This little spring seems to make sure that the tapered roller bearings on the main shaft and the adjoining input shaft are always in contact with the bearing cups. This is different from the lay shaft that is only constrained by the casing.

Previously I've posted a bit information about estimating coil spring stiffness =>

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/3158425-post12.html

Using the information in that post I reckon that the spring has these properties



So for every 1mm of compression it is like an equivalent weight of about 17kg resting on the shafts / bearings. This demonstrates that if you happen to have the special tool to measure the combined main shaft and input shaft bearing clearance you really need to tighten that bugger down. It also shows how important it is to keep the intermediate plate firmly screwed in place!

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!