68 flh trans rebuild

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Hogey
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68 flh trans rebuild

#1

Post by Hogey »

looking for a good man to check out my 68 ratchet lid trans. If not fitted i want Andrews first and third. I live in Horsham Victoria Australia I'm willing to travel, & i pay Cash. Has to be a A1 job as running behind 92" 68 Gennie Shovel. its a big dollar Bike build. bike is being Stripped for Chrome paint Rebuild ETC. Excuse My 2001.
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Mongrel505558
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Re: 68 flh trans rebuild

#2

Post by Mongrel505558 »

Why not try it yourself? It's not that difficult. There are some special tools needed, but not really many. I don't know, but I think you could buy them for less than the cost of flying most places from Australia. There are plenty of people on this forum who can walk you through any problems you encounter or answer any questions. I've rebuilt three of these gear boxes with no issues so far, and I don't own a shop. I consider myself a decent mechanic with a lot of years behind me playing with pans and shovels, but there are many more experienced wrenches on this forum.

Good luck.

Jim
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Re: 68 flh trans rebuild

#3

Post by RooDog »

Hogey....
email sent....
....RooDog.....
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Re: 68 flh trans rebuild

#4

Post by Buddhahoodvatoloco »

Easy Peezy, get a good manual, and have at it. These puppies are tractors, or send it into one of the big guys. Just googled it, thought baker and andrews did rebuilds, but they don't. In san diego try Tatro Machine, excellent, think he does across the pond shit. Slow, but good.
Good luck.
Hogey
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Re: 68 flh trans rebuild

#5

Post by Hogey »

Thanks All will sleep on it
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Re: 68 flh trans rebuild

#6

Post by Kozy »

Little Stan
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Re: 68 flh trans rebuild

#7

Post by Little Stan »

I've built many 4 speeds over the years, you really don't need any special tools except for a clutch hub puller, basic sockets and a hammer impact driver. A good pair of either dial or digital calipers is a handy tool also.

Check all gears,shafts, bearings and shifter dogs for excessive wear and play. The countershaft 1st and 2nd bushings are cheap and are easily replaced. It takes a little patience to pack all 88 free rollers with some grease but it isn't that hard.

Whatever you do when assembling the transmission ALWAYS replace both snap rings!

Assemble the countershaft side of the transmission and place into the case and check the end play. Should not be excessive or tight but .008" to .012". You may need to purchase an thicker thrust washer from what you already have.

You don't need a shifter fork gauge as shown in the manual. Put the shifter top in neutral and place on top of the transmission. Spin the mainshaft while holding the output high gear, this helps the shifter dogs "find themselves". Now, carefully take the top back off (it doesn't need to be tightened with the screws) and check and see if both dogs are exactly in the "middle" of the gears. If not shim the forks accordingly.

Read your shop manual and watch utube. A properly rebuilt transmission should go at least two full motor overhauls, will need little attention other than a new high gear seal from time to time.

Hope this helps,
-little stan
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Re: 68 flh trans rebuild

#8

Post by RooDog »

The trickiest thing about that tranny rebuild is removing the 3rd gear snap ring. The old guy at the local dealership had a cut down and reground 90° spoke he used for that special purpose.
Also when checking the shifting forks for centering, do it several times to be sure you are good to go. Other than that, it is all a piece of cake, other than sourcing the needed parts....
....RooDog....
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Re: 68 flh trans rebuild

#9

Post by Little Stan »

Roodog:

I also spoke and true. Old spokes are handy, I turn them into scribers, picks and chisels. I have a favorite ground down screw driver to help remove the pesky third gear snap ring.

About the only thing in an old four speed that should be sent to a professional is replacing the high gear race and then having it honed if the bearings are too tight.

Usually the standard size rollers (.1245") work if the high gear, the countershaft cluster and countershaft shaft are decent.

Back to snap rings: I built my panhead transmission over 30 years ago with a used third gear snap ring. Worked ok for a couple thousand miles until one afternoon I down shifted from third to second and KA-BANG! Broke a couple teeth off a really nice countershaft cluster but was lucky I didn't break my case. What had happened was third gear slid over and was still engaged to the mainshaft, when I went for second it locked up tight!

Almost wound up getting married over the incident but thats a story for another posting.

'lil stan
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Re: 68 flh trans rebuild

#10

Post by RooDog »

We all should know that many snap rings have a right way, and a wrong way to be installed: Look closely, one edge is sharp and square, the flip side is often rounded slightly. The sharp edge goes outward to hold in place when loaded.
The best thing to do with a used snap ring is to sail it into the nearest trash bin, never to be used again, it just ain't worth taking that chance.....
....RooDog....
Last edited by RooDog on Thu Sep 08, 2022 12:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Hogey
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Re: 68 flh trans rebuild

#11

Post by Hogey »

Thanks to All that helped. i ordered new Andrews full gear set 210150 and main shaft. got sonax rollers in .0004 & .0008 No 9084 of US made as yet. so will see at assemble time. Jims rebuild kit, Jims shifter alignment tool.
Cross reference the HD 9020 ball bearing to a 6305-2Z-C3 that i have to get. bender cycles Usa counter shaft spacer Kit. was going to purchase eastern High gear spacer A-3513_kit but cant find So i dont know what size i need and you have to buy a 5 pack. Unfortunately 3 weeks ago i pulled a chest muscle been to Doc and on Anti inflammatory tabs. So no work in Shed bugger it. keep ya posted.
Mongrel505558
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Re: 68 flh trans rebuild

#12

Post by Mongrel505558 »

Looks like you are off to a good start there with parts. One more suggestion, if I may; buy a pair of Andrews shift clutches to go with the new gearset, if you don't have them already. They aren't very expensive and will engage nicely with those gears. Good luck.

Jim
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Re: 68 flh trans rebuild

#13

Post by Buddhahoodvatoloco »

Ah written like a true shade tree wrench. Was discussing just this aspect awhile back with a buddy, and he swore I was full of excrement. nice to read that i was not that far off. Thanks.
RooDog wrote: Sun Jul 31, 2022 11:29 pm We all should know that many snap rings have a right way, and a wrong way to be installed: Look closely, one edge is sharp and square, the flip side is often rounded slightly. The sharp edge goes outward to hold in place when loaded.
The best thing to do with a used snap ring is to sail it into the nearest trash bin, never to be used again, it just ain't worth taking that chance.....
....RooDog....
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Re: 68 flh trans rebuild

#14

Post by RooDog »

Buddhahoodvatoloco wrote: Thu Sep 08, 2022 5:25 pm Ah written like a true shade tree wrench. Was discussing just this aspect awhile back with a buddy, and he swore I was full of excrement. nice to read that i was not that far off. Thanks.
RooDog wrote: Sun Jul 31, 2022 11:29 pm We all should know that many snap rings have a right way, and a wrong way to be installed: Look closely, one edge is sharp and square, the flip side is often rounded slightly. The sharp edge goes outward to hold in place when loaded.
The best thing to do with a used snap ring is to sail it into the nearest trash bin, never to be used again, it just ain't worth taking that chance.....
....RooDog....
Yes sir, shade tree & back yard wrench, totally untrained except by my fuck-ups, and resultant fixes....
....RooDog....
Hogey
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Re: 68 flh trans rebuild

#15

Post by Hogey »

Mongrel505558 wrote: Thu Sep 08, 2022 11:18 am Looks like you are off to a good start there with parts. One more suggestion, if I may; buy a pair of Andrews shift clutches to go with the new gearset, if you don't have them already. They aren't very expensive and will engage nicely with those gears. Good luck.

Jim
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