The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Three On The Tree Shifter Hangs Up

My 62 Chevy PU's three on the tree shifter keeps hanging up. I have shut off the motor, get out of the truck, open the hood and align the shifter arms in order to get it working properly. I understand that this is a common problem. Is there a fix?

There's always a fix. It just depends on what the problem is.

This may be caused by worn out parts in your shifter, but it can also be caused by worn out cab mounts, which make the cab sit uneven and put the shifter in "awkward" positions. I would inspect the shifter and look for loose or sloppy movement in the various joints. If that doesn't fix the problem, then you may need to replace the cab mounts.

Does it hang up when shifting from first to second? If so, your column linkage is worn. JC Whitney used to sell a clip that held the lever arms in line. We have had some here who have replaced the linkage. One thing that can be done to keep the truck running is when shifting from first to second is to pull the shift lever towards you when coming up out of first, not pushing it into neutral until you are at the middle of the H. Takes some practice, but I have driven several that way.

It hangs up going from any gear to any gear. I had a Pontiac Ventura with a 3 on the tree with 190,000 miles and it never gave me a bit of trouble.

One thing though the bushings on the shift linkage at the trans are bad and have created some slop. Could this be making it worse? The truck only has just over 100,000 original miles. It seems to get a little better when I lubricate it at the tree.

You can try replacing the bushings, I don't know if it will help, but it can't hurt. Someone had written a lengthy article on rebuilding the column linkage, but that was before the server was fried by lightning. Seems like every column 3 speed Chevy pickup I have driven or owned had this happen at some time. Hopefully someone with more knowledge on this will chime in.

Tab,
This link will only back up the great info you've gotten already here.
http://www.chevytalk.org/forums/Forum43/HTML/001277.html

Also, do yourself a big favor and pick-up a assembly manual.it'll save you alot of headaches and time.

Thanks for all the info. I checked out the chevytalk link
and will replace the bushings and adjust the linkage
today. I sure wish that people would be more clear in
their posts over there though. Just when you think that
you are getting somewhere you run into typo's and
nonsense. Perhaps it's grease-monkey speak. I
may have to enlist the aid of an anthropologist to
decipher it completely.

Let us know how it goes with the bushing replacement and the adjustment on the linkage.
.Doctors writing and truck-drivers writing ,,,both the same,,,,One needs a cryptologist to decipher it!

I put some bushings in the linkage at the trans and that tightened things up considerably. I took it for a test drive and it did not hang up once. It feels much better. I think that most of my problem is solved. I also sprayed some grease in the column linkage but I don't think that much got in. Is there a way to lubricate the inside of the "tree" without taking the darn thing apart?

Hey while I have your attention I plan to check my wheel bearings (ball bearing type) later today on my 62 3/4 ton. They keep going bad and it is really [censored] me off. Can someone please tell me what grease to use and how tight I should make them? Any tricks of the trade would be greatly appreciated. I don't want to have to do this job again any time soon. Is there a roller taper bearing conversion for this truck?

Typos and nonsense? I don't see a post by Bullfoot in this thread. What are you talking about?

The ChevyTalk link. It had some good info but I think that some of those guys are picking up more beer than tools.

If your tree hasn't been lubed very good, I would start buy using motor oil. Put a towel under it and apply the oil liberally. After you have driven it for a while, do it again. This will help work the dirt out and get everything lubed. Then you can lube with SAE 90 gear lube, and apply some lithium to the protruding tangs and levers.

For the wheel bearings, the rollers should last a long time if properly serviced. Just use a standard wheel bearing lube. Be sure to work it into all the nooks and crannies in the bearing. I don't have a shop manual for a 62 to tell you how to adjust. My 52 calls for 45 ft-lbs torque (of the top of my head), then back off between 1/12 to 1/6 of a turn to insert the cotter key. I also rotate the wheel and torque and back off and retorque a few times to be sure everything is seated. The shop I worked at in 72 had a wheel bearing torque wrench. No ft-lb readings, just a mark to tighten to, then two marks for the range to back off to. We also had a wheel bearing packer which can be bought for a few bucks. Insert the bearing and start pumping grease from a gun. Does a far better job packing rollers than I can do by hand.

Fred:

Thanks for the tips.

The shifter tree is difficult to lube because of the housing. How does one get grease in there?

I had no idea that the wheel bearings had torque specs. I am going to just snug them a bit then back off a little and insert the cotter pin. First though I am going to take your advice and use lots of grease.

As far as the shifter linkage, brings back memories. We used to stop on a regular basis to re-align the shift linkage on my 52, 49 and 54. Never did figure out the problem but we were kids and as long as we could go down the road, no sweat. I've always done the wheel bearings as taught by an old mechanic. Take them out, clean them up and check them good. Any wear, replace them both. Pack them with wheel bearing greese, reassemble and tighten while rotatating the wheel. When she starts to drag, back off a quarter turn or so and re pin the castelated nut. Works for me.