The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Stuck linkages? Advice needed!

Hey Everyone and a good sunday to you.

I just picked up my 53 1/2 ton--engine is 235 and has 3 on the tree.

I drove about 100 miles on back roads to get her back home and everything was great, but getting to town I noticed it was gradually getting tougher to shift into 2nd gear. Eventually became impossible to shift from 1st gear at all. The clutch works, will disengage, but shifting to neutral/reverse/2nd/3rd doesn't work.

I noticed that there is a fluid leak--it was dark when I parked it so didn't get a good look but I can only imagine it's the transmission oil. It looked like it was leaking from the front of the engine compartment near the bumper that is.

I am not familiar at all w/ transmissions but went and picked up some gear oil this morning from auto zone.

Any advice? I am hoping this is just a leaky seal or something that I can replace easily--but would the parts be easily obtained at autozone or something? My FIL is coming to see the truck today, so he would be a lot of help.

I appreciate any advice you gurus might have for me!

GirlDriver,

The leak near the front of the engine might be a timing cover seal or a leaking front portion of the pan gasket, but it's probably not the transmission.

While the hard shifting could be lube related, the transmission would probably have let you know it was dry in other ways first. Your column mounted shift box operates two gears with each lever. First and reverse, and second and high. Linkage problems usually effect those combinations...a 1st and reverse problem, or a 2nd and hi problem. Your problem doesn't seem to follow this scenario.

If you have some gear lube and a little pump, I would drain the lube that's in the transmission now and refill it. Note how much lube comes out, and what condition it is in, as this will be a partial diagnosis as to the internal condition of the transmission. Inspecting all the linkage would be high on the list too..worn or binding linkage would not allow the thing to shift properly.

Stuart

Hey there--thanks for the info Stuart. FYI I edited the subject to make more sense.

Well it turn out I have two probably unrelated problems. I have a radiator leak, hopefully from a hose, if not then I have to replace the radiator or get it repaired. That was the fluid leaking out, not trans oil (whew).

The thing w/ shifting out of 1st--my FIL came and took a look and said that the linkage part closest to the firewall seems stuck. He thought he could maybe pop it back into neutral by hand but no such luck.

here's a pic for ya, the one nearest the wall is the stuck one:
http://tinyurl.com/2jq9rj

The symptoms: the clutch will disengage the gears fine, so it seems ok. Wiggling the shifter causes the forward linkage lever (not sure what it's called?) to move, but the other one is frozen into place. There were no signs that the transmission was failing, no whining or grinding etc.

Any ideas? Thanks for your inpu

very common problem with the shifter, Driver - you need to grab those 2 levers, have someone push the clutch in, wiggle them until they pop back into the right place ... the problem is there's wear on the parts inside that shift box, and the 2 arms are jamming .... you're being sloppy about moving the lever thru the H pattern [or previous owners have been]

you should open the box and clean it out and you'll see the way it works - make sure there's no worn corners on the slotted pieces or on the pawls that fit into the slots - not much adjustment possible, but wear can be cleand up with weld

Bill

Hey Bill
Thanks so much for the info. So when you say box you mean the square deal the two levers are attached to, right? I can just unscrew that and take a look? Anything to keep in mind? Gosh I wish my service manual books would hurry up and get here!

Also, when you say I'm being sloppy, I'm sure I am...this is my first go at column shifting. I'll do some searches and get some tips, but I'd appreciate any advice on that score.

The weird part is, my FIL had me hold the clutch down and he tried to wiggle them back into place but no such luck. He said it was weird, that it's always worked for him (he had a 48 and a 54).

I guess I'll take the top off of the shift box and see what there is to see. maybe some wd40 will help get em back in place.

I might just opt to take it out and get a rebuild from Jim Carter.

yes, that box - you can take off the 4 screws and lift off the top without displacing anything - you'll find it obscured by a pile of old dirty [hard] grease, clean it out as best you can and the simple setup will be self evident, and if you do it before you un-jam it, you can see what happened, the finger will be stuck between the 2 'cam' pieces - once you have it free, get someone to shift and you'll see what happens .... when shifting, try to move the lever in the squarish H pattern rather than a 'straight line', 1st to 2nd especially, which should be 3 movements

every old Chev truck up to the 70's had the same setup and the same problem over time

Bill

Also....check the bushing at the top of the shifter. Its at the junction of your shift lever and where it mounts to the top of the steering column,with the two screws. I had one of those tighten up on me one time,,,barely made it home.
Good Luck,
Marty

I've experienced both the problems Bill and Marty are describing. I still get lockups between gears if I don't "square shift" as Bill instructs.

I think this link will describe what Marty is talking about:

Shifty Behavior Revisited


I hope Bill is correct in his assessment as that is the easier problem to fix.

Thanks LAROKE,,thats exactly what happened to mine,,and i'll bet my last nickel thats what GIRLDRIVERS problem is.
Marty

Well Marty, you'd have won that bet!

I did just like Bill said and was able to get the thing shifting again. I'll take some pics of the inside of this shift box for fun, and add them to this post. Might help someone else out.

I did notice the forks or whatever are rounded off somewhat on the ends. Dunno if this is normal.

So what kind of grease do I need to pack in that shift box now? I asked some guy friends and heard 'axle grease, the moly stuff' (uh...what?) and my FIL said white lithium. Any opinions? And do I fill it full? It seemed pretty full when I took the top off. Got that gunk all over me, made me feel initiated

And I promise, no more SLOPPY SHIFTING!