FS5W71B Rebuild Thread - Tips tricks and discoveries!

[Zed Head]

Could also be that the detent balls (check and interlock) in the adapter plate are damaged, or the notch in the shift rod.  They are supposed to hold the forks in the proper position in each gear, and neutral.  That fork is way out of alignment.

[Dave WM]

something about that hub does not look right. what's with the stepped ridge? I don't recall that on my zx trans. And if its correct maybe the hub is installed backwards. looks like it would fit better.

Edited December 5, 2019 by Dave WM

[Zed Head]

The fork looks like it has the plastic insert also.  So many ways for a transmission to wear out once one part goes.

[zKars]

Ill take better pics of the failure. yes its the plastic rub block that wore out then then groove started

[Zed Head]

Another thought - the roll pin is broken.  The one that holds the fork to the rod.

[Dave WM]

ZH what about that step in the slider?

[Dave WM]

this step, I don't see that on the slider from my trans.

Edited December 5, 2019 by Dave WM

[Zed Head]

Is that a step or an optical thing with the fuzzy picture?  I see a sloped edge like on the other side. /T|_|T\

[Dave WM]

looking at the fork makes it look like a step. but I can see what you mean could be an optical trick. foreground/background.

[zKars]

I could clear this all up with a couple of pics. There is a step in the entire fork that was created after the plastic wear tip wore away. Must have been some heavy shifter leaning going on.

I’m just engrossed in another shop improvement project (insulating my roof) while I wait for the trans rebuild kits to arrive. Nothing more fun than stuffing fibreglass bats between rafters 12 ft off the floor on a rikkety ladder.

Edited December 6, 2019 by zKars

[zKars]

Ok, stupid insulation is in place. Man I itch all over, but some antibiotics will cure that ?

First pictures of the worn fork. Here is the "good" side of the fork so you can so the little plastic wear block with the two pins that hold it.

Then the bad side. both tips have the wear block worn right off. The pins push through to the other side, so they stay in place, but look at the groove worn in the entire circumference of the fork from pushing against the selector.

Here is the full shot of the bad side.

Here is a repost of the shot that showed the groove and selector together so you get the full picture.

You can even see the plastic pad pushed away from the fork with the pins keeping it in place.

To think about a repair on this part, sure, you could weld up the new groove at the ends where the pads were (that's all that touches), and machine it back down to the right thickness, but very hard to come up with a new wear pad. How long would a newly welded bare aluminum pad last? As long as the shifting is easy and you keep your sticking mitts off the shifter when driving, maybe a long time!

Edited December 6, 2019 by zKars

[zKars]

Now something VERY interesting.

I have two 5 speeds and a 4 speed apart. I've been working on and showing pictures from the rusty one with the bad 1/2 fork. 

The OTHER one, now that I look at it's shift forks (the one with the totally gone counter shaft intermediate bearing) has, just as ZedHead had mentioned as a possibility, shift forks that are exactly like the ones in the 4 speed! Haven't put it on to prove it yet, tomorrow!

Roll pin's in the same place by the looks of it, shape and orientation is the same, they are just steel in the 4 speed, aluminum in the 5.

Well that doesn't solve my need to source a fork for the other 5 speed, its shifter rod has the dowel pin holes in different places, but you 'COULD' slide the 4 speed fork on and tack weld that sucker in place on the rod. Or drill and tap for a couple of set screws, etc etc. There is always a way!

Now I'm cursing myself for all the 4 speeds I've recycled.... and those little balls for the rod detents that go astray, etc etc. Oh well.

I also have to take apart a C type and see it THOSE shift forks adapt into the FS5WB.