My 90 5 speed is on a bench, open, with the FSM in front of me. I am trying to remove the stopper ring/snap ring on the fork rod-is there an improvisable tool or should I buy the real thing? Do I need a certain size punch to get out the retaining pin from the fork rod? The reverse arm shaft won't come out-it has a slot for a screwdriver, but even with the retaining pin out, the sucker won't move, so I can't get to my shot bearings. Finally the plastic oil gutter broke while separating the case. does anyone have a picture where it goes in the trans? I think I'll superglue it and hope gear oil doesn't affect superglue.

Hey man you get props from me for cracking a tranny open at all.....that's brave.
I'm not suggesting you quit, but don't feel bad if you do haha.

Glue will work on the oil gutter. As for the reverse gear, you dont need to remove it as per the FSM, unless you need to replace the shifting mechanism on it. You can just pull the shifting mechanism aside and pull the reverse gear out, no need to remove the cylinder-shaped pins.

here's how i removed those snap rings: i found some snap ring pliers which were actually meant to be used for snap rings with holes. i ditched the little pin things that are meant to go in the holes and was left with a nose which angled perfectly for those rings. i put a piece of particle board against my chest and positioned the pliers correctly and shoved my chest into the grips. then i grabbed the rod i was working on and pushed hard, they'll pop out. don't give up though, you're too far along.

Thanks Hectic and Brad92SE. That's really improvising to shove pliers against your chest! so I don't need the remove the entire reverse assembly to get at the two main shafts? I'll try your ideas. Any photos anywhere to show the location of the oil gutter? The FSM's lousy for that. I did a visual inspection of the diff and main bearings-they look OK. My trans was making the input shaft bearing noise and I can't get to them yet to inspect. I have a time /cost issue-so I think I'll order front & rear input shaft bearings, use old shims [this is the original trans 230k miles] seals for diff/cv axles and try to put this mess back together.
Without this forum, I would never have attempted this.

If you quit, you'll feel worse for longer, just keep going.

OK, I'll keep going. I went to the dealer yesterday to see if I could order the tool to remove the snap ring/stopper ring from the shifting fork. They don't sell the item. Other than push a snap ring remover into my chest as suggested above, what do other people do? And where does that plastic oil gutter fit on the transmission?

If you are talking about the C-rings that keep the forks on the rails, then just put a pair of needle nose pliers against the ring and work it off of the shaft. The pliers will be able to press against both ends of the ring so that it wont spin around when you push it off.

Good idea-thanks. Does that wreck the c-rings or can I reuse? Where does the long green plastic oil gutter fit in the trans? When I put the pieces of the case back together, is there any risk of gear oil leakage if you use Permatex or some other gasket sealer in a thin bead? So many questions....

the rings can be reused and i think the permatex should be fine. i may be new on the boards but have had my tranny open a few times. ive been told i shift too hard.

The trans is taken apart, the new input shaft bearings [front and rear]have been pressed on. The aftermarket rear bearing from drivetrain.com has a ring, like a giant snap ring, incorporated as part of the bearing. I'm not sure why it is there. I kept it on when I pressed it back on the input shaft. I'll see if it all fits when I reassemble the trans. What is the biggest hassle when putting things back together? There was one steel ball that was sitting loosely below the differential bearing without an obvious home. I assume if I follow the factory service manual to the letter, I'll be OK.

snap ring on the bearing?? can you take a picture? just triple check everything before you put the case on. clean the tranny out good and make sure there's no debris in there and you should be fine. you'll definitely want to get that loose ball and stick it where it belongs which is probably the reverse lever thingy. i'd bet $10 that's where it came from it's the metal paper clip looking thing that springs back the selector rod from 5th and reverse. the ball rests in a divot. study the exploded diagrams if you get stuck. make sure all ***** and springs are in their correct spots and that you can shift in and out of all gears after assembling everything.

edit: also, make sure all those little clips are correctly positioned at the syncros. they can get dislodged.

I cleaned out the tranny with a parts washer.I took a picture of the input shaft, but can't figure out how to attach via the forum. Thanks for your good suggestions.

so how's it coming along? did you get the tranny back together?

The trans is in my basement. The loose steel ball came from the reverse gear-the one that just sits on a circular piece of metal. The snap ring thing was not an issue-the aftermarket input shaft bearing fit well. My problem now in is reassembly. I'm not able to shift into all the gears when I push/pull the 'striker rod'. From reading the forum, I have to able to shift into all gears before I put it all back together. I plan to take off the shifting forks and start all over again with reassembly. I'm sure there's a spring or steel ball out of place.
Hectic-you were on the money with the reverse lever steel ball. If it doesn't shift right, are there common problems to look at?

when you're having problems with the shifting, you're going to need to pull off all the shift forks and shafts again and check them all for burrs and such. also make sure you have at least a small amount of lube on every shaft before you put it back together. they tend to try to dig into the aluminum case and don't want to shift sometimes without fluid in there.

before you crack the case open again, figure out which gears aren't going in first.. that will give you an idea of which shaft to work on, as you have only one shaft for each 1/2, 3/4, 5/R shift...

matt off topic of this thread but has to do with the 5spd...how much did you move your pivot ball on your shifter? I finally experimented on one of my spare shifters and was able to move it (after heating it in the oven) but dont want to go to far. I was thinking only like 3/4" or so. Sorry I lost my email where we discussed this.

good luck man. just make sure those ***** and springs are in place, then after messing with the rods and shafts for a few minutes, you'll get it all to click in place correctly. you'll know when you get it right. it's like a puzzle.

What sound was your trans making before you took the trans apart for a rebuild that you knew it was the bearings?

Michael, I moved mine about an inch or so.. the throws are very short, so I'd recommend leaving it at 3/4" if that's where you've got it now. try it and see what you like. you can always move it more later.

To Arctic DC-
I've seen you asking about your SE on the forum. Mine was making a rattle that varied with engine RPM.The sound went completely away when I pushed in the clutch. When I opened the trans and inspected the input shaft bearing [with some help from someone at the military auto craft shop at Ft. Belvoir-near you. I used their hydraulic press]the bad bearing was the front input shaft bearing. I'm going to try to put it all back together this weekend.

Why even think of quitting? If you quit then all your work is for not, and I don't know about you, but I HATE wasting my time. Quitters never win..remember that.

Darn right. I hear rebuilding a tranny is right up there with airplane mechanic.

Quit? We don't talk about that here. I actually want to see him do it. Reading this post made me think twice about throwing away the tranny sitting in the corner of my garage.

Yo forum people. My knuckles are mangled, my nails are greasy, but the transmisssion is back in, the Max got me to work, and I'm a happy novice tranny rebuilder. If anyone attempts to do this job. my keyboard is ready.

Congrats!!

it certainly feels good to slide it into gear and drive off after something like that, doesn't it?!

To be truthful, 1st and 2nd don't slide too well.They were fine before the rebuild. I probably was too agressive with removing the pins in the shifting fork, but I'm done, it works and off I go...
What is the highest mileage Maxima you've ever heard of? Don't these things last forever?