The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk 3 SPEED COLUMN BOX REBUILD ?

has any one rebuilt a 3 speed on the column box ? do they go bad ?

you mean the shift box itself? they don't "go bad", usually if you're having shifting problems they just need a good cleaning and re-greasing, and maybe minor adjustment - there's a spring in them that can break, but not commonly - also the corners of the forks may get worn round from sloppy shifting .... don't be afraid of it, take off the top and check it out, watch how it works, piece of cake

Bill

They can "go bad", so to speak. They can wear out where the moving parts meet allowing the tab to slip between the forks, which is what happened to mine. Someone, sometime before me had even cut galvanized sheet to shim it from both ends.

Here are some pics of mine apart so you can get an idea of what you're gonna be getting into when you crack it open.
http://wp.me/s2tnUl-snot
Red58 is right, they're super easy to work on.

If yours is too far gone like mine, rebuilt working boxes can be had for a reasonable price with a core return from most of the major vendors. The one I got I was unimpressed with. It looked like all the vendor I went with did was repack an old dirty box where as American Classic sells one thats a little more expensive but it has new grommets, bellows, grease cap and paint. ...plus they support this site.

Defining one that has "gone bad" would mean that the aluminum housing has worn sufficiently to allow axial movement of the arms. Although it is possible to remachine the split faces and then the bore the cost is likely more than a rebuilt box that never had such wear.

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w186/curt160/mods/MVC-024S.jpg

If its not excessive I have rubed the upper section across sand paper to take up the looseness in the shaft.