T90 Rebuild Questions

Rebuilding my T90a and have 2 questions. I bought the master rebuild kit from novak-adapt.

1. My gear cluster does not have notches for the thrust washer I'm supposed to put between the gear cluster and the other thrust washer on the transmission body. What do I need here?

2. I had a very tough time getting my inner synchro into the outer shaft with the panels in. Had to really use some force. The inner synchro goes forward and backward with two thumbs pushing relatively hard and both forward and bacl the inner shaft only sticks out about 1/8 of an inch and I cannot move it any further. To move it more, I'd have to take the springs out. Is this (with the springs in) how it should be?

 

pics? I'd like to see the issues, and the end result/fix. have you contacted Novak? they have pretty darned good customer service. there are also quite a few rebuild videos on YouTube.

 

Still working out my synchro. The customer service at Novak said to just grind down the teeth on the rear cluster gear thrust washer so it's flat.

 

Thanks, Howard. Those videos are pretty good. I built my synchro the same way he did in his video, except I didn't look for where the pawls were originally. I'll be trying this tonight. Hopefully that's it. Strange that that would cause it to bind as much as it is though

 

Over the weekend I figured it out. The springs weren't the issue. I re-used the old pawls that were in good condition. No more binding.

 

Thanks for the followup

 

I had the similar problem when I rebuilt my T90, the rebuild parts from the Novack kit that included the syncro springs which were the flat type and were far to strong
for the syncro tabs, enough that it locked up the syncro tabs. I finally put the wire type springs back in and no more problems.

 

any first timers please speak up. Is it worth the fun vs hassle instead of paying someone $300 labor to rebuild a T90 with Novak parts?

 

i did it and proved my son wrong . I can rebuild a transmission .LOL

 

If you have the money, its always easier to pay someone to get the headaches for you.

 

Do it yourself. Watch the video while rebuilding. Worst part is the needle bearings but if you cut conduit and a 3/4" steel bar its not too bad.

 

I did mine for the first time just last year, have done a friend's since. Totally worth it to do it yourself. I thought it was fun

 

My first transmission rebuild was my T-14 (68 CJ5). $300 seems like the right price for the amount of work involved, but it wasn't the cost so much for me as it was wanting to do it...to learn it. Watch a few videos, follow the FSM and you should be fine. I found it very rewarding.

My old school machine shop guy happened to stop by and saw the freshly rebuilt unit sitting on the workbench, he went to inspecting, checking and measuring (likely hoping to teach me something knowing it was my first). Eventually he said, "Man, everything on this is spot on!" I said, "That's right."

I was just being funny, but it was nice to have confirmation that following the instructions and taking your time can result in a good quality first time rebuild.

 

Customer brings in transmission. Tear down for no charge, clean, inspect. (About 1 1/2-2 hours invested at no charge). Give customer list of parts needed. Customer brings in a core transmission. Tear down, clean, inspect. Give customer list of parts still needed because core he/she brought in is a worn out piece of junk. Customer pissed because they were charged for teardown, cleaning, and inspection of transmission they brought in for parts. Would have been cheaper if they had just gone with original parts quote.
I've had customers bring in 4 junk transmissions they expected torn down, cleaned, and inspected for free when clearly informed there would be a charge after the first one. Anyone wonder why I retired from this business?