Hey guys!

currently in the middle of a T50 swap & clutch job on an 86 and came across something that has me more or less stumped. I keep running into conflicting/non-specific answers and I was hoping someone could shed some light on the topic.

I dropped the box out of my car which had symptoms of a bad input shaft bearing & some synchro issues. Now I have another JDM T50 which will be going in (in favour of the bell housing and slave position) and I'll take the previous owner's word that it didn't have any issues. With both the boxes out in front of me, I noticed that there was a more noticeable amount of end play (in and out & side-to-side) on the replacement box compared to the one I took out. Basically, both of them exhibit play, but if I were to make a guess I would say the difference is approximately <0.5mm play VS ~1.0mm play. The box I took out does feel tighter overall.

Now I plan to do the usual spigot and thrust bearing as well as input and output seals for the transmission before it goes in, but does the end play in the input shaft have any implications? What's the actual reason for the end-play and which parts of the box does it relate to?

Any help appreciated! Cheers