> >Ken Powell wrote:

 >>
 >>  If we could do a survey, I bet we would not find ANY unmodified Ross
 >>  boxes  with 500 hrs. at 130 HP average output.  I know that there is
 >>  not any way to prove this, so you are right in that only time will
 >>  tell for sure and we have only heard of a couple of failures - I
 >>  wonder how many failures Ross knows about?  Ross's system might work
 >>  fine in low HP applications, but ...  We do know that Ford designed
 >>  the gears to have internal lubrication, which Tracy implemented and
 >>  Ross did not implement.  Ford would not have incurred the
 >>  manufacturing overhead for this if they had not felt that it was
 >>  required for durability.  We do seem to hear about a lot of boxes
 >>  that have gone back to Ross for rework - why?  I'm not trying to be
 >>  difficult; I do believe that this box has a potential for major
 >>  problems based on input from the members of this newsletter.
 >>
 >>  Ken Powell

Jerry Hey wrote:

 O.K.  Are there proven modifications?  Who is doing them?  Or should
 I scrap the  Ross?

Not really. Art Luther is in the process of making some changes now.

I definitely would not scrap it. Do you need it right now? As time goes
on and people get more hours we will know more about what modifications
work. Also Ross gear boxes vary from unit to unit. Some work better than
others. It is therefore impossible to generalize about them except
when it comes
to the need for a sun gear thrust bearing. It is best to put in a sun gear
thrust bearing and see how it works in your application. Then fix it if
necessary as they don't seem to fail catastrophically.

OTH if you are bound and determined to scrap it, send it to me and I will
take it apart, photograph the parts, measure it and suggest and draw up
some design changes for the thrust bearing and perhaps better gear oiling.

Paul Lamar

Jerry Hey wrote:

Paul,Are you interested in borrowing the Ross?  How long would you
need it?  Right now the Ross is not an issue for me.   Presently I am
working on mounting the engine in my Tailwind.  I won't actually
need the redrive until it is cowl building time.   Jerry

I would be Jerry as long as you understand the process of taking them
apart is to drill out some press fit pins that Ross uses to hold it 
together. At least it looks that way to me. Perhaps Art Luther could enlighten
us on that subject.  There are some unknowns involved in that process. I 
would rather have a known junk Ross drive to work with.

Paul Lamar
 
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