countershaft in zf 5

Brian Wagner · Jan 1, 2022

I have pulled my transmission out and apart and I,m trying to get the 4th gear off the shaft. I removed the bearing with a bearing cup and a 2 jaw puller it was a pain but no more than was expected, then i took off the snap ring and put the whole shaft in a rinky **** press and after heating the gear tried to press it off with no luck. the press has a made in china 6 ton bottle jack for the ram and it was pretty much maxed out. the shaft and gears were outside all night at minus 4 degree's and I heated the gear with my torch being careful not to heat the shaft but I still couldn't get that gear off. so what I'm asking is just how hot can I get that gear without jeapordizing the shaft. this is all a bit out of my league and I would rather go slow than screw things up

Noiseydiesel · Jan 2, 2022

No photos no great ideas.
Your local machine shop might be your next step.

ROCK HARVEY · Jan 2, 2022

Can I ask why you’re pulling 4th gear off the countershaft? You’re not by chance trying to pull 4th gear off the input shaft are you?

Booyah45828 · Jan 3, 2022

I'd look into using a better press. I'd hate to see you heat the thing up so hot that it softens and ruins it. We have a 30 ton shop press, and I've never struggled to get something pressed apart. Typically I'll break a hidden/forgotten snap ring or something before the press gives up.

Brian Wagner · Jan 6, 2022

ROCK HARVEY said:
Can I ask why you’re pulling 4th gear off the countershaft? You’re not by chance trying to pull 4th gear off the input shaft are you?

Hey Rock, the reason I am pulling the gear is that the po tore the **** out of it, this gear is missing more teeth than me. the rest of the tranny is in great shape even the syncro's look good. i know that is hard to believe but I've driven this truck and other than the knock every time the bad spot came around it worked great

Brian Wagner · Jan 6, 2022

Booyah45828 said:
I'd look into using a better press. I'd hate to see you heat the thing up so hot that it softens and ruins it. We have a 30 ton shop press, and I've never struggled to get something pressed apart. Typically I'll break a hidden/forgotten snap ring or something before the press gives up.

That is exactly what I'm going to do. I figure on having the flywheel turned at the same time. Thank you and everyone else for their feedback.

ROCK HARVEY · Jan 6, 2022

Rather than buy a bigger shop press, you could pick up a hydraulic 3 jaw gear puller, basically a portable hydraulic press. Harbor freight sells a 10 ton version for $99 (before coupons), but I’ve seen 15 ton versions for not much more. They get rave reviews, and seem like a really handy tool to have due to portability. Here’s the HF version: https://www.harborfreight.com/10-ton-3-jaw-hydraulic-gear-puller-64982.html

I think you’ve convinced me to grab one before I start my ZF5 rebuild.

ROCK HARVEY · Jan 6, 2022

The other good news is that if you wreck your countershaft you can get a new one for like $50.

DrCharles · Jan 6, 2022

Since the gear is toast anyway, could you carefully cut it (thin grinding wheel) until your existing press can break it loose?
This would take some care so as not to cut into the shaft, of course...
Just a thought.

Booyah45828 · Jan 6, 2022

I guess I'm confused here. 4th gear is direct in a zf5, meaning there is no gear-gear contact and the countershaft would be irrelevant. What's considered the 4th gear on the countershaft is actually the gear that meshes with the input shaft. I'm not sure how you managed to wreck the teeth on it without damaging the mating input shaft, but whatever.

If a stronger, more rigid press doesn't get it off, you can cut it 90% of the way through and strike it with a cold chisel. That should crack the remaining metal and allow the gear to come off a lot easier.

FWIW having a knocking noise in 4th only is pretty unusual, and that being direct, a gear wouldn't be the culprit.

The_Josh_Bear · Jan 6, 2022

Booyah45828 said:
I guess I'm confused here. 4th gear is direct in a zf5, meaning there is no gear-gear contact and the countershaft would be irrelevant. What's considered the 4th gear on the countershaft is actually the gear that meshes with the input shaft. I'm not sure how you managed to wreck the teeth on it without damaging the mating input shaft, but whatever.

If a stronger, more rigid press doesn't get it off, you can cut it 90% of the way through and strike it with a cold chisel. That should crack the remaining metal and allow the gear to come off a lot easier.

FWIW having a knocking noise in 4th only is pretty unusual, and that being direct, a gear wouldn't be the culprit.

I'm also curious how it got messed up. My first thought was impatient PTO operation since AFAIK the PTO gear is meshed into 4th. At least that's how they work on the MDT's I've driven.

ROCK HARVEY · Jan 6, 2022

Any chance we could see some pics of the damage?

steve phillips · Jan 7, 2022

file:///C:/Users/puddl/Downloads/zf5.pdf

steve phillips · Jan 7, 2022

file:///C:/Users/puddl/Downloads/zf5.pd

ROCK HARVEY · Jan 7, 2022

One thing that stood out to me in that attachment:

The transmission also features shrink-fit gears on the countershaft cluster gear. Shrink-fit gears are connected to the countershaft cluster gear by friction only, rather than connected trough splines. The gear is heated and lightly pressed onto the countershaft cluster gear. The subsequent cooling of the gear provides the shrink fitting. The countershaft cluster gear is serviced as an assembly.

countershaft in zf 5

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