568 question.

[black86glhs]

I don't have one but I was thinking after reading Lengel's latest piece he is trying out.
Would it be worth while to reinforce the bearing plate between the input and intermediate shafts? The idea is along with stiffening the bearing plate, it would allow you to drill some holes in the end cover and run some long bolts through the end cover between the two gears. Some spacers could be welded to the cover so the bolts can't be over tightened and crack it. This would also serve as reinforcing for both the bearing plate and cover.
I have no idea if it would even be worth it as I don't know if the end cover is strong enough to do this. Just another way to think about reinforcing this side of the trans.
I know the 555 needs steel bearing plate due to the stamped end cover. Since the 568 has the aluminum cover, a different way might be possible?
Thoughts?

[Ondonti]

I already suggested in J.T.'s thread long ago that you could simply put another OEM retainer plate on the driver side of the bearing housing plate. Add threads to the "doubler" so you are no longer relying on thread tension in the aluminum to hold things together. The OEM retainer plate just needs to be machined out to make space for the gears. You could add some stiffeners to it to make up for the material removed.

The hard thing would be adding in case end to end support that should extend from the bearing retainer plate to the case, and then end to end of the entire case to prevent separation. Lengel's complete replacement does nail down the driver side issues in one modification (less the fact that there are no bearings to install into the replacement plate) . That said, I don't think we technically know if certain failures were caused by end to end loads or if end to end loads were caused by broken teeth that happened when the shafts separated or miss meshed during bearing plate flex. How do people feel that we don't just strip gears clean off but that a broken tooth can destroy the whole case? Gears separate in other "weaker" transmissions and the gears just strip. Harder vs softer gears? Nissan FWD transmissions strip the moment they start to lose complete mesh as the shafts start to separate (3rd gear killer as they don't have a support between 4th and 5th).

I bet no matter what you do, wheel hop will cause failures. I would bet that is what causes people running custom gearsets in their Hondas to still muck up gear and why they have to constantly inspect gears when competitively racing.

[Dr. Johny Dodge]

the problem with the steel end plate int the 525-555 trans is that it's to soft and the edges of the bearings eat away at the plate around the holes the shaft ends poke out through to get 5th gear mounted
this wear on the edges of the holes throws the end play of the shafts out to lunch causeing all tollarences to get lose thus causeing wear in the trans
the end cover has nothing to due with the issue

as far as pieces breaking off and running through the trans & breaking the trans - there isn't much you can do about that as the case simply never can be strong enough to hold the shafts in place as a chunk of steel goes between the gears

I did that when the tip of a fork to rod screw broke off - the unthreaded part that pokes into the fork rod

that piece bounced along the top of the gear sets untill it got to the pinion gear and the ring gear

that moved the socket in the case that the front secondary shaft bearing fits into and of course that cracked the case badly

secondary to the edges of the steel plate wearing out is the aluminum plate behind it that cracks between the holes for the shafts - THAT's the piece that would be better if made of steel and it would be thick enough to really help reinforce the trans case

[BadAssPerformance]

Tension rods to tie/pull/preload the end bearing plate to the case could work if you have a straight shot through the gears in at least 2 or better 3 places around the bearing hole. hard part would be to find that window

[black86glhs]

Tension rods to tie/pull/preload the end bearing plate to the case could work if you have a straight shot through the gears in at least 2 or better 3 places around the bearing hole. hard part would be to find that window

I think you nailed what I was asking. Again, I have no idea if it is worth it. Fairly certain the plate on the 555 is just mild steel, so I know why it eventually bends. I have the updated plates on both of my 555s. Just thought with the aluminum cover, it might be an idea.

Edit: Not exactly the same, but another idea.
My idea uses the end cover to reinforce the bearing plate with bolts and spacers. Reinforce the area of the bearing plate on case side(weld some stock between the bearing holes if there is room).That way the bolts that go through the cover plate have plenty of material to attach to and not pull out or crack around the holes. May be more work than anyone wants to do and the benefits might be nil.

[BadAssPerformance]

Hmmm... like some of the cast diff covers for RWD they have bolts that press on the bearing caps to hold them together, if the cover was strong enough it could be used like this

[black86glhs]

I was saying it might not be worth the work involved, but I call BS on that. Look at the effort others put into things they come up with. I wonder if one of the "greats" came up with it if there would be a line at the door waiting. I don't mean that in a bad way, but many on here jump on the band wagon when Brian or Warren come up with something. Not trying to put myself in their league, just that an idea gets shot down rather quickly at times. Add to that the fact that I don't run a 568 and have no way to try it and see, it is somewhat understandable.

End rant.....lol.

[Ondonti]

I was saying it might not be worth the work involved, but I call BS on that. Look at the effort others put into things they come up with. I wonder if one of the "greats" came up with it if there would be a line at the door waiting. I don't mean that in a bad way, but many on here jump on the band wagon when Brian or Warren come up with something. Not trying to put myself in their league, just that an idea gets shot down rather quickly at times. Add to that the fact that I don't run a 568 and have no way to try it and see, it is somewhat understandable.

End rant.....lol.

They said what? Wagon tickets preordered.

[black86glhs]

Lol....