I have had a couple of gearcases come in with metal on the drain plug magnets.
Disassembly and inspection showed that the retaining ring/spring wire that holds the pinion bearing from riding up in the driveshaft bore was chewed to pieces. The pinion bearing has ridden far enough up to the point of touching the bottom of the lower driveshaft, ground out the top of the pinion bearing and has worn a nice groove in the bottom of the lower driveshaft. You know how the top of the bearing has numbers, and a message "This side up"?
Totally gone, eroded away.....
In the process, the retainer ring pieces have gouged out the area immediately above it...maybe 3/8" above the groove it normally sits in, so that the groove is no longer well defined. When putting a new retaining ring in there, it is iffy if it will stay.
What can be done? How can I get a good retention on the new pinion bearing when the ring may or may not hold in what's left of the groove?
Anybody ever see this before?
Disassembly and inspection showed that the retaining ring/spring wire that holds the pinion bearing from riding up in the driveshaft bore was chewed to pieces. The pinion bearing has ridden far enough up to the point of touching the bottom of the lower driveshaft, ground out the top of the pinion bearing and has worn a nice groove in the bottom of the lower driveshaft. You know how the top of the bearing has numbers, and a message "This side up"?
Totally gone, eroded away.....
In the process, the retainer ring pieces have gouged out the area immediately above it...maybe 3/8" above the groove it normally sits in, so that the groove is no longer well defined. When putting a new retaining ring in there, it is iffy if it will stay.
What can be done? How can I get a good retention on the new pinion bearing when the ring may or may not hold in what's left of the groove?
Anybody ever see this before?