The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Shift linkage binding

I know the column shifters have always been prone to getting out of sequence and jamming. We've only had 4 or 5 people that have been allowed to drive our memorial truck since the restoration. In those 6 years it has gotten jammed a couple of times, but I just started letting another person drive the truck at events and almost every time he drives it he gets the linkage jammed. I'm trying to figure out what he could be doing to cause this. I'm not certain, but I think it is usually in 1st. Any ideas? This is not a lubrication problem.

He/She is rushing the shift. It has to be a deliberate H pattern. No shortcuts. 1st up to neutral while holding the lever towards the driver. Then through the H to the neutral position between 2nd and 3rd. Then up into second. Second to third is just straight down. When coming back from 3rd to 1st you must lift to neutral holding slight pressure away from the driver until in neutral then pull through the H towards the driver before moving the lever down into neutral. Folks not used to these old worn out systems tend to try to rush it and get hung between gears.

Check the shift gates for proper alignment, there you will find your problem.Either worn over alignment gate or slightly out of adjustment.

It seems there are a few possible wear-points: shifter-handle on the upper column, shift box on the lower column (in the engine compartment), and gear selector "fingers" on the inside of the cover plate on the transmissions.

One way I often avoided this problem (which seemed to occur most often from 3rd to 1st) was to push in the clutch and mover the shifter mechanism to second, and then to first. All my friends used to know how to jump out, open the hood, and move the shift lever.

I think this is most likely the case, as no one else causes it to happen. I'm confident the parts are in good condition and adjustment. Since it is usually in first, I'm thinking he may not be in the correct neutral position and pulling the lever completely towards him before going down into first gear. I guess I need to ride with him and watch what he is doing. I went to back it out of the trailer this weekend and it was jammed. I knew instantly who had driven it onto the trailer, which I later confirmed. Where it had been displayed to where the trailer was, he would have never gotten out of first gear. Perhaps he may have used R, but not 2nd or 3rd.

Since there are no replacement shift rods available, EVERYONE is dealing with 60 plus year old, worn parts. There are numerous rod ends, and the levers in which they are inserted, which will have substantial wear. The cumulative affect of all of these worn parts makes me wonder why any of these trucks shift at all. Then you have the internals of the shift box which wear out and become misaligned.
The rod ends and the levers in which they are inserted can be repaired with a welder (I prefer a TIG for better control) and ground to the original shape.
The shift box internals need to be inspected for alignment, and wear, which can also be repaired with a welder and a small angle grinder.
Carl