The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline Stuck in 3rd gear......

Finally drove my 52' 3100 for the first time today to see how everything is working. I was able to shift up through the 3 gears (3 speed on column) without and any issues. However, when trying to take it out of 3rd gear, the shift linkage would not let it out of 3rd. I stopped the truck and popped the hood and pushed upward toward the firewall on the lower (2nd and 3rd) outer lever arm(there is some play) which then allowed the lever to go back into neutral. For the short ride home I shifted into 1st and then 2nd gear avoiding 3rd gear. I've previously replaced the 2 rubber grommets on the outer levers and made some slight adjustment to the inner levers and forks and packed it with new grease, but after today that doesn't seem to help much. Should I just buy a rebuilt shift box? Could the problem be something else?
Thanks

Sounds like it might be a worn shifter box. I'm sure someone here has an answer for this. I've never dealt with the three speed setup on these. Mine has the 4spd floor shift.

John

if you can unlock it by jigging the lever outside the box, you need to fine-tune the adjustments - never any need to buy a different box, just get yours adjusted properly, the forks and the pawl that moves them must be exactly right, after that's set, then you adjust the trans rods at the outer levers with everything in neutral

the only thing that can go 'bad' is one of the forks getting the corners worn so rounded off it lets the pawl get between the 2 forks, and that can be fixed with a bit up weld filed back to get things "new" again - the wear along with the getting stuck is the result of sloppy movement thru the H pattern, always move the shift lever along the H lines, don't "cut corners" .... here's a 55-9 box, same as yours inside, note the space between the forks is less than the thickness of the pawl, and the inside corners are 'crisp and square'

Bill

Bill is right on target. I had the exact same issue with my 58 Burb after I swapped out the transmission for an overdrive unit.

Shifting up into 2nd/3rd was easy. Downshifting was the problem. If I didn't have the lever right in the sweet spot "neutral position" I wold jam the linkage and the tranny would be stuck in third. There is a procedure in the shop manual to fine tune the two shifter forks and the pawl in the shifting box. I ended up loosening the adjuster and using some pump pliers to pinch the three pieces into perfect alignment and then tightening the adjuster. Now it shifts like a champ. It doesn't take much to through off the works. The two forks have to be lined up exactly for the pawl to easily shift between gears. If you don't have it just right, when you try to pull it up/down into first you end up grabbing the corner of the 2nd/3rd fork and pulling it down at the same time. That is what jams the trans in 3rd. Its not a hard job, just consult the shop manual. Good luck.

Thanks for the info guys. I'm gonna clean out the grease in the shift box and see if I can re-align the forks and levers.

While I have the shift box apart, should I grease the outer levers at the bushings?

might smear them lightly with grease, but remember they don't move much or fast and only rotate slightly, what's important is to use a good grease on the forks and pawl and keep them lubed - don't 'fill' the box with grease

Bill

Check the box halves where the shaft goes thru for galling while you have it apart and cleaned up. I have one that was galled bad and had excessive shaft slop.
Carl

Update: I took the shifter box off of the column and completely cleaned and re-greased everything and put it back together. Then I made a few adjustments to the forks and now it shifts great! I took 2 short rides in it today and was able to easily shift through all 3 gears without any problems....Now I need to start working on the steering(it has a lot of play in the steering wheel)
Thanks for everyone's input.

thanx for reporting the success!

Bill