A new getrag question

[EZGZ]

So much talk about transmission's and all the options. Set off a light bulb.



I would be real curious about what brand of bearings everyone has seen in there transmission's and what kind they are replacing them with.



I had mine apart at the 140K and I suspect someone had been in there before. I bought her in 96 with 72k showing on the odometer.



The bearings that were in my transmission were NCR.



The bearing kit I bought to replace them were NCR. (only thing available in stock, I was pressed for time)



I was told NCR are Japaniese bearings. Nothing personal but I know there are different grades of bearings by different manufactures.



FAG bearings are German and I think they are of better quality.

I wonder if these transmission's original came with one kind or the other?



I would love to make this a Poll thread to find out what the Brand was on the bearings that failed?



What Brand are you all installing?

Just a brief Poll would be appreciated.

 

[CAROLINA CUMMINS]

I know some of the bigger bearings in my rebuild kit from ST&G are Timken. I'll look Mon or Tues and see what the others are.



Steve

 

[JLEONARD]

Just be careful before you judge the cause of bearing failure... . lack of lube will likely be the cause regardles of bearing quality.

Fact is that there are some excellent quality Japanese bearings out there... . it's the Asian and Eastern European bearings I'd stay away from.

Jay

 

[1stgen4evr]

bearings

Of all the bearings I ever knew of that failed, the only ones that I knew were defective were on the front wheels of some GM cars in the late 60s or seventys. Been a long time. My brothers mother in law had an Olds that was warrented for the problem. I saw the failure. The fault turned out to be that the roller cages had some metal fragments that turned loose after some miles and the bearings failed from that contamination. I think they were Japanese bearings. Since then I have used all brands of bearings and don't think quality is a factor.



I go with Jay on the lube thing and add that there is a rated load factor. I have seen the bearing faliure on the Getrag and feel that the cluster shaft brgs are just not quite big enough. I have 400k on my getrag with modest service during that time/miles. It is time to pull it down and replace the third gear syncro. My bearings are koyo and are original except for the pocket bearing and input shaft.



My trucks are all two wheel drive and from what I see in the posts, the fwds put a lot more load on the trannys. As the owner/user you can make a significant difference in service life by using direct when pulling and not hammering the throttle in the lower gears. Keep the rpms up for smoothest power from the Cummins. Actually the Cummins doesn't seem to care but the transmission does.



I know that this more than bearings that I bring up here and thank everyone for their input.



1stgen4evr

James

 

[EZGZ]

Great input so far. Thanks



I just want to be sure we are not building in shorter life to something already weak. It is such a pain to get to.



That 5th gear is so darn close to the back bearing it would seem it that it would starve that bearing of lube if you run at the stock oil level.



That front bearing just doesn't make sense to me. Why on earth would they go through that trouble and expense instead of just having a replaceable bearing race is beyond me? If your pilot bearing gets to worn it reeks havoc with the bearing alignment.



I have built high performance Air Cooled VW type tyranny's in the past. We usually stick to minimum tolerance's and take a dremel tool and cut direction slots in the side of the gear to bring in lubricant to critical area's. I almost did that when I had my Getrag down for repair. Just food for thought.



Any other positive I D on bearing brands guys?

 

[bgilbert]

[That 5th gear is so darn close to the back bearing it would seem it that it would starve that bearing of lube if you run at the stock oil level. ] Maybe this is why 5th gear howls so much, that rear bearing is getting starved for lube, makes sense to me. My 5th gear sure does howl at the moon. Bill

 

[1stgen4evr]

Input shaft pocket bearing race

If you have one to look at you can see that maching out the end to accept a race would weaken it possibly to failure. There would be a way to get around that with a different machining process on the slot cut in the area between the clutch teeth and the drive teeth. I think that slot could be holes drilled to feed oil into the pocket area. If you have the imput from an NV, that setup would be good also. They solved two or three of the getrag glitches with that.



1stgen4evr

James

 

[EZGZ]

That sounds right to me.



On the little VW transmission's I drill 3 holes in about the middle area of the clutch hub. I space them out between the 3 detents. 1/8 inch is all that is needed. That metal sometimes work hardens with age and is difficult to drill.



Pretty amazing how these transmission's are all so similar in that respect. All that technology was figured out so long ago without the help of computers and things. What kind of metal and where to use it. I guess if you got a good thing ya stick with it. There only so many ways to transmit rotating power.

 

[1stgen4evr]

old/new technology

Remember the drawings of the round post teeth on ancient drive cogs. I have read that Leonard Da Vincie had some idea of the involute geometry shape that was required to make the "teeth" mesh in a smooth fashion. This stuff is not rocket science. In fact when I look at the crappy one off stuff that they claim to have gone to the moon with, I wonder just what rocket science is.



1stgen4evr

James

 

[SGibson]

Rocket science=In thrust we trust

 

[dpuckett]

Re: old/new technology

Originally posted by 1stgen4evr

I wonder just what rocket science is.

I forget the exact equations involved, but if you understand the internal workings of the VE or P7100, you can be a rocket scientist. Seems like it's only two or three equations.



In thrust we trust.

I like it, though it may not be entirely realted to rocket science.

Daniel

 

[BushWakr - RIP]

I have "heard" that Torrington and or Timken make decent bearings... no presonal experience though.

I will be going with the Torrington's when I do my rear end job I think. .



Bob.

 

[JLEONARD]

I have "heard" that Torrington and or Timken make decent bearings... no presonal experience though

Thanks Bob!!



Note: Although you may still see the "Torrington" name on bearings, it has been purchased by Timken. It may take many years, but eventually the Torrington name will be replaced by Timken.

Jay

 

[Timebomb]

When i had my Getrag apart the bearings that were in it were NTC. I also wonderd if someone was inside befor i was. The bearing kit that i got for it was NTC bearings so i dont know. It seems to be doing fine... .