2nd and 3rd gear bushings

I am rebuilding my gearbox and pressed out the old 2nd and 3rd gear bushings to replace them with new,
They are real Andover parts, but loose on the OD, one of them able to slide by hand (running fit), the other with very little interferance, able to press in and out by hand. The clearance on each shaft is within spec. Do I need to fix these inside the gear either with loctite sleave retainer or make new ones?
The sleave bushes, layshaft, and 1st gear all fit fine.

KHK said:

They are real Andover parts, but loose on the OD, one of them able to slide by hand (running fit), the other with very little interferance, able to press in and out by hand. The clearance on each shaft is within spec. Do I need to fix these inside the gear either with loctite sleave retainer or make new ones?

Click to expand...

2nd & 3rd gear bushes/bushings are supposed to be a sliding fit, not a press fit as the others are.

Its been ~6 yr since I had to do a gear box so forget which bushes were tight in cogs and which were slip fit, and extra confused as RGM sent bushes which about all required some reaming to pass a shaft or slip into cogs. Mainly posting to alert ya that the 2 short sleeve shaft bushes can slip together instead of staying spread out and also don't get oil inside until shifting into 4th for splash/drain oiling to seep into this high load-heat area. This area sits above normal oil level and slings oil out of there in lower gears so is wear prone toward clutch wobble. Ancient solution is slip in another used bush in between new ones and oil groove spiral em, stopping the outer bush groove just short of bush edge so don't drool too much extra lube to outside at main shaft. Newer style sleeve bushes are longer so just two of em takes up the slack w/o a 3rd. I feel guilty of abuse when I am rolling in lower gears knowing I'm running the sleeve area on empty. Its not that big a deal if only using tranny normally in spirited street use but if dicing it up with sports bikes below 110-20 mph you don't stand a chance unless staying in lower gears, mostly second, for long intervals of hi throttle/rpm, then its definitely a weak area to keep in mind. The other extreme to keep in mind is creeping fairly slowly for long intervals on low throttle/low rpm, as in many minutes and miles at a time while not lugging rpm oil flow to the cam/lifters. Tranny rebuild kits should supply an extra 1st gear bush as thinnest to wear out first-est and a pawl spring which can loose its springynees out of the blue now and then. At least these items don't require a full tear down to replace and didn't cause me much down time having extras at home. Sealing KS shaft has its tricks of the trade too.

The bushings I removed were not a sliding fit but a press fit, that is why I am questioning the replacements, I am not used to bushings turning freely inside the gears, and worry the scroll inside each gear may cause undue wear.

I only scroll the sleeve shaft bushes, though a number of the factor bushes had holes drilled through them to assist lube flow. Its still a mystery to me which bushes should need pressing in cogs or just slip in. I've ordered 3 complete AMC rebuild kits last decade to find most the bushes needed some fitting done.

Here see what ya make of this thread
bush-reaming-amc-gearbox-t7941.html

KHK said:

I am not used to bushings turning freely inside the gears, and worry the scroll inside each gear may cause undue wear.

Click to expand...

Nevertheless, that is how they are supposed to be apparently, so fit and forget.

KHK said:

The bushings I removed were not a sliding fit but a press fit, that is why I am questioning the replacements, I am not used to bushings turning freely inside the gears, and worry the scroll inside each gear may cause undue wear.

Click to expand...

After lot's of service the old bush could have been "worked" oversize, imitating a press fit. .02

Sounds good, I agree that they must have worked in, thanks for the input everyone,
Forward progress!

Like I said i've had 3 complete kits soup to nuts and a few separate bush orders and most did not fit w/o some fussing, usually to pass a shaft. I spread my orders among a few big vendors as pissed to have to hand tool a number of bushes. Each vendors had different bushes issues for me to deal with and not sure how too then.
One would think bushes should be fixed in cogs to protect cog ID wear which would occur if bush free to spin inside. I can't see the logic of steel shaft wobble expanding the softer bush material so politely disagree thats what's lossed bushes fit in cogs. Nay, what I saw was bush wear to remove material, till cracks developed, till fractured into pieces. I may JBW new loose ones and just heat in acetone to tap out or heat and press out.

I'm a bit late to help much here, only to say that I struck the same set of circumstances a few months ago and went into a flat spin for a little while. My post is probably still in the recesses of the forum somewhere.
Eventually I just put the box together; the bushes are held in place axially by other components. If Andover supplies them that way, they must be right.
Cheers
Martin