MTFCA Forum

Digging thru a parts bin and came across riveted triple gears. Not sure what year they were last used by Ford, but are they used by people running or restoring those years of transmissions or are they conversation pieces and paperweights?

The gear teeth themselves tend to wear well, maybe better than the later style. The problem with the riveted ones tends to be that sometimes, the rivets work loose and let the gears shift around.

You answered your own question. Paperweights for some and usable for others. Some rebrad the rivets just to make sure. Seems like it’s usually the consensus that with the fairly common newer one piece triple gears people use those for a rebuild. Ford went to a one piece gear for a reason. My opinion and others will have theirs I’m sure.

I guess it falls in the same category as the older original heavier connecting rods. They are usable but now days most go for the later lighter rods. The rod rebuilders usually don’t take the older rods for exchange.

My dad has some NOS riveted triple gears on the shelf that he picked up at a Ford dealership in southern Minnesota about 70 years ago.

I believe he has only two - would be better if he had three.

Riveted triple gears are my gears of choice. The one piece gears have narrower teeth. Consequently they wear at a greater rate. Finding good used ones is far more difficult than finding good riveted gears.
I wonder if the one piece gears were a cost cutting measure, being less complicated to make, and requiring no assembly. The riveted gears fare far better as far as wear goes, on the gears themselves and on the drum and driven gears. While the one piece gears are better balanced, being so hard makes them difficult to machine to make a better matched weight. The riveted gears are easier to work with, even if you need to re-rivet them.

Allan from down under.

Erik Johnson wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 19, 2023 12:18 am

My dad has some NOS riveted triple gears on the shelf that he picked up at a Ford dealership in southern Minnesota about 70 years ago.

I believe he has only two - would be better if he had three.

Somehow I bet Joe Bell and maybe even Jim Riedy have riveted triple gears out the butt!

I'm in total agreement with Allan. I have never had an issue with rivets coming loose and prefer them to the later one piece gears. Biggest reason is wider teeth. One rebuilder told me he likes the riveted style especially with drums coming from later transmissions as the wider teeth on the triple gears have fresh material on the drum gears to mesh with.

When I first started rebuilding trans people had me convinced riveted gears were no good. But I've since reconsidered. The gears seem to be case hardened better. I used them in my 14.
You do need to check for loose rivets. One way taught to me is to role them on concrete and just as they are about to tip over the ( ring) noise will be duller, not crisp when the rivets are loose.
I also took apart a trans with 2 rivets completely gone, laying in the pan.

I wonder if the change to one piece gears was due to the Fellows Gear Shaper becoming commonplace? I assume the riveted gears were hobbed and the one piece gears were made on a Fellows Gear Shaper. The one piece gears have less width across the face to allow for shaper relief.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_R._Fellows

https://youtu.be/pQrliy1uZQE?t=123

Regarding the original question I think provided the rivets are tight the riveted gears are fine to use.