The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Transmission Yoke

Hello everyone! this is my first post on stovebolt and I have been searching for a site like this for too long! just recently tracked down my great grandfather's 1953 GMC 1/2 ton pick-up and bought it for $300...needless to say, it needs some work

the first order of business is finding out where i can find the yoke for the transmission on my truck? the previous owner removed it and doesnt remember where he put it..... I have been hard-pressed to find one in my area(Washington, Ga.)

the second is that I was trying to shift through some of the gears, but have only seemed to find two....not sure why I cannot shift into any other...

the third is that I have a slipped front leaf spring that just will not stay in place..any help would be wonderful

fourth and finally (for now anyway ) is that my hood latch has been closed and i cannot get it open...but i snatched a few ideas from another post in the forum..

Any help on any of these issues would be so very helpful! Thank you!

53GMC

What transmission? Three speed on the column?

Probably won't go into all the gears unless you turn the engine or transmission output shaft a little as you try.
If that doesn't solve it you might have stuck, mis adjusted, or worn linkage. Or if a 4 speed you probably have a stuck shift rail.

Pictures would be great, and would help us to understand the front spring problem.

Grigg

Its an in-floor shifter.....tore the floor panels out to see...but i think its a three speed in the floor.....

the leaf spring has slipped forward and i cannot, without great trouble, seem to get it back into place....i had it one time earlier, but it slipped off again....it slipped forward and hangs in front of the arm thats supposed to rest on it

Pictures please,

sound's like you have a broken center bolt and loose u-bolts .

The hood latch on these can be a problem. The release arm is long and has a couple of bends in it and when they get dirty, rusty and worn sometimes they won't open.

I speak from experience.

This is what the GMC Latch looks like. GMC Latch

You can see two of the bends in my picture. If you can hook something over the lever between the hood and the grill you can then pull the lever (to the right in this picture) to release it. You may be able to attach a stout string by working from the grill, and then passing the string up through the hole.

I've used a couple of skinny screw drivers to position some gas welding rod in place, and for a while I had a nylon wire tie in place because I had so much trouble. Today that truck does not have a hood latch at all. Since its in yard art mode for a few years, that was an easier solution.

If its a 53 model and has a floor shifter coming out of the transmission it is a 4 speed. If the yoke on the transmission is gone, there could be other parts missing like the U-joint in the bell shaped flex behind the transmission. Does the engine turn over?

the engine isnt locked up...but i havent tried turning it over too much until i got some more under hood work done.....turned the fan and it turns real smooth so i know its not locked......does anyone have a link to a page where the transmission, yoke, and driveshaft all hook up with pieces labeled? been lookin for that to make sure i have all the pieces.....