Gear-X Dog Box assembly write up
10-20-2012, 01:58 PM
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Gear-X Dog Box assembly write up (pics added now)
Some people know that I bought a Gear-X Dog Box and asked me about the assembly, so here is the entire write up.
I received my B-series Gear-X Dog-Kit a few month ago. But I was ill and
had some personal problems, so I did not find time to assemble it immediately.
Now everything is ok and I decided to share my experiences and thought I
could do a kind of write up for the DogBox assembly.
At first I want to say, I come from from Germany, so my English is not
the best but should be good enough that you can understand what I want
to say.
This is not an advertisement. I just want to share my experiences and help
make assembly easier for other people.
I decided to buy the Gear-X Dog Box from Jeff(Kiwi)Owen
(Special Projects Motor Sports) for several reasons.
First, I bought several other racing products from him before and
everything was fine and I like his way of doing business.
Yes, I know, it is not always easy to reach him, but that´s because he is busy and mostly works on his own.
I regard him as very honest. Dealing with a honest person is very
important for me because I live several thousand miles away from him.
Second, he answered all my questions and took time for answering even
when I asked difficult technical questions.
I also like that he does the same kind of racing as I do and is very experienced in Circuit
racing. Nothing against Drag racing - but I believe Drag and Circuit are
two diferent things where different experiences are needed.
The price of the Gear-X Dog Box was also nice when compared with other brands.
So I placed my order with Kiwi and because the Gear-X Dog Boxes are custom
made to order it took a while.
In my case it took roundabout 8-10 weeks til shipping which I feel is
acceptable for such an item.
Custom clearing here in Germany took also a few weeks. But this is very
unusual and was not Kiwi´s fault.
Now, the technical part :-)
The Gear-X-Dog Box is a 5 gear DogBox which is mainly developed for road
race / circuit racing has following rations: 1st 2.428 2nd 1.813 3rd
1.424 4th 1.174 5th 1.000 and I took a 4.00 final drive.
It is for our 450+hp turbocharged B-series EG Civic in combination with
610-210/17-Yokohama-Slicks and an Aero that is a mixture of german DTM
and TimeAttack cars.
I started with an old B-series tranny, disaasembled it and cleaned it
perfectly. Therefor I suggest hot tanking and walnut blasting of the
outside.
I also cleaned all shift forks and parts that are intended for re use
through hot tanking.
I suggest to buy the Diff-Bearings, all gaskets and the two upper
bearings on the pinion shaft new.
First I suggest to install the lower bearing for the second shaft into
to lower tranny housing.
Then you have to clearance the little metal plate that hold the lower
bearing so that it doesn´t touch the second shaft. You have to do this
because the teeth of the second shaft are larger than OEM. See
picture: 1513
after this is done, torque the screw to 23NM and secure it. See same picture.
Then, you have to check the the side play of the Diff. This is important
when an aftermarket Diff is used. In this case I used a Metalplate LSD
which I had laying here.
Then you press the new Diff-bearings onto the Differential, put it
into the lower tranny housing and mount the upper housing onto the lower
and use just four screws.
Then you use a feeler gauge and check the clearance between the inner
side of the housing and the bearing through the hole where the axles
come in.
See picture 1516.
Clearance needs to be 0.0 - 0.1mm. If it is not correct you can use a
thinner or thicker shim from Honda.
See picture 1515
Then, specially when a plate LSD is used, you have to check if the
screws that are used for the crown wheel onto the LSD are touching the
gears of the second shaft.
This is often when Plate LSD are used. It usually does not occur when a
Helical LSD are used. So, for safety CHECK IT!
See picture: 1522.
The shaft slides up when tranny is assembled and so there is a little
more distance but in some cases the gears can still touch the head of
the screws.
In these case I machine the screws on a lathe and substract 1.5mm from
the heads.
See picture: 1521
After this is done, you have to check the side play of the main shaft.
Therefor you have to use the two OEM shims you can see in picture: 1523
(not included with the Gear-X Dog Box)
Assemble the entire main shaft and install the OEM shim inside the upper
tranny housing picture:1524
IMPORTANT NOTE:
The white plastic shild will not be used in this application. Remove it!
Plug the entire mainshaft in the bearings and make sure that both shims
are onto the bearing. The "bend" shim first, the flat shim second to the
bearing.
Picture 1527 right side
Then put the upper housing onto the lower housing, and use two screws
for tightening.
Then check the play of the shaft from the outside. In my case the play
was 0.35mm.
It should be nearly 0.0mm
Picture 1925
If there is too much play, you should eliminate it.
Therefor you have to measure how much play you currently have.
Then you remove the OEM shim from the inside of the upper housing and
measure its thickness. Picture 1526.
Now, you have to do the math. Example:
If your current play is 0.3mm and your current OEM shim is 1.2mm
thickness you have to buy a 1.5mm shim from Honda.
For selecting sizes and partnumbers use list in picture 1527.
Then torque the upper nut on the pillow shaft to 120nm and secure it.
Picture: 1529
Then torque the LSD screws. In this case I chose 105nm for each screw.
Tighten it in small and opposing steps.
Reinstall the oil leading shild Picture 1534
and secure it from the
outside Picture 1535.
Install a new holding c-clip for the pillow shaft Picture 1533
Next, you´ll need to install the shift selector shaft and it´s spring, ball and screw ... make sure not to forget spring and ball.
Ball needs to be inserted as first, the spring as second.
After this is done insert the cleaned magnet. Make sure to remove all old metal shavings.
Then you can install the crown wheel and the diff.
Before - Make sure to have the screws torqued to the corrects specs. IMPORTANT! The screws therefor are "the_other_way"-screws.
That meens to torque them you have to tighten them against the clock. (Hope you can understand my Engish :-)
Torque settings depend on diff manufactures suggestion. In my case it has been 95Nm in several steps.
After I torqued the crown wheel down I pressed the diff bearings onto the diff.
I usually heat the bearings a little bit (just a bit - no flame!) and use a big tool nut and a plastic hammer.
You can also use a press, but I prefere nut and hammer.
Take care to have the correct diff berings. Depending on the tranny type there a at least 3 versions for B-series trannys.
Also install the bearings for main shaft and pinion shaft.
When this is done, it´s time to insert the DogBox and it´s shiftforks. You would wish to have more than just two hands :-)
It is a little bit tricky to insert the shafts and fork at the same time. Move the pinion shaft a bit to the left and right so that it can slide in the bearings and the theets of the crown wheel.
Before you finally insert the mainshaft you have to place the tranny housing onto two pieces of wood or metall. See two pictures later! Otherwise the main shaft will NOT slide into it´s correct position!
Now you can install the reverse gear. Make sure to have the gear installed wit the "longer" side downwards.
The sliding haft can just be installed in one position. So, it is easy.
When this is done, it´s time to insert the DogBox and it´s shiftforks. You would wish to have more than just two hands :-)
It is a little bit tricky to insert the shafts and fork at the same time. Move the pinion shaft a bit to the left and right so that it can slide in the bearings and the theets of the crown wheel.
After this is done you can install the shift selector.
Before oder I talked with Jeff "Kiwi" Owen and he suggested me the improved version from Speedfactory.
I purchased it trough SpecialProjectsMotorsports and recieved it as a drop ship directly from Speedfactory.
Timing was perfect it arrived nearls the same time as I recieved the Gear-X DogBox
The improved shift selector consits of a new OEM core with much stronger shift selector "finger" - Hope it is the right word.
The "finger" seems to be more massive and stronger material. So it will not bend under extreme shifting conditions.
The selector is braced in several areas and has a stronger spring.
Torque the 3 screws to 12Nm (2 long and 1 short screw)
The next step is important!
In the upper part of the main shaft there is a ring groove short under the upper bearing.
You might think that there needs to be a circlip. But NO! There needs to be no circlip!
Do not install a circlip on your own. Otherwise the shift fork can not go high enough and you would not be able to go into reverse gear.
Take a good brand of bonding material (Honda Bond or soemthing similar)
I usally take Lockite 5900 because I can get it for free :-) and it worked great for me since years.
The best method is to use such a plastic gun. You can usually buy it where you can buy bonding materials.
Place all three shift forks in the same hight and add o drop of oil onto each top of the shafts. Prelube all bearings and gears a little bit.
When all this is done you need to clean the sealant area of the tranny.
Both sides (upper and lower housing). I usually use silicone remover.
Now you have to place a 1mm line of sealing material on the lower tranny housing. Take care that you place the sealing material on the inside!!! Not on the outside of the holes for the screws. This is very important. Otherwise you tranny would leak within seconds ;-)
Now you have to hurry up before the material becomes try. Place to upper housing onto the lower housing.
I´m sure you´ll need a little plastic hammer or shake it a bit.
It is a good idea to try it without the sealing material before. It is a little bit complicated :-) So try it before !!
Then torque all screws to 25Nm.
After this is done turn the entire tranny around (upside down).
You should hear a "Click". Then you know the pinion shaft slided iin its final position.
You can try to rotate the main shaft...If it rotates it is good. :-)
Now you can install all brackets and and remaining parts on the outside.
If you painted your tranny make sure to remove the color under the bracket where the grounding cable goes to.
This helps to prevent electrical problems.
You´ll also need to install you speed sensor assembly. Some aftermarket diffs come with install kits. Install these to manufactures instructions.
When all this is done your Gear-X DogBox should look like mine and should work without any problems.
When you have a gear selcted and it is engaged you can rotate the main shaft for a try.
You´ll notice a loud/hard "clong". This are the Dogs engagded and normal. Note, this is not a syncro tranny. It is a race tranny ;-)
If anybody has more questions, feel free to ask.
I received my B-series Gear-X Dog-Kit a few month ago. But I was ill and
had some personal problems, so I did not find time to assemble it immediately.
Now everything is ok and I decided to share my experiences and thought I
could do a kind of write up for the DogBox assembly.
At first I want to say, I come from from Germany, so my English is not
the best but should be good enough that you can understand what I want
to say.
This is not an advertisement. I just want to share my experiences and help
make assembly easier for other people.
I decided to buy the Gear-X Dog Box from Jeff(Kiwi)Owen
(Special Projects Motor Sports) for several reasons.
First, I bought several other racing products from him before and
everything was fine and I like his way of doing business.
Yes, I know, it is not always easy to reach him, but that´s because he is busy and mostly works on his own.
I regard him as very honest. Dealing with a honest person is very
important for me because I live several thousand miles away from him.
Second, he answered all my questions and took time for answering even
when I asked difficult technical questions.
I also like that he does the same kind of racing as I do and is very experienced in Circuit
racing. Nothing against Drag racing - but I believe Drag and Circuit are
two diferent things where different experiences are needed.
The price of the Gear-X Dog Box was also nice when compared with other brands.
So I placed my order with Kiwi and because the Gear-X Dog Boxes are custom
made to order it took a while.
In my case it took roundabout 8-10 weeks til shipping which I feel is
acceptable for such an item.
Custom clearing here in Germany took also a few weeks. But this is very
unusual and was not Kiwi´s fault.
Now, the technical part :-)
The Gear-X-Dog Box is a 5 gear DogBox which is mainly developed for road
race / circuit racing has following rations: 1st 2.428 2nd 1.813 3rd
1.424 4th 1.174 5th 1.000 and I took a 4.00 final drive.
It is for our 450+hp turbocharged B-series EG Civic in combination with
610-210/17-Yokohama-Slicks and an Aero that is a mixture of german DTM
and TimeAttack cars.
I started with an old B-series tranny, disaasembled it and cleaned it
perfectly. Therefor I suggest hot tanking and walnut blasting of the
outside.
I also cleaned all shift forks and parts that are intended for re use
through hot tanking.
I suggest to buy the Diff-Bearings, all gaskets and the two upper
bearings on the pinion shaft new.
First I suggest to install the lower bearing for the second shaft into
to lower tranny housing.
Then you have to clearance the little metal plate that hold the lower
bearing so that it doesn´t touch the second shaft. You have to do this
because the teeth of the second shaft are larger than OEM. See
picture: 1513
after this is done, torque the screw to 23NM and secure it. See same picture.
Then, you have to check the the side play of the Diff. This is important
when an aftermarket Diff is used. In this case I used a Metalplate LSD
which I had laying here.
Then you press the new Diff-bearings onto the Differential, put it
into the lower tranny housing and mount the upper housing onto the lower
and use just four screws.
Then you use a feeler gauge and check the clearance between the inner
side of the housing and the bearing through the hole where the axles
come in.
See picture 1516.
Clearance needs to be 0.0 - 0.1mm. If it is not correct you can use a
thinner or thicker shim from Honda.
See picture 1515
Then, specially when a plate LSD is used, you have to check if the
screws that are used for the crown wheel onto the LSD are touching the
gears of the second shaft.
This is often when Plate LSD are used. It usually does not occur when a
Helical LSD are used. So, for safety CHECK IT!
See picture: 1522.
The shaft slides up when tranny is assembled and so there is a little
more distance but in some cases the gears can still touch the head of
the screws.
In these case I machine the screws on a lathe and substract 1.5mm from
the heads.
See picture: 1521
After this is done, you have to check the side play of the main shaft.
Therefor you have to use the two OEM shims you can see in picture: 1523
(not included with the Gear-X Dog Box)
Assemble the entire main shaft and install the OEM shim inside the upper
tranny housing picture:1524
IMPORTANT NOTE:
The white plastic shild will not be used in this application. Remove it!
Plug the entire mainshaft in the bearings and make sure that both shims
are onto the bearing. The "bend" shim first, the flat shim second to the
bearing.
Picture 1527 right side
Then put the upper housing onto the lower housing, and use two screws
for tightening.
Then check the play of the shaft from the outside. In my case the play
was 0.35mm.
It should be nearly 0.0mm
Picture 1925
If there is too much play, you should eliminate it.
Therefor you have to measure how much play you currently have.
Then you remove the OEM shim from the inside of the upper housing and
measure its thickness. Picture 1526.
Now, you have to do the math. Example:
If your current play is 0.3mm and your current OEM shim is 1.2mm
thickness you have to buy a 1.5mm shim from Honda.
For selecting sizes and partnumbers use list in picture 1527.
Then torque the upper nut on the pillow shaft to 120nm and secure it.
Picture: 1529
Then torque the LSD screws. In this case I chose 105nm for each screw.
Tighten it in small and opposing steps.
Reinstall the oil leading shild Picture 1534
and secure it from the
outside Picture 1535.
Install a new holding c-clip for the pillow shaft Picture 1533
Next, you´ll need to install the shift selector shaft and it´s spring, ball and screw ... make sure not to forget spring and ball.
Ball needs to be inserted as first, the spring as second.
After this is done insert the cleaned magnet. Make sure to remove all old metal shavings.
Then you can install the crown wheel and the diff.
Before - Make sure to have the screws torqued to the corrects specs. IMPORTANT! The screws therefor are "the_other_way"-screws.
That meens to torque them you have to tighten them against the clock. (Hope you can understand my Engish :-)
Torque settings depend on diff manufactures suggestion. In my case it has been 95Nm in several steps.
After I torqued the crown wheel down I pressed the diff bearings onto the diff.
I usually heat the bearings a little bit (just a bit - no flame!) and use a big tool nut and a plastic hammer.
You can also use a press, but I prefere nut and hammer.
Take care to have the correct diff berings. Depending on the tranny type there a at least 3 versions for B-series trannys.
Also install the bearings for main shaft and pinion shaft.
When this is done, it´s time to insert the DogBox and it´s shiftforks. You would wish to have more than just two hands :-)
It is a little bit tricky to insert the shafts and fork at the same time. Move the pinion shaft a bit to the left and right so that it can slide in the bearings and the theets of the crown wheel.
Before you finally insert the mainshaft you have to place the tranny housing onto two pieces of wood or metall. See two pictures later! Otherwise the main shaft will NOT slide into it´s correct position!
Now you can install the reverse gear. Make sure to have the gear installed wit the "longer" side downwards.
The sliding haft can just be installed in one position. So, it is easy.
When this is done, it´s time to insert the DogBox and it´s shiftforks. You would wish to have more than just two hands :-)
It is a little bit tricky to insert the shafts and fork at the same time. Move the pinion shaft a bit to the left and right so that it can slide in the bearings and the theets of the crown wheel.
After this is done you can install the shift selector.
Before oder I talked with Jeff "Kiwi" Owen and he suggested me the improved version from Speedfactory.
I purchased it trough SpecialProjectsMotorsports and recieved it as a drop ship directly from Speedfactory.
Timing was perfect it arrived nearls the same time as I recieved the Gear-X DogBox
The improved shift selector consits of a new OEM core with much stronger shift selector "finger" - Hope it is the right word.
The "finger" seems to be more massive and stronger material. So it will not bend under extreme shifting conditions.
The selector is braced in several areas and has a stronger spring.
Torque the 3 screws to 12Nm (2 long and 1 short screw)
The next step is important!
In the upper part of the main shaft there is a ring groove short under the upper bearing.
You might think that there needs to be a circlip. But NO! There needs to be no circlip!
Do not install a circlip on your own. Otherwise the shift fork can not go high enough and you would not be able to go into reverse gear.
Take a good brand of bonding material (Honda Bond or soemthing similar)
I usally take Lockite 5900 because I can get it for free :-) and it worked great for me since years.
The best method is to use such a plastic gun. You can usually buy it where you can buy bonding materials.
Place all three shift forks in the same hight and add o drop of oil onto each top of the shafts. Prelube all bearings and gears a little bit.
When all this is done you need to clean the sealant area of the tranny.
Both sides (upper and lower housing). I usually use silicone remover.
Now you have to place a 1mm line of sealing material on the lower tranny housing. Take care that you place the sealing material on the inside!!! Not on the outside of the holes for the screws. This is very important. Otherwise you tranny would leak within seconds ;-)
Now you have to hurry up before the material becomes try. Place to upper housing onto the lower housing.
I´m sure you´ll need a little plastic hammer or shake it a bit.
It is a good idea to try it without the sealing material before. It is a little bit complicated :-) So try it before !!
Then torque all screws to 25Nm.
After this is done turn the entire tranny around (upside down).
You should hear a "Click". Then you know the pinion shaft slided iin its final position.
You can try to rotate the main shaft...If it rotates it is good. :-)
Now you can install all brackets and and remaining parts on the outside.
If you painted your tranny make sure to remove the color under the bracket where the grounding cable goes to.
This helps to prevent electrical problems.
You´ll also need to install you speed sensor assembly. Some aftermarket diffs come with install kits. Install these to manufactures instructions.
When all this is done your Gear-X DogBox should look like mine and should work without any problems.
When you have a gear selcted and it is engaged you can rotate the main shaft for a try.
You´ll notice a loud/hard "clong". This are the Dogs engagded and normal. Note, this is not a syncro tranny. It is a race tranny ;-)
If anybody has more questions, feel free to ask.
Last edited by hondaapi; 10-22-2012 at 01:12 PM.
10-22-2012, 10:18 AM
#3
Honda-Tech Member
Re: Gear-X Dog Box assembly write up
Nice write up Kevin! I wish I could of known all the little stuff before figuring it out first hand haha. With the Os Giken allen ring bolts it clears with out taking metal off.
10-22-2012, 07:18 PM
#4
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Location: Orange, CALIFORNIA, USA
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Re: Gear-X Dog Box assembly write up
Nice write up Kevin.
I hope you and Rhett (Powerneedy) and Barry Primus here in the USA and the other racers in Jamaica and Barbados all have great success with your GEAR-X Dogboxes. We are very pleased with the performance of these B Series and the several K-Series Kits we have sold over the last year or so. We have intentionally stayed away from Drag Racing as we are now, and have always been Road Racing/Time Attack orientated company. We have recently moved into the EVO, Subaru, Porsche/Audi market by supplying NEW full sequential Gear Boxes designed and developed by our manufacturers in Europe. We look forward to giving as much practical help and advice to all and our Racing customers as has always been our tradition.
Good luck to you all.
Kiwi
Director: Special Projects Motor Sports/ GEAR-X USA
I hope you and Rhett (Powerneedy) and Barry Primus here in the USA and the other racers in Jamaica and Barbados all have great success with your GEAR-X Dogboxes. We are very pleased with the performance of these B Series and the several K-Series Kits we have sold over the last year or so. We have intentionally stayed away from Drag Racing as we are now, and have always been Road Racing/Time Attack orientated company. We have recently moved into the EVO, Subaru, Porsche/Audi market by supplying NEW full sequential Gear Boxes designed and developed by our manufacturers in Europe. We look forward to giving as much practical help and advice to all and our Racing customers as has always been our tradition.
Good luck to you all.
Kiwi
Director: Special Projects Motor Sports/ GEAR-X USA
Trending Topics
03-03-2015, 11:55 AM
#8
Honda-Tech Member
Re: Gear-X Dog Box assembly write up
It is probably one of the coolest things on my car... LOL seriously it is extremely impressive from quality to how it completely transforms the car. I have been wanting to make a POV video of driving with it
03-03-2015, 12:06 PM
#9
B*a*n*n*e*d
Join Date: Dec 2007
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Re: Gear-X Dog Box assembly write up
Please do , because it better be freaking amazing to cost that much. Unless it gives sexual favours I'd prefer 6 oem gearboxes instead.
03-03-2015, 02:22 PM
#11
Honda-Tech Member
Re: Gear-X Dog Box assembly write up
Root of all Evil When I laid everything out on pros and cons of rebuilding an oem trans to beefing up the trans to going with the dog box it came out that the dog box was not really that much more, Especially considering it should last longer in the given environment. The biggest factor for me though was safety, All it takes is locking up the gear box and wreaking the car or worse. Oh and the way it feels and the music it makes its borderline orgasmic HAHA
KungfuSir I have around 250 track miles and around 500 street and tuning miles.
KungfuSir I have around 250 track miles and around 500 street and tuning miles.
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