Harley-Davidson VL Transmission Prep

Preparing a Harley-Davidson VL three-speed transmission is one of those jobs that looks simple until you start counting the time. Before any gears, shafts, bearings, or shifter parts go back into the box, the case, lid, studs, kicker parts, and exterior pieces all need to be cleaned, protected, blasted, washed, dried, and finished. This prep work leads directly into the Harley-Davidson VL three-speed transmission rebuild. For more of the same 1933 VL workshop sequence, see the VL Tech archive, the related VL engine case prep, and the VL cylinder and head prep.

Harley-Davidson VL transmission case before cleaning and preparation — The Harley-Davidson VL transmission started out as an empty case, with a crusty exterior but a clean interior.

My transmission started out basically as an empty case. That meant I got to skip an hour or so of tear down before beginning the cleanup. All the case studs were also in good shape, so there was no need to remove them either. The outside was a little crusty, but the inside was nice and clean.

Cleaning the Case Studs

Cleaning Harley-Davidson VL transmission case studs with a rotary wire brush — The first cleaning step was to go over the case studs with a wire brush on a rotary tool.

The first step was to clean all the case studs with a wire brush on a rotary tool.

Preparing the Case for Blasting

Harley-Davidson VL transmission case masked before blasting — Bearing surfaces and the threaded mainshaft and countershaft openings were covered before blasting.

Next the case was prepared for blasting. All bearing surfaces were covered as well as the threaded openings for the mainshaft and countershaft. Once that was complete, the case took a nice long sand shower in the blasting cabinet. This was followed by a brush down with a wire wheel and a wash with lacquer thinner. High pressure air was used between every step to blow out any debris.

Transmission Lid Disassembly

With the case cleaned it was on to the transmission lid. On the V-series three-speed transmission, the transmission lid contains quite a few parts that needed to be removed first. On one end is the gear lock plate which is keyed to a shaft going through the lid. The gear shifting fork is attached to the end of the same shaft inside the transmission. The other end of the lid houses the spring-loaded sliding gear fork plunger.

Harley-Davidson VL transmission lid showing gear lock plate and shift shaft components — The transmission lid holds the gear lock plate, shift shaft, shifting fork, and spring-loaded sliding gear fork plunger.

These parts were all easily disassembled with hand wrenches before heading to the blasting cabinet. As before, all bearing surfaces were covered before any blasting took place. The slider gear fork plunger was the only piece which was cleaned solely with a wire wheel. All other parts were blasted first before getting the wire wheel treatment.

Cleaned Harley-Davidson VL transmission lid components after blasting and wire wheel finishing — The transmission lid parts after blasting and wire-wheel cleanup.

Kicker Assembly Preparation

After the lid components were cleaned, it was on to the kicker parts.

Harley-Davidson VL transmission kicker assembly components before cleaning — The kicker parts were next in line for masking, blasting, and wire-wheel cleanup.

Only a couple bearing surfaces needed to be covered, and then they were ready to blast and wire wheel.

Cleaned Harley-Davidson VL transmission kicker assembly components after blasting — Cleaned kicker assembly parts after blasting and wire-wheel work.

Painting and Finishing

Now it was time to paint the exterior pieces. Every part got another bath in clean lacquer thinner and was thoroughly dried with compressed air before being hung to paint. The kicker arm, kicker spring, and clutch release fork all got a good coat of hi-temp black paint. Everything else got a coating of silver paint.

Harley-Davidson VL transmission parts painted black and silver before assembly — Exterior transmission parts after the black and silver paint work.

Sealing the Bottom Case Studs

While the paint was drying, the last step was to remove the bottom studs and to reinstall them with sealer to help prevent leaks.

Harley-Davidson VL transmission bottom case studs removed and sealed to prevent leaks — The bottom case studs were removed and reinstalled with sealer to help prevent leaks.

Ready for Transmission Assembly

These first steps do not seem like much, but in reality they took up almost a full day of work. So far, the cleaning has been the most time-consuming part of this build. Up next, assembly.

With the case cleaned, the lid and kicker parts prepped, the exterior pieces painted, and the bottom studs sealed, the gearbox was ready for the next stage: the Harley-Davidson VL transmission rebuild.