kprz350- I think I did see a slight spot where the hammer may have left a flat spot on the top of the shaft but after I removed the mainshaft top bearing with everything installed the cases went together seemingly normal...which was a relief in a way but I think indicated it wasnt a problem with the rods. I may try to get a picture of it.
All the checkballs and plungers are installed properly. I really do not think two gears were selected at once...I could shift into every single gear this time around and let the car idle in neutral without the clutch depressed. I've put taken this tranny apart and reinstalled it about 3 times I think I'm bound to have accidentally not selected two gears at one point if that was ever the situation.

dave- crap. I think I do remember that actually...that leaves me in the dark again although I do believe the problem lyes right with the bearings themselves since the shafts install normally and the bearings are installed all the way....I was planning on going to nissan to order new mainshaft bearings tomorrow but now I'm afraid its not going to solve my problem unless I just received the wrong lower bearing from the kit.

 

dave was right...there is a shelf there. ****.
My last idea is that I got the wrong lower bearing... (koyo number 30306 in case anyone could check). But thats a long shot...
I'll put these new bearings on but if that doesnt work I really dont know what I've done wrong...

 

Nissan wanted 55 dollars a bearing, I wasnt about to pay that. I'm calling up GTTransmissions.
there is an oil channel below the mainshaft lower race, should this have some play in it? I can move it around and up and down a little bit. Normal?

 

yes you can move that around.

if you can't find a bearing supplier that has them for less I can probably get them for you from the one I go to, they are like $28 a piece (last time I purchased them which was last fall).

 

Here the mainshaft bearings (from a rebuild kit I have on hand)
engine side: 30306
tranny side: 32206

It's pretty much impossible to get any of these bearings mixed up and get the housing to bolt together.

 

I appreciate it. I'll let you know. Do you by any chance have a number for the lower bearing? I've got KOYO- 30306JR
I was talking to the GTTransmissions guy and he couldnt look it up for me to confirm if it was right. His best guess for why the cases wouldnt mate together is because he says I reused the stock race for the top. He was saying that sometimes the bearings are not exact stock replacements and the races could be different sizes so if I mix-matched like I did (replaced everything except the outter case race) that could cause an issue.
I dont know...it seems like a stretch considering Jtz did the same thing and his transmission went together fine.

I'm going to go see if I can heat the case up and remove that oem lower bearing to get a number off of it or compare it to the replacement bearing.

I'll be back shortly.

 

thank you. did the 30306 have "JR" after it? not sure if that matters. looks like I've got the right ones though...now all I've got is the races to look at.

 

okay I've pulled out the transmission-side case MainShaft race. The SKF brand race and the OEM race seem to be the same height but the incline of the SKF race is a bit steeper. Here are pictures to show what I mean.



Maybe mixing and matching the bearing and race was a bad idea since clearly these are designed to fit with their specific race.
hopefully I have found my problem.

 

Yeah, you definitely shouldn't mix/match bearing races. Except for the two diff bearings, which are identical, they only work with the matching cones. Even though you might have the same ISO standard size between two brands, the tolerances and roller profiles could be different enough to not fit.

What's odd is that the OEM bearing is a non-standard size. The code "ET-..." means that it's a custom size in the NTN part numbering system. It's a 32206 but not quite. While I haven't bought that bearing direct from Nissan in a long time, all the aftermarket bearing kits use a standard size. So you happened to have stumbled into a very extreme example.

Dave

 

haha quite an edit. I definitely see what your saying though, thats what the GT guy was telling me. I guess I actually DID have a unique situation then...I guess thats what I get for not taking the time to replace that one race. (you should see the tool I created to remove it)
My biggest concern in all of this is the possible damage done to the case from tightening it down with the gap. I'm sure its fine but it still did something it shouldnt have none the less.
When this is all said and done I guess I'll feel alot more comfortable should I have to buy a spare tranny or something along those lines.

I'll get some bearings and come back for hopefully a final update.

 

Wow .... odd is not even close to describing this whole thing.

I didn't replace my MS outter race (in the case) did in the cover tho. I didn't even think it could make a difference. I still have that outter race and wonder, should I put it in now? Would it hurt? Will it hurt too not put it in? WTF ... lol I think since it seems ok, I'll leave it alone.

I hope the case is ok for you .... really odd problem, but I am glad you figured it out. Dave ... you are a Shinning Knight Sir!

 

here is my final update.
The transmission works flawlessly! WHEW. Quite a relief...after almost a month. Its so nice to have a quiet transmission and I can actually let off the gas in 1st without it jolting all over the place! amazing! i feel great.
I want to thank everyone who helped me through all of this Jtz, Dave, Neal, KPRZ350, pmohr, etc...

time to move on to my next project

 

Congrats.

So what parts did you replace and from where?

 

I got my kit from gttransmissions.com. I replaced all the bearings and races and seals.

 

Is it normal for 1st gear to have a little bit of a whine to it? Everything seems to work perfectly fine but I still have the noise in first gear, nothing major.

 

mine has that... in first and second... but not after