I just recently completed a shuttle rebuild on my john deere 310c and I thought I would post some information that I learned during this process.This post is for people like me who have no mechanical experience with this type of project but possess some basic tools and some mechanical aptitude and I know that I would have appreciated reading a post like this when I started to research the possibility of doing the work myself.
First of all you should have a service manual that shows disassembly/reassembly,torque and tolerance values. A shop manual for your specific model is highly recommended but if you don't want to buy one you can find a free pdf you can down load if you google Borgwarner shuttle transmission.You can also find a detailed exploded diagram with part #s on John Deere's web site under parts search.The Borgwarner pdf contains most of the information required to complete the rebuild but you would have to make sure that the torque and tolerance values match the shuttle in your hoe.
Next you should have a caliper for measuring clearance and tolerances and a clip lock pliers for removing the type of clips that don't have any holes drilled in them for a standard type of clip remover.Both items are available on e-bay for under $30.00 ea. You will also need some type of press (I used my bench vise and a C clamp) to install the forward clutch cylinder/piston in the ring gear and drivers to set the bearings,any local machine shop can make drivers for a reasonable price or you can get creative and figure out an alternative.If you replace the needle bearing in the planetary housing you will need a pilot bearing puller with a slide hammer(for removal)which you can usually rent from a local auto parts store. You will also need a torque wrench.
I had a cement floor to work on and I also have a rolling floor jack so I made a bracket that mounted on my jack and bolted to the shuttle(there are two bolt holes on the rear of the shuttle for that purpose) to aid in the removal and reinstall.I also removed the fill tube and clutch disconnect solenoid before I removed the shuttle to make it easier to drop.
If you're going to do a complete rebuild you will be replacing all the bearings and the front brass bushing.Make sure you measure and take notes on the depth to which they are mounted in their housing and which end(they are different) is up before you remove them.Also take note of where the seam of the brass bushing is located in relation to the front cover when you remove it.The brass bushing will have to be bored out to no more than .002" larger than the shaft.Bring the front cover,the shaft and the bushing to a local machine shop and make certain they bore it perpendicular to the front cover with the seam in the correct place.I brought mine to a local auto parts store that had a machine shop in the back and they honed the bushing but(unknown to me at the time) it was not done perpendicular to the cover.When I tried to reassemble the case the shaft would bind up.I thought it was something I had assembled incorrectly so I tore everything back down and spent several hours trying to figure out what I had done wrong.After many hours of stressful head scratching I figured it had to be the bushing.So I ordered a new bushing and brought it to a different shop that bored it properly and the cover slid together like a dang.
The trickiest part for me was inserting/aligning the shaft with the forward clutch hub into the ring gear with the forward clutch plates.I found that if you put the ring gear in a vise(I used a wood vise to prevent damage to the ring gear) up to the raised part on the ring gear and then wiggle and turn the shaft while putting slight downward pressure on the shaft it would drop slowly one ring at a time until it was seated.Do this before you install the bearing in the forward clutch cylinder to give you more wiggle room for the shaft.The rest of the reassembly is pretty straight forward.
When reinstalling the shuttle you have to have the splines and drive tangs line up properly with the torque converter.To make this easier, before I had completely reassembled the shuttle I temporarily mounted the new charge pump to the front cover of the shuttle and then inserted that into the torque converter and spun the shuttle cover with attached pump so the bolt holes lined up then carefully removed it.I took care not to spin the pump during the final reassembly When I reinstalled the shuttle it slid on the converter nicely.
With all the help and information you can get from forums like HEF this is a project that is definitely doable by the average guy and with a price of$2,500-$3,000 to have it done professionally it makes sense to at least try.
First of all you should have a service manual that shows disassembly/reassembly,torque and tolerance values. A shop manual for your specific model is highly recommended but if you don't want to buy one you can find a free pdf you can down load if you google Borgwarner shuttle transmission.You can also find a detailed exploded diagram with part #s on John Deere's web site under parts search.The Borgwarner pdf contains most of the information required to complete the rebuild but you would have to make sure that the torque and tolerance values match the shuttle in your hoe.
Next you should have a caliper for measuring clearance and tolerances and a clip lock pliers for removing the type of clips that don't have any holes drilled in them for a standard type of clip remover.Both items are available on e-bay for under $30.00 ea. You will also need some type of press (I used my bench vise and a C clamp) to install the forward clutch cylinder/piston in the ring gear and drivers to set the bearings,any local machine shop can make drivers for a reasonable price or you can get creative and figure out an alternative.If you replace the needle bearing in the planetary housing you will need a pilot bearing puller with a slide hammer(for removal)which you can usually rent from a local auto parts store. You will also need a torque wrench.
I had a cement floor to work on and I also have a rolling floor jack so I made a bracket that mounted on my jack and bolted to the shuttle(there are two bolt holes on the rear of the shuttle for that purpose) to aid in the removal and reinstall.I also removed the fill tube and clutch disconnect solenoid before I removed the shuttle to make it easier to drop.
If you're going to do a complete rebuild you will be replacing all the bearings and the front brass bushing.Make sure you measure and take notes on the depth to which they are mounted in their housing and which end(they are different) is up before you remove them.Also take note of where the seam of the brass bushing is located in relation to the front cover when you remove it.The brass bushing will have to be bored out to no more than .002" larger than the shaft.Bring the front cover,the shaft and the bushing to a local machine shop and make certain they bore it perpendicular to the front cover with the seam in the correct place.I brought mine to a local auto parts store that had a machine shop in the back and they honed the bushing but(unknown to me at the time) it was not done perpendicular to the cover.When I tried to reassemble the case the shaft would bind up.I thought it was something I had assembled incorrectly so I tore everything back down and spent several hours trying to figure out what I had done wrong.After many hours of stressful head scratching I figured it had to be the bushing.So I ordered a new bushing and brought it to a different shop that bored it properly and the cover slid together like a dang.
The trickiest part for me was inserting/aligning the shaft with the forward clutch hub into the ring gear with the forward clutch plates.I found that if you put the ring gear in a vise(I used a wood vise to prevent damage to the ring gear) up to the raised part on the ring gear and then wiggle and turn the shaft while putting slight downward pressure on the shaft it would drop slowly one ring at a time until it was seated.Do this before you install the bearing in the forward clutch cylinder to give you more wiggle room for the shaft.The rest of the reassembly is pretty straight forward.
When reinstalling the shuttle you have to have the splines and drive tangs line up properly with the torque converter.To make this easier, before I had completely reassembled the shuttle I temporarily mounted the new charge pump to the front cover of the shuttle and then inserted that into the torque converter and spun the shuttle cover with attached pump so the bolt holes lined up then carefully removed it.I took care not to spin the pump during the final reassembly When I reinstalled the shuttle it slid on the converter nicely.
With all the help and information you can get from forums like HEF this is a project that is definitely doable by the average guy and with a price of$2,500-$3,000 to have it done professionally it makes sense to at least try.
