Tapered bearing kit for intermediate gear

A kit for converting an intermediate gear in a transfer case from a loose needle bearing supported gear to a tapered roller bearing supported gear comprising a pair of tapered roller bearing assemblies adapted to be received in the internal bore of an intermediate gear, a spacer adapted to be interposed between the bearing assemblies, an elongated bolt-type shaft adapted to extend through aligned bores in opposite walls of a transfer case, the bearing assemblies an spacer, and a pair of adapter bushings adapted to be received in the bores in the opposite walls of the transfer case and adapted to receive the bolt-type shaft, said bolt-type shaft including a head at one end adapted to engage the outer end of one of the bushings and a nut screw threaded on the other end and adapted to engage the outer end of the other bushing to enable the supporting assembly for the intermediate gear to be retained in position and the bearing assemblies preloaded by exerting predetermined axial force thereon, each of said bearing assemblies including an outer cup defining an outer race having the inner axial end adapted to engage the spacer and an inner cone defining an inner race with the inner axial end of the cone adapted to be spaced from the spacer and the outer axial end of the cone adapted to be engaged by a bushing, each bearing assembly also including tapered roller members interposed between the cup and cone with the larger diameter of each roller being disposed axially outwardly thereby enabling preloading of the bearing assemblies by exerting axial pressure inwardly on the cones of the bearing assemblies by tightening the nut on the bolt-type shaft thereby biasing the bushings toward each other, one of said bushings including an outwardly offset peripheral shoulder adjacent the axial outer end adapted to engage the exterior of the transfer case to limit movement inwardly of the transfer case, said bushing shoulder including a transversely extending groove communicating with a portion of the outer peiphery thereof and adapted to receive a lock plate attached to the transfer case to lock the shouldered bushing to the transfer case thereby securing the bolt-type shaft and other components of the support for the intermediate gear and the intermediate gear itself within the transfer case.

The method of converting the intermediate gear supporting structure in a transfer case of a vehicular gear box from a supporting structure employing loose needle bearings in which the inner surface of the bore in the intermediate gear forms an outer race for the needle bearings and the intermediate shaft forms an inner race of the needle bearings to a tapered roller bearing supporting structure for the intermediate gear comprising the steps of removing the intermediate shaft from the aligned bores in the opposite walls of the transfer case, removing the intermediate gear and needle bearing assemblies along with the thrust washers from the transfer case, discarding the intermediate shaft, thrust washers and needle bearing assemblies, inserting adapter bushings in the bores in the opposite walls of the transfer case, positioning thrust washers at the inner ends of the bushings, inserting a tapered roller bearing assembly in the bore at one end of the intermediate gear, inserting a spacer in the opposite end of the bore in the intermediate gear and inserting a second tapered roller bearing assembly in the opposite end of the bore in the intermediate gear with the spacer between the tapered roller bearing assemblies, positioning the assembled intermediate gear, spacer and roller bearing assemblies in alignment with the bores through the bushins, inserting a bolt-type shaft through the bushings, bearing assemblies and spacer with the head of the bolt-type shaft engaging one of the bushings, applying a threaded nut to the end of the bolt-type shaft remote from the headed end and tightening it to a predetermined preload on the tapered roller bearing assembies.