Yamaha G16 Transaxle Issues, broken shift bar that was welded.

[jbibler]

Hey guys,
First post, I'll add an introduction post in the near future, but wanted to get some insight on this transaxle and share my experience.

I had two issues. The first being the cart would run/drive fine but would occasionally make this god awful grinding/grumbling sound from the rear end. I know it was either the transaxle or the wheel bearings because it only does it under load when rolling. In neutral it purrs like a kitten. In addition, the second issue was I had a small oil leak that was coming from the shaft seal behind the secondary sheave. Not much, but a few drops every couple days.

I decided I might as well replace the bearings while I'm doing the seal and hopefully that would fix the noise issue. I could not get this dang cover off of the transaxle. Like many others I have seen/post, my secondary sheave seat would not budge at all. I tried everything in the toolbox with heat, etc. and I finally got it off with a gear puller and impact gun. Once I got it off and removed the bolts from the cover it would move about 3/4 of an inch and then it was stuck as well. Couldn't get it to budge. I ended up making some brackets to hold the cover in place so I could hammer down on the shaft with a piece of wood and I finally got it apart. I could have never got it done with the transaxle inside the cart. It looks like the input shaft just had so much corrosion on the splines that it was built/up/rusted to the housing. The bearing inside actually came out pretty easy, but the old seal was basically welded into the opening. I had to find something the exact same size and use a sledge to hammer it out. The seal puller I had wouldn't move it at all.

Anyways, sorry for being so long winded. Here's my current issue and it's really more of a curiosity thing as I've already ordered a new replacement part. After I got the cover off I noticed a couple parts laying in the bottom of the case. It appears the Shift Bar #2 (Part # JN6-G638E-00-00) completely broke on the dowel end. I have no idea if this happened while I was trying to get the case apart or if it was already like this and might be what was causing the noise. Thankfully the gears all look in good shape. The input shaft is the only one that shows any wear from the sheave seat section. Looking at this Shift Bar, you can see where the part was heated and welded. Looking at stock OEM parts online, I don't see any others like this. So should I assume this was a previous repair? Is there any reason someone would weld this particular part?

I'm waiting on parts to arrive, replacing all the bearings and seals in the transaxle as well as some other areas that needed attention.

Appreciate your time,
Josh B.

[Dave in VA]

If you haven't read this, it might help. https://buggiesgonewild.com/showthread.php?t=83774

If you didn't remove #45, #46 and #47 before you tried to remove the cover, that may be why it was difficult.

[jbibler]

Originally Posted by Dave in VA

If you haven't read this, it might help.

If you didn't remove #45, #46 and #47 before you tried to remove the cover, that may be why it was difficult.

Thanks Dave. I actually just found that link and read through all of it earlier this morning. The service manual is definitely helpful. I did search all over Google/YouTube before I started. Read a bunch of stuff and watched some videos, but just didn't happen to find that link until today. It's always easier when you know what you're doing! ha ha

Appreciate you posting that information. I'll have the manual in hand when I put it back together. I'm waiting on parts, looks like 3-4 weeks before everything will be here unfortunately.

Josh B.