How far I was able to easily slide 4th gear because the 3rd gear circlip had moved....
I slid the 2-3 dog back down against 3rd and the circlip popped back into it's slot, and now the wiggle is gone that 3rd/4th had in the video i made.
1st, 2nd, and 5th look fantastic, as do the shafts and really, everything else.
The drum looks like it's never been used... it's flawless.
What caused 3rd gear's circlip to jump out of the groove, now there's the question. The direction it moves when it's forced out of the groove is in the direction of a 5th to 4th downshift (3/4 share a input gear which doubles as the 5th gear dog gear), and that is the only
normal movement that can cause side loads onto 3rd gear. Side load could also be generated in a failed 4-5 upshift if the dogs bounced instead of engaging when you shifted. I've never had a failed 4-5 up shift, so I can only conclude that being heavy footed in 5 to 4 downshifts is the cause, as there is no other normal action in the transmission that could possibly cause the circlip to get pushed.
Unless one of the much smarter guys here knows something I don't about how this whole apparatus works, I consider the mystery solved.
Lead foot 5-4 downshifts = dislocated circlip = wobbling third and fourth ouput gear = time bomb waiting to explode when and if 3rd wobbles.
I do have to own this, I am heavy footed in 4-5 downshifts using a NORMAL shift pattern. I can remember fairly aggressively kicking down a gear from 5th to 4th when I was using the normal shift pattern (now think about what a 4-5 downshift is using GP shift, its an UPWARD movement, you absolutely cannot generate the same force going up).
I will be sticking with GP shift, I don't stomp or kick up shifts with clicking down on the lever, and I 100% do not think it had anything at all to do with the damage that is visible.
