Power King tractor – Russ Chastain

Previously in this series of articles, we have covered the teardown of a T92 transmission for rebuild in Part 1, and removed & installed front and rear ball bearings in Part 2.

This is Part 3, covering assembly of the T92 transmission gearbox. Let’s get to it. First, here’s an exploded view and illustrated parts list (IPL).

I’m assuming you have a nice clean transmission case, and all your parts are ready to go. There should already be a snap ring inside the rear of the case, for the front of the rear bearing to butt up against.

Empty T92 Borg-Warner transmission case.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

Start with the reverse idler gear and it shaft. The front of the gear will probably be tapered slightly from wear; that’s okay.

Reverse idler gear and its shaft.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

Place the gear where it belongs, and insert the shaft from the back side of the case — making sure the retainer slot is positioned correctly.

This is where the reverse idler gear belongs.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

When you start the shaft, make sure the slot is facing towards the other shaft so the retainer will fit into it.

Reverse idler shaft goes into this hole.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

When you drive it in, make sure your punch is not above the slot. That will break the shaft, as you will see below.

Slot faces the retainer.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

Next, place the cluster gear where it belongs. This one has more wear than I’d like to see; this is caused by grinding gears when shifting. The good news is, there’s still a lot of life left in it.

Cluster gear in place.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

Run the shaft through the cluster gear, again making sure the slot is facing the correct direction.

Installing the cluster gear countershaft.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

When you hit the shaft in the wrong place due to carelessness, you break it. If this was the reverse idler shaft, I’d have to trash it — or more likely, cut another slot 180 degrees from the old one. But the front bearing retainer will prevent this shaft from “walking” out the front, and the retainer will keep it from moving backwards. So I’ll just live with it.

Broken shaft retainer slot.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

My usual practice is to use a cutoff wheel to cut new retainer slots into these shafts opposite the original slots, to allow the bushings inside the gears to ride on unworn portions of the shaft. I chose not to do that this time, because I was trying to retain the original tractor’s patina. And then I got stupid & broke the shaft! Derp.

With shafts in place, slide the retainer (“lock shaft plate” in IPL) in place and start the 5/16″ cap screw with lock washer.

Retainer in place, screw ready to be tightened.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

Tighten the retainer screw and you’re done with those lower shafts.

Tighten with a 1/2″ socket & extension.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

Now for the main shaft. Don’t get hasty; you will need the main shaft with good bearing installed, both the sliding gears, and a snap ring.

Again — Make sure the inside snap ring is installed in the rear of the case. This will secure the front side of the rear bearing.

When you slide the main shaft into the transmission case, you’ll need to slide it through the sliding gears as you go.

You’ll need these parts to install the T92’s main shaft.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

Hold the larger sliding gear in place with the shift fork slot towards the rear of the case, and slip the shaft into the case and through the gear.

Then slide the main shaft through the smaller sliding gear, keeping its shift fork slot towards the front of the case.

This photo shows how the gears should be arranged:

Main shaft in place with sliding gears.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

Make sure the rear bearing gets started straight in the case.

Rear bearing started nice and straight.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

Use a tool, such as this old hunk of a Power King tie rod, to tap around the perimeter of the bearing to move it into place in the gear case.

Tap gently and keep moving the tool around the perimeter. The bearing will stop against the aforementioned front snap ring.

Keep an eye on the sliding gears while you do this, making sure they don’t slide too far forward on the shaft or get bound up somehow.

Use a tool to tap the bearing into place, moving the tool often.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

Once the bearing is in place, check the sliding gears to make sure they are not binding anywhere and they can slide back & forth freely on the shaft.

Check to make sure the sliding gears are still free.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

You want to be certain everything is good before you install the snap ring to secure the rear bearing.

Sliding gears should move freely on the shaft.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

You know the bearing is properly positioned when the snap ring groove in the case is fully visible, as shown below.

Arrow indicates snap ring groove.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

Now put the snap ring into the bore. It should be pretty easy to get it most of the way in there, keeping it pretty much parallel with the face of the bearing.

Snap ring partially in place.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

Push one end of the snap ring down so it goes into the groove in the case. Then work a tool around the snap ring, moving the ring down a little at a time, “feeding” it into the groove.

One end of snap ring started in groove.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

Work it on down until the entire snap ring is lying against the bearing and is properly fitted into the groove.

When you’re done, the snap ring will lie against the bearing all the way around, with both ends in the groove and even.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

Time for the input shaft. Remember those 13 loose needle bearings from Part 1? It’s time to deal with those. The easiest way to do that is to stick them into the rear of the input shaft with some grease.

Add a dab o’ grease, then a needle, repeat until you’re done.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

Once you have the needle bearings safely secured, slip the rear end of the input shaft through the front of the gear case and over the front end of the main shaft.

Slipping the input shaft over the main shaft.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

Your job here is to make sure all the needle bearings stay in place. The front bearing should slide into the gear case easily.

Input shaft properly assembled.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

The snap ring on the outside of the front bearing should lie against the front of the transmission case like so:

Front bearing against front of transmission case.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

To secure the front bearing, the bearing retainer must be installed. If this is the rear transmission on a dual-trans setup for a Power King / Jim Dandy / Economy tractor, it won’t have a bearing retainer; the center torque tube will do this job.

If the bearing retainer has a “divot” inside to help circulate oil, it must be installed over the oil hole in the gear case.

That hole in the gear case lines up with this divot in the bearing retainer.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

Originally these transmissions used paper gaskets, but I assemble using Permatex silicone gasket maker. Just follow the directions: Tighten the bolts just barely snug, wait at least an hour, then tighten them fully.

I use Permatex gasket maker instead of a paper gasket.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

Once installed, the bearing retainer should look like the photo below. Note the position of the oil passage — and that the bearing retainer will also prevent the main countershaft from coming out the front of the gear case.

Bearing retainer installed on t92 transmission.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

You are just about done, my friend. All that’s left is to install the top shifter assembly. When you do, make sure the shift forks slip into the slots in the sliding gears.

Use a paper gasket or gasket maker to ensure a good seal — but if you’re going to use gasket maker, wait until after you’ve added 8 ounces (no more!) of gear lube. I prefer 85w-140w gear oil.

It’s true that you can always add the lube through the fill hole on the side of the gear case, but it’s much easier to fill from the top while the shifter assembly is off.

Installing the top on a T92 3-speed transmission.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

Install your four 5/16″ cap screws (bolts) with lock washers, and you’re done. The longer of the 4 bolts goes into the hole at right rear.

All that’s left is to install bolts in these holes.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

It’s easy to see why a longer bolt is needed in that location.

Well, that’s how to rebuild a T-92 transmission gearbox. I hope you found this useful and informative.

— Russ

In part one of this series, I walked you through general teardown of the Borg-Warner T92 3-speed transmission used on Power King and Jim Dandy tractors (among others) as well as Crosley automobiles. In this installment we will replace the front and rear bearings on the input and output shafts.

For reference, here’s an IPL, or illustrated parts list.

Let’s start with the input shaft, which is the front shaft. This is the bearing that gets the most wear. The photo below shows two input shafts; the one on the right has an open ball bearing, which is the original type. The shaft on the left has only the inner race of the bearing remaining, because the bearing failed and went to pieces inside the transmission.

Two different input shafts… the one on the left has only the inner bearing race remaining, due to complete bearing failure.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

WARNING: Do not damage the snap ring around the outer race of the bearing! You will probably need to reuse it (more on that later in this article). And if you plan to use open bearings rather than sealed bearings, you will need to preserve the thin “oil slinger” washer if it’s still intact (more on that below).

I’ll demonstrate using the worst of the two shafts. The procedure is the same when you’re removing the entire bearing. The first thing you do is remove the snap ring holding the bearing onto the shaft. Spread the ends and gently move it away from the bearing and out of its groove. WEAR EYE PROTECTION.

Removing the snap ring to remove a T92 front transmission bearing.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

Getting it out of its groove is the hard part. Try not to bend or over-stretch it.

Input shaft snap ring out of its groove.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

Once you have the snap ring out of its groove, slide it off of the shaft. Try to keep it “even” as you do this, so you don’t bend or otherwise distort it.

The inside of the bearing fits tightly on the shaft, so it will take some force to remove it. Normally, you can support the outer race of the bearing while you drive or press the shaft out of the bearing. If your bearing is not intact, or if it comes apart while you’re removing it from the shaft, you will need to secure the inner race somehow while you remove the shaft.

Securing the inner race in a vise so I can drive the shaft out.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

NEVER strike the shaft with a steel hammer! Shafts are expensive, and a steel hammer can damage it. Use a hammer of non-marring material such as brass, or use a piece of brass between the hammer and shaft to cushion the blows.

The vise is gripping the race, but not touching the gear teeth.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

Be sure you don’t grab the gear teeth with your vise, or otherwise damage them.

If you are using a vise in this manner, pay attention to where the race is in the jaws. With each strike of the hammer, the race will probably slip down a little. You may need to reposition it in the vise a few times before the race comes off.

A pair of “naked” input shafts.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

Once the bearing is off, your input shaft should look like this. I wish I could combine these shafts; one has better gear teeth, while the other is in better shape up front.

Rear ends of two T92 transmission input shafts.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

The new sealed front bearing part number is 6205 2RS NR, and you need to be sure to get one with the snap ring, because you’re going to need the snap ring groove. You can buy one by clicking here, if you like. (If you do, I might make a few pennies.)

Chances are good that your new front bearing will have the wrong size snap ring. Thankfully, it’s easy to swap them out.

Old (left) and new front bearings for T92 transmission. New bearing is sealed, and has the wrong size snap ring.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

All of the new snap rings I’ve found on these bearings are too large to properly fit into the bearing retainer. The diameter is simply too great, and as you can see the new snap ring can’t fit correctly. So, just remove the snap ring from the new bearing and install the old snap ring on the new bearing.

This is probably the easiest snap ring procedure of the entire process. Enjoy!

New bearing’s snap ring doesn’t fit into the bearing retainer.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

A note about “oil slingers:” Originally, this transmission had open bearings with sheet metal parts commonly known as slingers, which the IPL above calls “oil retainer washers.” These are often damaged and are not easily replaced — and are unnecessary if you use sealed bearings.

If you are going to use one of these, you’ll want to slip it onto the shaft BEFORE you install the bearing, and then take care not to damage it during installation.

Arrows indicate the sheet metal oil slinger.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

To install the new front bearing, position it with the snap ring towards the front of the shaft and press or drive the input shaft into the bearing. Then reinstall the shaft snap ring which retains the bearing on the input shaft. When you’re done it should look like the one on the right in the pic below (if you used a sealed bearing, you won’t be able to see the balls inside).

The Rear Shaft

Now let’s work on the rear shaft, also known as the output shaft or the main shaft.

I’ve noticed two different types of rear shafts in T92 transmissions. One type has a spacer between the snap ring and the rear bearing. The pic below shows this type of shaft with and without the bearing installed.

One type of rear T92 transmission shaft uses a spacer between snap ring and bearing. The oil slinger is unnecessary in this photo, because the bearing is sealed.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

Another type of shaft has no spacer, and the snap ring is placed right next to the bearing.

This type of rear shaft doesn’t use a spacer between snap ring and bearing. Top shaft has slinger in place, although it’s not necessary with this sealed bearing. Another old sealed bearing is lying in the background.

Both of these shafts take the same sort of bearing, and unlike the front bearing, it’s not directional (there’s no front or back).

The part number for a new rear sealed bearing is 6204 2RS, and you can buy one by clicking here. (If you do, I might make a few pennies.)

To remove the old bearing, the procedure is the same as for the front (input) shaft: Remove snap ring, then remove bearing (and slinger, if present).

If you are using an unsealed bearing, install the slinger/oil retainer like this.
(Photo © Russ Chastain)

Installation is even simpler than the front bearing because there’s no external snap ring to worry about. Install slinger (if using an unsealed bearing), then bearing, then spacer if applicable, then snap ring. Done!

Next, we will assemble the parts to make up a good T92 transmission; that’s part 3 of this T92 Transmission Overhaul series.

Tag: Power King tractor

Power King T92 3-Speed Transmission Rebuild Overhaul, Part 3 — Assembling the T92 Transmission

Power King T92 3-Speed Transmission Rebuild Overhaul, Part 2 — Changing front & rear bearings

The Rear Shaft