[jono165]

Hi guys,

I have just installed a set of 5.14 calmini transfer gears in my sierra. Its not something I have ever done before so I just want to check a few things now that I have taken it for a quick drive.

1) Under power gears are slightly noisier which I expected and may go away when they have worn in a bit (yes I have shimmed the case), however, slowing down under engine braking seems to generate much more noise, I understand there is more load on everything now but is this fairly normal?

2) when coming to a stop and putting the clutch in there is a very slight chatter, I wouldn't call it a rattle and it only lasts a moment, I am sure the counter shaft shims and everything are in there fine the only thing i can think of is a slight chatter in the shift collars, is this fairly normal for reduction gears.

Other than that I am happy with the gearing etc. turns the 31's quite well. I don't mind if there is a bit of gear whine as there is more load on everything. Im interested to see other peoples experiences with new gears.
Cheers.

[SierraDan]

Sounds like it needs to be shimmed.

[jono165]

I have shimmed the case. the case was assembled with no gasket, the gap between the 2 housings was measured. The FSM says to allow 0.3mm for the gasket and clearance for the gears should be 0.05 to 0.15mm. I ended up with 2 thin shims (0.2mm) at one end and 1 thicker shim (0.3mm) on the other shaft.

[rpmwrx]

Is it a WT or NT case? The NT cases need the front output shaft upgraded to a WT front output shaft when installing reduction gears...

[jono165]

WT case with the upgraded front output shaft. I have only driven it in 2High so far.

[christover1]

Mine did strange things for the first week, and is now quiet and smooth.
Give it time, and change the oil a lot.
If it don't improve, then look into possible causes.

Mines been in my Vitara a while now, still good.
Don't really know the Sierras case enough to comment.

[SierraDan]

Yeah you said. But it still sounds like it needs to be shimmed. So keep going.

[jono165]

I might just take chris's advice and drive it for a few days and see if it changes, Im sure I shimmed it correctly, I checked it several times. I think the fact that they tell you to change the oil after 1000km is an indicator that they will need to wear in a bit too. I'll order another gasket just in case i decide to pull it apart again.

[want33s]

rpmwrx wrote:

Is it a WT or NT case? The NT cases need the front output shaft upgraded to a WT front output shaft when installing reduction gears...

Since when?
NT and WT up to 92 have thinner drive teeth on the front output than 93-96 but gears still fit and work fine...
The "Upgrade" isn't necessary for the gears or for the claimed 'strength'.

[rpmwrx]

Thanks for that Jas... you learn something every day...

When I had my NT case rebuilt with reduction gears I never had the front output shaft upgraded. Under de-acceleration load in low range there was crazy popping noises coming from the case. After reading through the Lowrange website it twigged that I should've had my front output shaft upgrded when we did the rebuild. After i swapped in the newer WT front output shaft the popping noise was fixed...

http://www.lowrangeoffroad.com/index.ph ... shaft.html

[jonfromhamilton]

I get some sort of weird popping noise when i am engine braking but it hasn't ever got worse or better but sometimes it goes away then comes back.

I haven't had any clanking or funny noises, just a nice smooth whine constant and comparitive to revs, not loud, just there.

i have 6:4s and they are about 3 months old.

[jono165]

Thanks Jon, interesting to know other peoples experiences. I think ive decided to pull it all apart and check it out again just to be safe, im second guessing myself now.
I expect a slight whine in high range as you describe which I have when under power but under engine braking it is noticabley louder. Others do seem to find the Calmini gears noisy so maybe this is normal.

ill be glad to have this done its the last big mod until i decide to do lockers.

[ajsr]

mine make a chatterng sound on dece/stoppngl sometmes . done it for years

[christover1]

My t-case gears are just starting to whine.
They needed new bearings, so did that, and new oil and additive.
Still whines.
I can live with it.

[alien]

my 5.14's have whined since fitted - but no clunks or rattles etc.

Is you tcase braced? Maybe you've busted a mount and its twisting around and hitting the floor???

[christover1]

My hearing fluctuates so they may have always whined.
But I believe they were quiet when first fitted over 2 years back.
A normal gear type whine appeared after a hard muddy trip, loud enough to concern me.
Changed all the oils, and found silver slime and bits in the t-case oil.
Found a busted needle roller bearing in the low range gearing.
(Which I think still free spins even when not in low)
All the main drive bearings were fine for its age.
This didn't stop the whine, but did dramatically reduce it,
to a level some have always had with crawler gears.
Scratched my head a fair bit, can't think of anything it could be other than gear whine from gears aging.
If I lose faith in t-case, will put a stocker back in, and see if it goes quiet.

There is also less carpeting on the floor these days, removals of bits due to age, water, mud and dog hair issues
Could be touching somewhere, no extra bracings done, will look into that, too.