Question for the A833 gurus

[Dieselholic]

I have a question for the 4 speed guys. When I got my 73 Roadrunner, it had a 68-69 b-body A833 in it with the shifter way up front. I bought the correct tail shaft housing with the two mounting pads. This means I need to switch to the 307 bearing correct? I bought a 307 bearing from Brewers, and it says it should be the correct one for the tail shaft housing I have. I tried slipping it in when I got it and it's so tight the bearing won't go in past 1/4" by hand. I could barely get it back out then. Also, what speedometer gear would I need for a 3.23 rear gear?

 

[5.7 hemi]

You really didn't need to get a new tail shaft as the shifter mounting location is in the same spot. But that point is moot now. Some trans had the 307 front and rearm some just the front, some just the rear and some used the 308. The difference is od. They are to be pressed on, not a slip fit, so I suspect you were going just fine.

 

[Dieselholic]

The old housing only had the front shifter pad. My car needs to use the rear pad since it has buckets, and I'm going to use a console someday. I know the bearing is pressed on the shaft, but there's that snap ring in the housing so I didn't think it had to be that tight

 

[5.7 hemi]

The snap ring holds the housing to the bearing, nothing more. Also, a different shifter handle would accomplish the location issue.

 

[Meep-Meep]

The dual shifter mount is a 70 and up thing and by then the 308 bearing was used across the board (if I recall correctly). Assuming that's the case you should have got a 308SG8 from Brewers to use on your tranny. The 308 tail shaft uses a snap ring that goes around the groove in the OD of the bearing and has to be expanded to remove the main shaft assy (great design). The 307 housing has a PITA snap ring that must be compressed to remove the main shaft assy (not so great design). The bearing will fit a little snug in the housing bore but really should be a push fit, and since the push fit clearance is very small, you have to start the bearing dead straight in the housing bore and make sure it's really clean. A film of gear oil helps as well as wiggling the main shaft assembly into position.

Other things to check while you are there:

1) Make sure you have that steel baffle at the top of the tail housing under the vent port.
2) Test the fit of your tail shaft bushing with the yoke you will use. A good one will barely wiggle (about .007" clearance). If you have notable up and down slop you will have a diveline vibration.

 

[Dieselholic]

Oops that's my fault. I do have the 308 bearing, not 307. My housing has the casting number C99359, so the 308 is the correct one. I'll try those tips and see if I can get it together