I just installed an LS 5th in my b16 tranny, but I'm having a hard time gettting the snap ring to set over the countershaft bearing. I've expanded the ring, but even when the case is fully down, the snap ring sits on top of the bearing. I tried turning the tranny so that the countershaft should have been pressed towards the snap ring, but no dice.

Any tips from the transmission gurus (bense?)

 

Easy man. Use needle nose or some good snap ring pliers to spread the ring. Now, take a straight screwdriver and put it under the nut that holds the bearing to the countershaft, rest the fulcrum point on the edge of the access hole and pry the nut up. Voila, done.

Otherwise, some guys get the ring started on the edge of the bearing then flip the case over so it snaps in. I prefer the method I mentioned first, though.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RyanA &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Easy man. Use needle nose or some good snap ring pliers to spread the ring. Now, take a straight screwdriver and put it under the nut that holds the bearing to the countershaft, rest the fulcrum point on the edge of the access hole and pry the nut up. Voila, done.

Otherwise, some guys get the ring started on the edge of the bearing then flip the case over so it snaps in. I prefer the method I mentioned first, though.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Unluckily for us, Eran and I tried both methods and nothing worked. the ring sits just above where it's supposed to seat.

 

If those didn't work, I'd suspect you put the bearing on upside down. Is the "notch" towards the top when you are looking in the hole with the engine side down? If so, sounds like something is bound up. Try moving the shift selector around to see if that frees up the shaft a little.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RyanA &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If those didn't work, I'd suspect you put the bearing on upside down. Is the "notch" towards the top when you are looking in the hole with the engine side down? If so, sounds like something is bound up. Try moving the shift selector around to see if that frees up the shaft a little.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Which bearing do you mean? We didn't disassemble the shafts, we just removed them.

 

 

Looks good in that pic. If that's the way it is, you just need to give it a little love to get it on there. I use long needle nose pliers to hold the snap ring spread then a long straight screwdriver to pry it up. As long as the case is bolted together, they just snap right in.