'65 A904 Diagnosis Problem

dibbons said

he had to use needle nose pliers to straighten some clips inside the very heart of the transmission to remove some kind of cylindrical roller bearings. He said since he found them bent that way and had to straighten them out by hand with needle nose pliers.

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Those accordion springs almost always need tweaking.
I have seen them worn paper thin on the pleats, and even crumbling. I think your guy has got that part right , but just doesn't know that they are sold separately.
If they are reusable, I also use a needle-nose to stretch them back out. If nothing else it makes me feel better.