Reverse idler gear noise-reduction arrangement

In a vehicle manual transmission supported within a housing and shiftable into a plurality of forward drive modes and a reverse drive mode, said transmission housing having a transversely extending midship plate mounted therein, an output shaft journally supported in a midship plate first opening for rotation about its principal axis, a countershaft journally supported in a midship plate second opening for rotation about its principal axis, a reverse gear train arrangement including a reverse drive gear journally supported on said output shaft and adapted for rotation therewith about said output shaft principal axis, a countershaft reverse gear fixedly supported on said countershaft for rotation therewith about said countershaft principal axis, said midship plate including an idler shaft mounting flange portion positioned parallel to and axially spaced from said midship plate, a reverse idler gear shaft having its ends supported in first and second longitudinally aligned axially spaced bores in said midship plate and flange portion respectively, a reverse idler gear journally supported on said idler shaft intermediate said first and second aligned bores having its teeth in constant mesh with the teeth of both said output shaft reverse gear and said countershaft reverse gear, said idler shaft reverse gear adapted for rotation about the principal axis of said idler shaft, the improvement comprising:

• said idler shaft having said first end resiliently supported in said first bore by a first elastomeric O-ring and said second end resiliently supported in said second bore by a second O-ring;
• said first and second O-rings of a size relative to their associated bores such that with said transmission being shifted into any of said forward drive modes said reverse idler shaft principal axis is centered in said aligned bores so as to be located a first predetermined distance from each said output shaft and said countershaft principal axes, whereby the teeth of said reverse idler gear are resiliently biased into preloaded face contact with the teeth of both the output shaft reverse drive gear and the countershaft reverse gear during said forward drive modes wherein no drive torque is transmitted between said three meshed reverse gears, thereby obviating backlash gear rattle and idler shaft audible vibration noise transmission to the housing via said midship plate;
• and whereby upon driving torque being transmitted between said three gears during said reverse driving mode the resulting gear separation forces being sufficient to compress said O-rings whereby the principal axis of said reverse idler gear shaft principal axis is positioned a predetermined distance off-center relative to said first and second bores and away from both principal axes of said output shaft and said countershaft such that said reverse idler gear teeth are positioned in a normal designed reverse drive torque transmitting manner with said output shaft reverse drive gear teeth and said countershaft reverse gear teeth thereby obviating excessive wear of said reverse gear teeth during reverse drive torque transfer therebetween.