I have built dozens of A833s, and hundred to thousands of other Manual transmissions, And I can tell you that there are only two reasons to trash a brass ring;
1) is if the ring sits very low on what you call a drum, but which I call a conical brake. If it sits too low, it will just get worse as the trans warms up, and eventually will quit working in that location, which is gonna make you drop the trans and start over. and
2) is if the ring fails to brake due to being bent. But, I reregulary straighten those out.
Now then, every brass wears at a different rate, cuz obviously, First and Second are the most used . and Fourth is the least used.
But Fourth has another problem, from the factory, the Input gear is just too far ahead, and so the brake works late, and doesn't get the same amount of time to try to achieve synchronization.
Ok so, knowing this now, I rearrange all the brass so that each gear gets a fair shot at doing what it is supposed to do. In this way I can get double and triple life out of the same 4 brass rings.
Here is my procedure, what I do. You can do whatever you like.
1) Every brass has to be checked to be sure it is not bent
2) and that it actually brakes. and
3) Every brass has to be rated as to how high it sits up on the cone.
4) and decisions made as to whether it is thus useable or if you are willing to try another go-around, or to trash it.
5) and finally, you gotta chose which one will go where.
For all the following steps you will be using the input gear, which is generally called the MainDrive, or just M/D. Why? Two reasons; One, it usually has the least-worn cone, and Two, it's handy to install in a vice or to just hang on to.
As for #1, and #2
this is done by lightly placing each ring on the MD cone. If you can rock it like a rocking chair, it may be bent. Push it down onto the cone a lil harder, and simultaneously try to rotate it. If it won't grab with light pressure, try it on another cone. If it doesn't work there either, then it likely really is bent. If it sits high on the cone, and significantly higher that any other brass sits on the same cone, that's almost a dead giveaway. I straighten them, cuz it only takes a few seconds, See note-1 But for you, as a newbe, it might be tricky so I'm gonna recommend just to replace it, but be warned, you gotta check even the new one(s).
As for #3
I take each brass and one atta time, set them on the MD, screw them down by rotating them and then eyeballing how low they sit on the cone
Obviously if the bottom out, they are trash. and just as obviously, the higher they sit the better. Typically I like to see .060 or more between the brass and bottomed out.
As for #4
As I am doing the above, I line them up on the bench vertically from the best to the worst.
The highest sitting one (the best), goes on the MD because of the aforementioned distance problem.
The lowest goes on First gear, cuz it only has a few rpm to deal with from idle to dead stopped.
Second gear gets the next highest but only if it brakes properly. If it brakes poorly, and the last brass brakes better, then use the better-braking brass.
Third gets whatever is left ove, cuz by the time you shift into third, usually the rpm is way down, and the brass has a real easy time of it.
Ok remember, Second gear is the hardest working brass, and you want that one to work the best, even if you have to steal it from the M/D.
Note-1
How I straighten brass.
First, as yourself how it got bent.
Most likely this happened by being dropped, either AFTER the trans came apart, or BEFORE the trans was assembled by the last guy. It sure as heck didn't happen inside the trans.
So knowing it was dropped, this is a simple fix, just find where the bend is, exactly, and unbend it. To find it set it on the MD and rock it. Turn the MD until it rocks left to right or right to left, whichever; and mark the brass with a permanent marker, directly in front of you which should be at 90* to the rocking. This point is of a smaller than normal diameter as the brass has been pinched there. Your job will be to restore the diameter back to as new. I just chuck the brass into a vise and pinch it a lil atta time, at 90* to the mark I made, until the ring stops rocking and starts grabbing with light pressure.
That's all there is to it, and NO!, I have never broken one. they are NOT made of glass.
I have NEVER thrown away a bent brass unless the customer asked me to...... and then I save it for my own. Cuz even a brand new brass can come to you, bent.
BTW,
1) the last time I had mine apart was 2004, over 100,000 miles ago, and the brass was redistributed and reused. That brass mightabin from the late 60s or early 70s. Who knows how old it was/is.
2) if you are wearing out brass, change your oil, and reset your freeplay. That trans-oil is the cooling system for the spinning parts, sending the heat into the case and from there to the airstream zipping past it. Keeping the trans-oil clean and cool will ensure that brass will hold it's shape. and if it does that, then it will brake properly (with adequate freeplay which translates to adequate clutch departure), and last a really long time.
3) And, if your legs are too short, to press the pedal down far enough to affect proper synchronization, do something about it right away! If you hear grinding or it seems to take excessive shift-time, you are already in a failure mode.
4) Just FYI,
I often shift mine at up to 7200 like as if I'm a racer (I am not), and I challenge you to find a break in the blackies; that's how fast the properly set-up A833 can shift. So then, do not accept grinding nor a tardy synchronization.
