The NP205 rebuild kit showed up Saturday afternoon. The new shift forks and shift collars showed up a couple days earlier.
Everything went together pretty well, or so I thought, until I installed the detent balls and springs. The problem came to light when I shifted the rear output into high gear and I felt a gear dragging on something. After a quick investigation with a mirror through the inspection cover I noticed the rear shift fork was rubbing against the idler gear. I spoke with
@Bent77 since he knows how to incorrectly install parts in a 205 and remembered I didn't torque the idler nut. After a quick torque of the nut the idler froze up and I realized something wasn't right. After a quick review of the NP205 diagram I realized the shims should be between the damn bearings, not on the outside. For whatever reason the shims were on the outside when I disassembled the case.
The next day I tore the case apart, started with the rear output, input and rear shift rail and fork to gain access to the idler gear assembly. After removing the idler gear assembly I was able to confirm the end play was .001-.002 with the shims installed in the proper location and I reinstalled the idler gear in the case.
@Bent77 was asking about the new shift rails and collars and if they were any different. I only compared the shift collars and they visibility looked the same other than the wear on the used collars. The rear shift fork was pretty worn at the pad and I later noticed the wear mark below circled in red.
So that wear spot is the same place the new shift fork was rubbing the idler gear therefore at some point this t-case had self clearanced itself.
Below is a side by side comparison of the new (left) and the old (right) shift forks. Notice the red circled area and how much thicker it is? That's the the area (opposite side of fork) that was rubbing the gear.
At this point I didn't feel confident that the 4 shims would make up enough of the difference needed for the new fork to clear the idler gear so I installed the old (front) fork in the rear shift fork position. The front fork was in pretty good shape btw.
Reassembled the rest of the case and it tested fine on the bench.
Below are a couple pics of the case shortly before I found the problem and disassembled the case.