Optima 'HARDENED' final pinion gear.

[Jay Dub]

Yes, when new the parts are tight. And there is nothing to be done in the gearbox. They will wear in however. The outer gears can be adjusted though if you slighly oblong the mounting hole for the cluster gear shaft. This will allow you to move the cluster gear shaft away from the small counter gear, providing a little more initial clearance. -Jeff

[mjtown]

Yes, when new the parts are tight. And there is nothing to be done in the gearbox. They will wear in however. The outer gears can be adjusted though if you slighly oblong the mounting hole for the cluster gear shaft. This will allow you to move the cluster gear shaft away from the small counter gear, providing a little more initial clearance. -Jeff

Cool - thanks mate. I hoped that that was what to expect and that it wasn't because the new rear gearbox with the belt drive kit was moulded incorrectly with bore centrelines set too close! That would have been a pain!

I think I'll leave the counter gear shaft and it can all wear in with the diff - it's just take a bit longer because the hardened final pinion won't wear much

I'll just need to run a high torque motor for a while!

[highwayracer]

The belt drive feels rough when I operate it by hand. Initially I thought that it was the belt drive pulley being installed too tight, but now I've worked out that it's because the final pinion to diff gear backlash is very tight. There's no apparent way to adjust it - the centre to centre distance is set by the position of the bores in the gearbox.

Is this normal? It seems odd. Do you guys know if it will just 'bed in' after some use or is there something that I can do?

Cheers!

Mike

I've experienced that too...I found that the gearbox screws were too tight. Once I loosened them, the gearbox was smooth again.

[mjtown]

I've experienced that too...I found that the gearbox screws were too tight. Once I loosened them, the gearbox was smooth again.

Do you mean the three self-tapping that hold the two halves together?

Sorry that this has drifted off topic!!!

[mjtown]

By the way, there's a new OT-76 hard final pinion for sale here:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110951005595&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:AU:1123

It doesn't look too expensive - about 25 Euros inc freight.

[Coelacanth]

By the way, there's a new OT-76 hard final pinion for sale here:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110951005595&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:AU:1123

It doesn't look too expensive - about 25 Euros inc freight.

25 Euros for a single gear is WAY too expensive, in my books.

[Mr. ED]

It is a lot more than the perfect alternative mentioned earlier in this thread.