The complaint
When the Low Clutch Housing is removed from the Underdrive Center Shaft of a 62TE transmission, one notices that the caged needle bearing located on the shaft between the sealing rings was missing (Figure 1, above).
The cause
A running change was made in 2010 where this caged needle bearing was eliminated. When going to Chrysler’s dealer connect to order one, it states that this bearing is no longer required due to a design change of the transfer gear bearing (see Figure 7). The original tapered transfer gear bearing may have “CHINA 04800389AB” printed on it. The redesigned bearing will now have “Timken NP44 2849” printed on it.

The correction
The caged needle bearing has been eliminated and is no longer serviceable.
Service information
Two bearings are required: Timken Bearing part number 68158163AA.
Special note
After careful examination, ATSG does not see any significant changes made to the new tapered bearing other than it being a vendor change. As a result, it is our opinion that it is not necessary to use the caged needle bearing regardless of the tapered bearing being used.
Read more articles in our Transmission Tech/Talk series here.