10-17 Reverse issue.

Hello all!
Well last year I completely rebuilt my Velvet 10-17 because reverse wasn't working. The drive had 1051 hrs on it so I figured it was due! I have a book got all the parts and rebuilt the thing. Well after about 30hrs total reverse went on it again. I've heard the biggest reasons for reverse breaking are slamming into reverse from forward or overloading in reverse-too much power.

Now I'm familiar with building automotive trans and checking for proper clutch gap and everything and if I remember right there wasn't a spec for it. So i'm not real sure what caused this issue. I also put in all new springs as well. I haven't taken it apart yet but will in about 6 weeks when everything thaws. So I don't know what the steels look like. If they were heated from dragging or anything.

Any help would be appreciated.
Thank
Ryan.

Ryan,
What manual did you use/ The one in the reference section?

If I remember correctly, Eric has always stated that the most commom problems with reverse are due to broken reverse plates and he rebuilds with steel ones instead of brass. Did you install new ones the first time?

I really don't know why he hasn't reponded to your question. Maybe you shouldn't have mentioned you're familier with automotive transmissions? You know the two really do not have anything in common!

I too would recommend a damper plate. something else is going on to snap them that soon. did you replace the damper? they will snap plates.
more info is needed and history

opps yeah I did use bronze reverse clutches but steel plates.

The damper plate could break the reverse clutches? Interesting.. How does that effect the clutches?

Never did change the damper plate. Its the factory plate. If it matters this is in a STD rotation motor.
What other stuff do you need to know? And history...well I acquired it with a bad trans to begin with, but Forward worked. So I drove it like that for 3 years or so. Then I put a new motor in it and rebuilt the drive last year. All new internals but used the old plate. Worked for about 30ish hrs then let go. That was probably late June. I put another 100hrs on it after that using only forward.

Ryan351w wrote: opps yeah I did use bronze reverse clutches but steel plates. The damper plate could break the reverse clutches? Interesting.. How does that effect the clutches?

Ryan,
Eric used the jack hammer analogy but let me go a little farther. Yes it is like a jack hammer but it's due to shock loading the trans. With bad/weak springs in the dampner, there's no cushioning when the trans is shifted.

Ryan,
Did you rebuild the trans before or after you joined last May? Just a reminder that you should spend more time on CCfan. You can't always believe in the parts you find off the internet. Eric has been using the steel plates on his rebuilds for quite some time and has always pushed them. Well, tear it down again and make sure you keep us informed of what you find inside.