New Barn Find

No shim behind, yes shim under snap ring. It is a sloppy fit for a heavy gear on such a tiny bearing. I have also considered fab'ing a backside shim but have not worked through it yet (clearance, hardness, tooth alignment).

Does your case have the bolt-in retainer for the idler post? That's better. Initially they were only pressed in and that was a problem.

It is pressed in but looks really good and still tight with gear/bearing. Just don't like the front to back play.

I made up an ally bronze shim/washer to suit, was just rattling around before. No shim on the backside just the press fit stub. Not tested yet but looks/feels right.

Looks good!

Pressed in idler post and I found the issue. Idler post was backing out of case. It was out almost 1/4 inch, so that is what chewed everything up. I will have to go on the back side and use maybe an allen set screw or roll pin to hold it in. I pressed it back in and if I used the outer shim inside, on back side of gear, we are now perfectly aligned with clutch gear and kicker gear. Will have to find a stainless shim to replace that one. Doing that, gear spins great and no wobble what so ever.

Small gear under clutch is 17 teeth.

Good detective work. That must be what they were trying to avoid by going to the bolt in retainer plate.