Which 3.875 ring and pinion?

[ngobet]

Hi all,

I'm willing to learn building a strong tranny for my vert and I'm looking for a r&p. Can I simply buy a new keyed 3.875 unit? It's available at Berg for 196$ or cip1.com for 180$. It is Brazil made, is it strong enough?
If this is not the one, which one should I look for? a used one? which year/ tranny?

The one I have came from a splined-type superbeetle gearbox. Would one of those be compatible with a weddle hybrid mainshaft? I know I can use either 113 or 002 gears on the hybrid mainshaft but can I mount gears matching the mainshaft on any pinion shaft? In fact what difference is there between the 2 types of pinion shaft (other than the nut or snap ring)?

Thanks for your help

Nicolas

[Ian Godfrey]

My gear box builder had the following advice for me....
"VW made a Gleason and a Klingelnberg, and for the 3.88, the Gleason is
stronger since they stepped up the tooth size. For the lower ratios, the Klingelnberg is better."
You should find the G on the pinion and ring gear. the german ones will be much better than a new brazil one. Hopefully Pablo, Dangerous Dave or Bruce will fill you in on the hybrid Weddle stuff, or give weddle a call, very friendly.

[ngobet]

My r&p looks just like this one:


It means I have to use the 002 gears. Can I mount weddle gears matching hybrid mainshaft on that pinion? Can I use 4-bolt bearing retainer instead of the single nut? What difference is there for the pinion bearing? Does someone modify that kind of pinion to remove the snap ring?

[volksbugly]

My transmission was built by Ron Lumus Racing, He opted to put in an old-school German R&P in.

[COGBOX]

yes you can run a hybrid mainshaft with that ring and pinion. you can use 113 or 002 style gears as long as you use a splined 4th gear. you can use ether a 4 bolt or threaded pinion bearing that will match the case you are using. a threaded pinion bearing is a larger bearing than the 4 bolt style. you can also use the 091 bus style threaded pinion bearing for even more support.but there is a trade off the mainshaft bearing in those cases is smaller, so you may want to modify the case to accept the earlier larger mainshaft bearing. you can remove the snap ring groove to allow you to run the tapered front pinion bearing, but you can not just remove the snap ring groove and not install another style of retention. hope this answers your questions.

[ngobet]

Ok thanks. What gearbox does the large bearing come from? What about a timken bearing?

For the nut modification on the shaft, is there enough meat to tap or does it require welding?

[COGBOX]

the large pinion bearing came in late 1970 and newer trans axles. if you mean the timken bearing modification to the tail of the pinion shaft. i think it is worth while on high horsepower usage. if you mean a timken bearing for the pinion head, then i am unaware of a bearing that will fit there. if you wanted to put a nut on the tail of the pinion shaft you would have to weld and then cut the threads. sounds like a lot of work when i have never seen a new snap ring fail.

[Bruce2]

I'm willing to learn building a strong tranny for my vert and ....

How much hp and what are you going to do with the car?

[ngobet]

So I can use either of those pinion bearings on my case:
113 311 219B 70-7?
002 311 219B 7?-76
091 311 219 76 and later

Is that correct? Ref are taken here

Then you say that the mainshaft bearing changes in size. When does it get bigger? Do you have some reference?

I didn't know the timken modification is in the intermediate housing. What is the reference of the bearing I have to use? What has to be done on the pinion shaft?
Rancho is selling some R&P modified for timken bearing. It looks like I only have to change the diameter. Do you know how they keep the stack in place, I don't see a groove or thread.


The car is a heavy vert. Around 230hp, street car but a few runs and burnouts.

[Bruce2]

Forget the timken bearing. You are a long way off from needing it.

Use the 091 pinion bearing. Make sure it is a German FAG bearing. The 091 bearing is commonly available and not expensive.

The mainshaft bearing you use is dictated by the type of mainshaft you're using. Then, that dictates the gear carrier you use.

To your original question above, use a German G type 3.88, not the Brazilian one.

[ngobet]

Explain me about the timken bearing please? I want to learn.

[ngobet]

So the timken modification is for the pinion shaft. I prefer the modification described by Pablo using the thrust washer and 36hp shims.

[johnwalklett]

I used to run a timken bearing box and it was very noisy in 4th gears and a little noisy in 3rd once everything started to warm up. I suspect the case and pinion shaft have different expantion rates and the timken bearing had play in it once things started to warm up. It made for an awful driveing experience on longer journeys.

I now run the thrust washer method limiting the pinion deviation during launching and the box is also a joy on the street too

[Bruce2]

So the timken modification is for the pinion shaft. I prefer the modification described by Pablo using the thrust washer and 36hp shims.

I also agree that the Pablo thrust washer upgrade is better than the tapered bearing mod. But you don't need either. Build it with a stock bearing there, and spend your time and money solving a real problem.