<< At 2:08 PM -0500 8/1/98, Harmon Seaver wrote:

 >I just pulled the engine on my '73 westy -- somehow the
 >tranny main shaft pulled out with it. Not all the way, of
 >course, but it now comes out about 6-8 inches from
 >where it should be, and no longer connects to anything
 >inside........

To which Otmar Ebenhoech replied:

<< No Problem. Just push it back in, rotate it a bit to make
the splines line up.

 This is a common problem, the threads that hold the input
shaft  in are  stripped. I've run a few trannys like that for years>>

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Ok, now for my 2 cents or so:

How do you get the coupler for the mainshaft and input shaft
on then??  I don't see any way to do this job without removing
the bellhousing.  The reason that the input shaft comes out 6
or so inches is that the snap ring retainer for the coupler is still
on the input shaft and is striking the backside of the bellhousing
bore hole.  This means that the coupler and its internal splines
to match the external spline on the above mentioned shafts is
either still on the mainshaft or has fallen off and is laying some-
where in the differential section.   The bellhousing has to come
off.  How else can you screw the shafts together and then slide
the coupler down the input shaft onto the matching splines on
the mainshaft and have the coupler's external teeth for the
reverse sliding gear shaft mate with it's gear?  Oh, and then slide
the snap ring down the input shaft and seat it in it's groove?  If this
isn't making sense then take a peek at your Bentley and you'll see
those splines, coupler, and snap ring.   I can see how you could
fish around and get the two shafts to line up and thread together
but the coupler part has me stumped.

Todd Hill
VolksWerks Transaxles
Olympia, WA