MG Car Repair: 69 MG Midget transmission, ball bearings, two balls

Question
I had to pull the transmission out to replace the throw out bearing & clutch. The grandson was draining the transmission and removed two plugs on the bottom before he found the drain plug. One of the plug had two ball bearings, the other had a spring and plunger. Need to know where they go back in.I tried the spring and plunger in the rear hole and it seemed to work. But can not get the two ball in the front hole? Do I have the reversed? British Victoria catalog page 81 parts 75 and 83.

Answer
Hi James,

The hole closest to the engine gets a plunger, a spring and the short screw. The plug more to the rear and to the right side gets the plug with the long stud on it. One ball does go in that hole before the shift rail is installed. (the second ball is installed before the shift rails are installed through the hole in the case covered by the side cover) The two balls go between the shift rails so two rails can't move at the same time and can not fall out by removing the plugs. I believe you should ask your grandson if he tried to take the transmission apart. That is the ONLY way the two balls can get out.

Howard