My Gearbox Refurb 🤔

[YellowBay69]

Hi all - hoping someone can help. Had my gearbox refurbished at a gearbox specialist. Noticed that there is some play in the drive shaft (splined part that sticks out in bell housing)
As you may tell i’m no expert - should there be play ?
I paid for bearing seals etc (not cheap!!) and expected the box to be good as new.
Ready to fit engine now - but not sure if this is right.
Any feedback gratefully received

 

[sparkywig]

Have you contacted the gearbox specialist and voiced your concerns?

 

[YellowBay69]

Not yet - didn’t want to sound like a pratt.

 

[Dirty Harry]

Fully normal, it locks in place when the nose is in the needle bearing of the flywheel bolt!
I should be worried when there is zero play

 

[Bay_Buster]

I'm definitely not an expert but I have played about dismantling and rebuilding various bits on a couple of boxes I have - what I've read matches what Dirty Harry said - there should be some play in the input shaft - inside the box the end of it is joined onto what I seem to remember is called the gear carrier shaft (might have mixed that up) by a simple stud that threads into the ends of the two shafts. The ends of the two shafts have splines at the joint and a big old cog (again forgot the name) sits over the joint and transfers the rotational torque between the two. My understanding is that if the shafts are tightened up 'fully home' on the stud there will be very little/no play if you try wiggle the end of the input shaft around, but in use a bit of shock loading will then snap the stud and then your problems start. The pic below shows the input shaft with the bellhousing removed, and the cog that secures the joint circled in red.