OK... I have a BW 1435 Transfer Case in my 81 F-250. I have been troubleshooting a non-working speedometer & found the cable & driven gear to be fine with the drill test. Looking inside the T-Case, it appears that the drive gear is worn & not doing it's job. In my searches here I found that the drive gear can be replaced bwo the rear yoke. Unfortunately, as I was replacing the speedo cable into the housing the threads broke free & left a gaping hole in the top of the T-Case about the size of a nickel. I was surprised to find that the material that broke was plastic & after further cleaning & inspection I see that the entire assembly which is a little smaller than a hockey puck is a round piece of green plastic. There is a kind of forked metal retainer that bolts on over this plastic puck which, when removed, appears to allow the puck to be removed as well. I am afraid to twist or pry too much to remove the plastic in fear of worsening the problem.
Does anyone know if this plastic piece can be removed/replaced? If so, how? And when it comes out, can I remove the speedo drive gear? It looks like there would be room?
I have searched & searched & the only possible reference I can find to this part is in my Chilton's where it states in the BW 1345 removal instructions: "Disconnet the speedometer driven gear from the transfer case rear bearing retainer." Would this plastic piece be the "rear bearing retainer"?