saginaw assembly question

[jaystoy]

About to start assembling my 4 speed saginaw. Do I use any form of gasket sealer on the 3 main gaskets, and so I use any bearing grease during the assembly of the gears on the shaft or any tranny oil?
Jay

[MPRY1]

As long as all the surfaces are clean and straight you shouldn't need anything other then the gaskets. No need for any grease as the gear oil will lubricate the bearings. I usually put some oil in around the syncro assemblies since they are sometimes a bit stickey without lubrication.

[jaystoy]

Thanks Mike, now how loose should the slider gears move back and forth from syncro gear to syncro gear?? How loose or tight should it be??

[MPRY1]

Well, on my Muncie they were pretty tight. Enough so where I thought there might be something wrong. I talked with an expert 4 speed builder and he said that sticky syncros are normal on a fresh rebuild and should loosen up over time, and they eventually did. My Saginaw's syncros are butter smooth, but I have no idea how old they are (could be original).