It has double ball bearings to minimize wear and heat, reducing the likelihood of the low gear becoming stripped again. The gear itself is the same material and design as the original; making it stronger would likely only make a different gear strip during extreme driving, so I left it alone as a safe and replaceable 'fuse'.
Note that color may vary. Also note that these gears use bearings with a 3mm inner diameter, while the shaft on your car might be slightly thicker or thinner (depending on wear and the tolerances of the rod material TYCO decided to use on the particular day your car was made). You may need to clamp the shaft onto a drill and use some sandpaper to thin it down slightly so that it slides freely for gear switching. The next bearing size up is 1/8th inch inner diameter, which is universally too loose, so this is unfortunately unavoidable. I test each gear I send out using a rod that is precisely 2.99mm, so please measure the shaft you have and plan accordingly if it is significantly thicker than that.
Please ensure that the rest of the gearbox is in good shape before replacing this gear. If wear or looseness in some other component (such as on the shaft it rotates on) caused your original gear to fail, the same will likely happen to this one sooner or later.
Grease liberally on installation, especially at the shaft.
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