Through bolting and input bearings.

I got my peerless mst 206 apart yesterday. I did snap one of the case bolt heads off. I'm wondering if I should order another OEM bolt online to replace the broken one, or if I should just drill the threads and through bolt the entire case? In another thread Brianator mentioned through bolting and said it was stronger.
I was also wondering about grease zerks for the input shaft bearings. Should I remove the bearings before drilling the hole? I'm worried about metal shavings getting into those bearings.

@muddybasilisk If you happen to need parts let me know I just picked this one up Lol

I don’t think it matters with removing the bearings as long as you’re careful. Since you already have the cases split I would remove the input shaft and then wash out any shavings that get in there.

I'd agree but using some tape to stop flecks from getting on/in the bearings couldn't hurt. There's always the risk of damaging a bearing during removal so no matter what you're gambling! Lol

Alright I’m gonna go ahead and thru bolt it. What type bolts do y’all recommend? I’m just gonna run down to Home Depot. Kinda worried because I know some metals react badly with aluminum.

Won't matter since you are thru bolting. Not threading steel into aluminum, just holding 2 pieces of aluminum together. Since it is aluminum, I don't see a grade being that important either. I would recommend Grade 5 as the nuts don't seem to strip out like the grade 2 zink ones these days.

To through bolt my 820 I had to buy socket head (Allen head) bolts from tractor supply as they were the only thing locally available with threads close enough to the head so I could use them. You may have to do something similar. Those bolts are grade 5 I believe. Don’t get grade 3 bolts as they may as well be made out of cheese and you don’t want to snap them in the case. Keep in mind you can order fully threaded bolts from McMaster carr or your choice of industrial supply.

The barbed fitting I got for ventilation seems to kinda thread into the oil fill hole in the top half of the case. It’s not really cutting threads, but still kinda threading in there. (My mst has the unthreaded hole with the rubber plug by the way). I have a video of it as well as the attached picture but I’m not sure how to link videos. I might upload it to my YouTube and paste a link in here. Anyways, is it good to thread it into that hole even though it’s not really threading, or should I drill another smaller hole and then tap it?
Video: https://youtu.be/QD2DhPwxtcA?si=2w7_eofNZ47jxUF0

The YouTube link is unlisted so I think only people with the link can see it. The attached image shows the hole after I threaded the thingy in

I just kind of let it thread itself like you did and seems fine. Make sure no threads hang out the bottom as it might get in the shifter.

Alright I’ll just run it like that as well as put a little rtv around where the hex part of the fitting meets the aluminum

Hard parts are over. Got the grease fitting installed and managed to get absolutely no shavings in the bearings (painters tape is your friend here). Got the broken bolt out as well. Almost done drilling the threads out for the through bolts. One thing I’m kinda worried about is if oil is gonna be able to go through the bolt holes now that they’re not capped off. I know rtv should seal it up but I’ve been worried this whole project lol

Remember to put silicone around the holes on both sides and don’t worry if a little squeezes into the threads. I’ve sealed up any number of transaxles with no issues of leakage, from the case anyway.

Finally finished this project! Completely through bolted except for 3 bolts (2 were right above the brake assembly and one the casting wouldn’t allow a bolt to go all the way in). Vent hose, ball bearings, and input shaft greased. Won’t be able to test it until I get an engine but I will be able to see if it leaks at all I assembled it in a bit of a different way. The indent screw would not come out so I had to place the output shaft and countershaft in bottom case, while holding the shifter shaft in the top case so the indent ball wouldn’t fall out.


The bead of loctite pictured was not the final bead I made sure to go around all the bolt holes

The bolts above the brake assembly, I will usually drill them through into the little hollow and then tap them through and run a bolt long enough to engage all the threads available.

Too late to do that now lol. I’m happy with how it is, it should be a lot stronger. How does my loctite bead look?

Looks ok, did you go over and under all of the bushings/bearings in the case?

I went around the bushings and under the brake shaft seal

Will probably be fine, time will tell

Got it mounted. Trying to figure out how the brake goes back on lol
I’ll be heading out to Athens next weekend to get a motor and it’ll be up and running

I installed the input shaft slightly incorrectly, will it be fine?
The external washers are flopped. Pretty sure the way that it’s supposed to be is like the diagram going down: Free washer/snap ring/fixed washer
The way I have it is: Fixed washer/snapring/free washer
I’m assuming it’s not thaaat big of a deal and should be fine. Reason I did it like this is because the technician manual wasn’t very clear on it and I forgot that the parts diagram existed. Reaaaaly don’t wanna pull it apart for something so small but I’d rather check just to be safe

@muddybasilisk You need to go to the Fish Hatchery while you're in Athens if you haven't been

@ranch king pro 08 I might check it out if we have time. How far are you from there? I’m coming from DFW so you might be relatively close

@muddybasilisk about a hour and 30 minutes

@ranch king pro 08 that's how long it'll take me to get to Athens