Too far gone? (T-90 teardown and rebuild)

[bmorgil]

gm has you on the right track. Any surface that bearings will be running on, will not tolerate pitted surfaces for long. Your bearing surfaces need to look good with no damage. Under the bushings you can get away with a little more pitting but not wear. No wear (oversize) is allowed on the bushing or bearing surfaces. On the gear teeth themselves rust damage if it has gone thorough the case hardening of the tooth, will cause issues. Pitted rough gears are noisier. If the clutching teeth on the gears are worn, shifting and staying in gear will become a problem. If the bushings or the main shaft are worn, shifting will again be affected. Discoloration is not a problem. Some wear is OK. Your reverse/first slider needs a better look. Lets see some more pictures of it. Rust has a way of just ruining a transmission. Unfortunately on the T90 in a Jeep, a lot of them sit out in the weather. If the boot is torn or leaking in the least bit on the shifter, water runs right into the transmission. Even if it is protected, if has been sitting a long time condensation will do its worst. This is why there is a "time" specification on lubrication changes, gotta get the water out.

The best advice here would be "when in doubt, throw it out". It is truly a "pay me now or pay me later" situation. If you are looking to get it moving, I have seen some pretty bad stuff go back to together, and kind of work. There is of course a correct way that will return it to it's original function and performance.

You can add more pictures. You can only add so many to each post however. Just add a few posts in a row.

[alove]

Thanks for the advice/information. It basically confirms what I was already thinking. I tried to fit everything back together after cleaning it and the gears really don't want to move along the shaft with the pitting and some of the surface rust still there. I'm looking at the overhaul kits at Kaiser Willys currently, and I think I will probably just bite the bullet and pay for all the new internals and a new shifter since mine is in rough shape and has definitely seen better days. My case is in pretty good shape. I'm planning to have a friend sand blast it for me to get the rust out of the inside. I worked on it with a wire brush but some of the angles are tough to get at. Is there anywhere else that I should consider looking for an overhaul kit? I've been super impressed with the service at Kaiser Willys but things are a little pricier there sometimes.

Thanks,
Alex

[bmorgil]

There are a few gear vendors out there. The extra at KW goes into the no questions asked returns. You really don't have to worry about what you buy from them. No matter what, they will take it back.

If you can find it NOS stuff is the way to go. There is a lot of cheap stuff out there. If you can find USA made that is the way to go.