Reverse Gear Bush - Assistance in Sussex

[James Ham]

Evening all,

On the old forum I posted a question about changing the bronze bush in the reverse gear.  Some kind chap offered to do it for me (pressing and reaming) and I recall he was in Sussex.

Unfortunately I got completely sidetracked by other jobs at the time and I haven't got around to mastering the old forum as an archive yet.  If anyone can find out who it was, or if he happens to read this, I'd be very grateful.  I've got to get that box back together.

Thanks,

James.

[diffwhine]

Dare I ask if it's cost effective to re-bush the reverse gear. Most of them have taken a beating and aren't horrendously expensive new. New ones come with the bush installed. The last few I've bought have fitted without needing to be reamed.

All that said, any machine shop could do this. Craggle - anything you can handle?

[Craig T]

I think that probably was me, sounds like something I would say....

I have a fly press, lathe etc so should be able to do this. I guess I need the gear, bush and ideally the shaft it spins on so I can size the bush to suit.

If Mark says they rarely need reaming however, it might be worth having a go at getting the bush in first yourself. You may be able to knock it in, use a bench vice or ask a local garage as they are likely to have some kind of press. If you try yourself it might help to warm the gear and freeze the bush to make the clearance a bit bigger.

Craig.

[James Ham]

Thanks both for your replies.

The OEM bush was cheap so the cost of fitting the bush will be the test.  I'd like to assemble the box in just over a week so time is tight.  If I'm running out of time, the Britpart one is about £60 and there's one of unknown origin on Craddock's site for £80.  Others are available between £100 and £200.

Living in London there aren't many machine shops around.  I've contacted one so we'll see how their price compares with replacement units.  The original has a few chipped teeth but doesn't look too bad.

Currently the loose bush will not pass onto the shaft, and I doubt that will get easier once pressed in.

The workshop manual says to peen the bush.  Does that mean expanding the ends into the gear so make it tighter?

Cheers,

James.