe it is a bit of overkill. I will also ask Jamie his opinion on the steel bushing mod.

 

[junkyardhero]

Right. I missed the "press fit" part.....with my dumb butt. lol

RIF, my dude.

fwiw, you were on it. short of a bearing, oiled bronze would be my choice for a spinny bit in another spinny bit. IANAE, but if it was good enough for Deere it will be good enough for me (rpm limitations are ignored for this particular exercise, please see appendix A, subsection 2b nos. 3-7)

 

[junkyardhero]

I have read that article before and wondered if the modification was necessary if there is no wear in that area. I also believe that only the front of the case is the area that would beat out if the tranny saw a lot of abuse. The OD trans also has a super low 3.09 first gear and I believe the Passon OD first gear is a 2.66 which I would think might put less presssure on the case. I am going to be running a slightly built 5.9 magnum with the factory MPFI with 3.55 gears in a 71 Dart . If I had a heavy car with a BB I probably would beef it for sure with the modded case bushing but now from the response of 72bluNblu I side with him on maybe it is a bit of overkill. I will also ask Jamie his opinion on the steel bushing mod.

if you have it all apart and access to a machine shop/machinist friend that could do the work on the cheap, i'd say go ahead and "future proof" it. but if the shaft isn't all sloppy in the hole like kicking a hotdog down a hallway, then i say throw some schmoo on it and ship it.

with a light car and not a boat load of torque down town i wouldn't particularly worry about it.

very few of the A/F body units i've seen were beat up real bad, but almost all the truck/van ones showed some level of "getting there" with the weebles about to wobble right on out and take all the magic with them.

don't go side steppin' the clutch and try not to bang into 4th with too much verve and it should last just fine.

 

[AJ/FormS]

I did this mod to the front only of an aluminum case that I used to use before I bought one of Jamie's HD alloy cases which comes set-up for a light press-fit.
My 367 slammed that thing for about 3 >4 years mercilessly and when I retired it, I still had to pound the cluster-pin out.