Dennis,
My A-type all apart on my workbench so let's see if I can help.
>but I had a few very very small silver
>sparkles come out in the oil. Are these indicative of something grossly
>wrong, or is a little metal in the oil to be expected? The oil was very
>dirty, suggesting it had never been changed.
Are you talking about the gearbox or the OD? I think the little sparks in
small quantities are to be expected with the gearbox and OD. What did it look
like when you unscrewed the big brass plug on the bootom of the OD. There is
a filter screen and a set of magnets. This will tell you more about the OD.
>
>There is a small (about 2") lever on the right hand (drivers) side of the OD
>unit; what is it for? I can't find reference to it in my manual.
This is mounted on the other end of the Operating Valve shaft. The other end
is on the solenoid side and is acutally moved by the solenoid. The little arm
is handy for manually engaging the operating valve but its real purpose is set
the clearances on the linkage. You will see a small hole in the OD case that
you line up with a hole on the tip of the handle. Insert a 1/8 drill... I
would need my Haynes to go futher... but you get the idea.
>
>I plan on testing the OD this week by spinning the tranny with a drill
>motor. How fast do I have to turn the input shaft before I engage the
>solenoid? (Actually, I'll be doing engaging the actuating lever by hand, as
>the solenoid seems to be shot).
Be sure to turn the the input shaft clockwise as you face the bellhousing. My
1/2 drill will only go 1000 RPM. I am not sure that is enough... others will
chime in. 1500-2000 would be ideal. I plan on trying this myself in a couple
of weeks when I finish the rebuild on my A-type and mate it to my rebuilt
gearbox from last year.
>
>As always, thanks for sharing your combined wisdom.
Unless you have history on the gearbox and OD it would be risky to install
them without a rebuild. It doesn't mean that you could not do that... Michael
Ferguson recent made the gamble and came out OK. You just need to know the
risks... because taking gearboxs in and out is a job you don't want to get too
good at.
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