Trying to rebuild my Muncie transmission, and am having more end play (front-to-back) in the countershaft than I expected. I don’t have a dial, but would figure something around .020”.

How tight should the countershaft be? Should I shim it? And if so, what would I use to shim it?

On a second note, I’m also having issues with the countershaft lining up with the main shaft. Front to back, there is a .070” shift from the main gear lining up to the corresponding counter gear. I can’t seem to find any way to adjust that? I did find a thin (~.005”) shim in front of the input shaft gear (4th).

Thanks, Neal

Thats actually a great figure. Remember. Split the difference. Thats only .010 per side and you need that for oil clearance.

What about the gears not lining up?

The gears do line up. And we are talking about end play as you said movement forward to back, not up and down. Helical gearsets in these transmissions are usually off.
The factory manual states up to .030. If you run your endplays to tight you risk burning up the thrust washers.... The input shafts from the factory always seem to be off in relationship to the countergear. You can move the input in. There are shims you can purchase from McMaster Carr or MSCdirect.com. 12 bolt rear end pinion shims seem to fit well here also. Be careful, moving the input in over .060. It can cause the front of the mainshaft to rub against the inside of the input shaft and weld themselves together. I've seen this happen many times.

Also whether some people think that this is a good practice, deciding to move gears around from a pattern they were used to running in 40 years may result in gear noise.

Are you talking about the counter SHAFT, or the counter GEAR??????????????
If it's the counter GEAR, the book says .025 max end play.
I've rebuilt tons of them over the past 40+yrs with more than that.

And while we're on the subject of correct terms----------please don't call the tail housing a tail shaft--------------------like SO MANY people do. ;)

Yes, the cluster gear.

I have it apart right now clean/paint, so no pics ... but the gears are so far off, the oil slinger appears close to the cluster gear. That was my primary concern.

I just wanted to make sure there wasn't some part I could be missing to cause this? If that appears how the factory set it up, I'll probably leave it that way.

Thanks, Neal

Yes, the cluster gear.

I have it apart right now clean/paint, so no pics ... but the gears are so far off, the oil slinger appears close to the cluster gear. That was my primary concern.

I just wanted to make sure there wasn't some part I could be missing to cause this? If that appears how the factory set it up, I'll probably leave it that way.

Thanks, Neal

Oil slinger and cluster gear???? Do you mean the piece that is attached to the front of the counter gear???? That's not a oil slinger, that is a anti rattle device that is best removed.

Oil slinger and cluster gear???? Do you mean the piece that is attached to the front of the counter gear???? That's not a oil slinger, that is a anti rattle device that is best removed.

As Wally says, REMOVE the anti-rattle gear from the front of the cluster gear.