Here I'm pressing down the ball with a hollow punch -- its hollow tip grips the ball and keeps it from squirting out of place. Once it's down, I'll slip the socket into the hole to secure it.
Transaxle autopsy 1-8 | 9-16 | 17-24 | 25-32 | 33-40 | 41-48 | 49-56 | 57-60
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Making that job more difficult are these notorious little devils: the spring-loaded detent balls that fit into the shift forks. Their job is to lock into the rounded notches on the shift rods, so that gearshifts click into place. |
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Here's a detent ball and its spring, positioned inside the shift fork. The rod wouldn't go through the hole with the ball in this position, so it has to be pressed down and locked. |
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SAAB made a special tool to secure the detent balls, but of course I don't have it. The solution came from SAAB expert Tom Donney, who suggests using a small socket instead. Here I'm pressing down the ball with a hollow punch -- its hollow tip grips the ball and keeps it from squirting out of place. Once it's down, I'll slip the socket into the hole to secure it. |
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The socket has to fit the hole snugly -- if it doesn't, the ball will stick up and keep the rod from fitting into the hole. The socket on the right is big enough; the one on the left turned out to be too small. |
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Once the detent balls are in place and locked down with the sockets, the shift forks can be positioned on the gears. |
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With everything in place, it's time to slide the shift rods into their holes and push the rear cover into place. It's not easy -- it took a lot of pushing and wiggling to make it fit. |
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As the rods push through the shift forks, the sockets are pushed out. You need to collect the sockets before they fall down into the gear case. |
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Sealer on the cover and gearbox will lock in lubricant once the cover is bolted into place. |