The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline Transmission issue

Hello friends. Started up my 64 k10 pickup this morning after about a month and my transmission was stuck. I couldn't get into 2nd or reverse or any gear. Finally with some finesse I got it into 2nd and was able to drive. It was difficult to move between gears as well. I decided to drain and replace my fluids. After changing the gear oil she shifted nicely....except it was still a little "sticky" shifting between gears and getting into reverse. I have a 283 v8 with 4 speed manual transmission. Any thoughts on why all of a sudden I would be encountering this issue? She drove great when I parked her last.

Also the shop manual says to use SAE 90 gear oil. Is SAE 80 90 gear oil the same thing as SAE 90?

Thanks John

Linkage rusty?

Hy Johnnywaz212, did you happen to note how much lube came out when you drained it, do you think it was full? In rare circumstances with cold transmissions and cold temperatures water vapour can condense up in the shift rail area, if the transmission is left to sit with the vapour still their the shift rails can develop rust in there at rest (neutral)position, this can cause shifting problems when you try and drive the vehicle again. Chances are if you just continue to drive the vehicle the problem will resolve itself, hope that helps.

Thanks Hollow65 and 3B. I'm not sure where to locate the linkage to verify if it's rusty. If you have any direction I would appreciate it.

When draining the transmission it seemed like it wasnt full. At least when I open the fill plug oil didn't come out. The oil was dark vs the green/yellow of new oil.

Looks like I have more excuses to drive the truck today. I hope that resolves the issue. Thanks john

80-90 will work fine. You might want to remove the gearshift lever & squirt some lube around the rails on top the ball. Sometimes the lube does not get into the upper area. If you are not familiar with removeing the lever, put it in neutral & press the cup down with channel locks & turn it CCW about 50 degrees. There is no external linkage on the 4 speed.

The top will come off from the truck 4 speed. Not too hard to do. Gasket is cheap and you can see the shifter bits easy as can be. When I went to pick up my truck. It had set in the driveway for 12 plus years. When the PO parked it he slipped it into 1st and walked away. Could not pull it and could not get it out of first gear. Pulled the top off, shot some WD-40 and slapped the shift lever a bit. When it was loose, I put it back on, shifted to neutral and we were gone. You will need to remove the floor cover but that is easy to do. If you are wondering about the forks and what not, put the trans into neutral. Pull the shift lever, then pull the cover. Spray and move stuff in the cover until it all moves. Slip the lever back in and move to neutral should slip right back on.

I drove the trunk yesterday and tried to get as many shifts so the tranny would lubricate. It was better has we drove...but we parked for about 15 mins and it was difficult to get it into 2nd. So these recommendations make sense about lubrication in the upper part of the tranny. This also sounds like something I can handle. I appreciate the advice and info.

Funny thing is...though not that funny....I've been driving without insulation and a vinyl floor for years....up until September when I put duramat and vinyl floor in. Now I need to pull up the floor mat which was awkward to out in.

So it goes. Thanks again. John

I've been thinking about all the advice related to this post and appreciate the direction.

Having just put in my vinyl flooring and insulation and now dealing with this issue i wanted to get thoughts on he following approach. Since it's 20 degrees outside here in New York, getting my vinyl floor taken up is going to be a bear since it very rigid. Is it possible to get the oil to the upper part of the transmission by parking the truck on a steep incline and overfilling the transmission and running the truck and moving the gears? Are there any risks to doing this?

Trying to think of ways to avoid having to pull the flooring up when it's so rigid. Thanks for the thought. John

Just pull the shifter by following the instructions about pushing/turning the collar- - - -it's accessible without disturbing any of the floor covering materials. The squirt a liberal amount of penetrating oil like PB Blaster or KROIL into the hole the shifter came out of. Reinstall the shifter and work your way through the gears for a while. repeat as necessary. The penetrating oil will evaporate as soon as the trans lube comes up to operating temperature and you might not have to go to the effort of pulling the floorboard.

Jerry

When Wrenchbender says to use channel locks to push down on the cup and turn CCW. What is the cup? Would that be the shifter/stick itself? I'm having a hard time finding a diagram/picture that shows what the cup is. Thanks john

Most likely, Hotrod Lincoln is referring the "retainer" almost-shown in the Shop Manual.

Do you think it's worth spraying PB Blaster through the fill plug upwards toward the top of the transmission? This would be in addition to approaching through the top by removing the shifter stick. Thanks john

Gravity is your friend in this case- - - - -I'd spend more time working from the top, but a little squirt through the fill hole won't hurt. Once it's well-soaked with penetrant, some vigorous movement with the shifter will probably be the best approach.
Jerry

I had a friend take a look at the issue and he feels it's the cluch linkage. There is too much play in the cluch pedal where the cluch is hitting the floor before it engages. We're going to try and adjust the linkage....but he thinks i might not have anymore room on the rod that allows you to adjust the cluch.

If this is the case and I cannot adjust the linkage any further do I have to remove the entire transmission to replace the linkage? My friend is advising that the entire transmission would need to be remove and rebuilt. I trust what he says is true but wanted to get additional perspective before I started anything.

I saw from other posts that removing the transmission would require in some cases lifting the transmission from inside the cab. I mentioned earlier that just put in my vinyl flooring and insulation. The transmission is a 4 speed and the truck is 4x4. Do you think the flooring would need to be removed.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks John

While he is looking at it, have him look at the bell crank mounted between the frame and the engine where the clutch linkage attaches. I have seen these break and cause the clutch to not disengage.

Also, if it is a clutch issue, the transmission will have to come out, but may not have to be rebuilt.

Hello....hope the folks in the mid West and Northeast are doing ok with the weather.

I adjusted the cluch linkage and now the transmission easily goes into each gear. I'm now hearing a high pitched squeal sound from the transmission. The sound is not consistently happening....but most of the time it is. It's especially loud when driving the truck in 2nd or 3rd gears. I also hear it when the truck is in neutral idling. When I touch the cluch peddle it seems to stop. Could I have adjusted the cluch linkage too much and the plates inside the tranny are not disengaging?

Thanks for any thoughts. John

If the noise stops when you put pressure on the clucth pedal, you most likely have a bad throwout bearing. Remove the transmission and replace it.

Do you think I can get away with driving it for awhile?

Throwout bearings go bad. They go bad quickly when the clutch pedal is used for a foot rest while driving. I'm not suggesting that is your situation. I'm just saying it for all to know, who didn't already. The noise which a bad throwout bearing will make is the bearings inside running without adequate lube, metal-on-metal.
You can drive it a while like that, and it will likely get you most of the way home.
Carl

Thanks for all of the information.

I got a solid recommendation for a transmission shop to bring the truck into. I'm resolved to rebuild the tranny if I have to.

Can anyone share any thoughts on "watch outs" or observations they learned when rebuilding theirs? I have a k10 so there's the transfer case and there is a PTO for a now removed winch which also have to be addressed.

Any particular questions or recommendations I should be armed with before I bring the truck in?

Thanks for the help. John