[Gary Bonner]

We had a few problems with our drill transmissions at the Philly regional, which was the first time we gave them a real workout. Fortunately, most were on Thursday, but one happened during the semifinals leaving us unable to steer.

The first problem was with the shifter clips popping out and was easily remedied. The second problem, I think, was caused by the clutch housing separating or shifting slightly away from the gearbox housing and causing the clutch to disengage. At the time, in the rush of the competition, we merely swapped the transmissions for new ones. We figured the little tabs that hold the housings together had broken off. After looking over some of the parts back home, I’m now wondering if the clutch housing just rotated, since it provides all the torque keeping the last ring gear from rotating. (I can’t picture right now whether the mounting hardware grips the clutch housing; we’re using the FIRST provided mounting assembly) If this is the case, then the problem should only occur when running in low (which we do), since the shift ring prevents the clutch housing from rotating when in high.

I was wondering how many teams have had this problem, and if you were running in high.

Thanks