falling out of reverse KAMA TS254

lakespirit · Jan 8, 2009

When going into reverse, the snap ring that holds the gear and needle bearings continues to come out from the groove. I can slide it back in place,but it is getting worse.

Any great ideas on how to get a new ring on without disassembling the entire gear box?

greg_g · Jan 8, 2009

Well, I don't recall you ever mentioning whether your tractor has the shuttle shift - or if reverse is on the gear shift lever. Let's start there. If it's the shuttle version, this diagram may help localize the needle bearing/snap ring set in question. Unfortunately, it's a hybrid diagram (covering both creeper and shuttle configurations) so there may be some extra parts in there you don't recognize.

//greg//

lakespirit · Jan 11, 2009

It's part #6. I have the shuttle shift.

greg_g · Jan 11, 2009

lakespirit said:
It's part #6. I have the shuttle shift.

Ok. My TS354C should have the same shuttle box as your 254. But its not at this location, so I'm admittedly winging this.

If the snap ring can be removed at all from the top, it's likely going to be a matter of seeing whether the shaft (#2) can be moved slightly in the direction of O-ring #1. The presence of this O-ring suggests the shaft rests in an open-ended hole. If true, the trick would be to see if the #1-2-3-4-7-6 assembly can be moved slightly forward on that O-ring, just far enough to open a small gap at the opposite end of the shaft. Should that prove possible, then the clip can be popped out of its groove and slid toward the temporary gap for removal.

Probably needless to say, but take extra care to avoid dropping it into the box. You might want to consider threading a fine wire through one of the snap ring holes for insurance.

//greg//

Brad_Blazer · Jan 11, 2009

E-clips can be installed from the side. I've also been known to cut off one end of a snap ring to allow it to slip on from the side. Make sure the groove is in good shape and get a good high strength clip.
Search retaining rings here to see the different styles:
McMaster-Carr

Brad_Blazer · Jan 11, 2009

If the groove is bad is there room to replace 6&7 with a 2-piece shaft collar?

bluechip · Jan 11, 2009

We had a rash of these a while back. What we decided was that the factory installed the snap ring backward on some units. The snap ring has a sharp corner on one side and a small radius on the other as they are stamped out. It is critical that the sharp side be bearing the load, otherwise, as the gear is engaged repeatedly it can pop the snap ring out of the grove. I hadn't though of it, but it may be possible to remove teh snap ring from the top and replace with an E Clip, just be sure the sharp corner on the clip is facing the direction the snap ring was pushing toward when it came out of place. Usually what happens is the roller bearing slips out from under the gear and the gear, bearing and shaft become damaged, so replacement is usually necessary and I'm pretty sure we had to split the tractor to replace it. I'll check with my mechanic and see if he remembers, its been a couple years since we had one of these in the shop with this problem. we do have the parts in stock.