The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline '51 1/2T 3OTT Linkage Bushings/Grommets?

I rebuilt the column mounted shift box on my '51 3100 last night and I was wanting to replace all of the bushings in the linkage from the box to the trans...

How many are there and where can I find them?

My truck has these odd spring/washer things at all the pivot points and seeing as my trans mount is a chunk of tractor tire and there's a hand snipped galvanized shim in the shift box, I'm thinking these also may be a vintage shade tree fix.

So far for the 47-55 all I can find are the two at the box arms.




1951 column shift box pix for those stumbling across this while searching for stuck or jammed three speed column shifters.
Just cleaning the box out and re-greasing everything made a HUGE difference.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5111/7069517703_8f72b76b80_b.jpg

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5451/7069518273_095cbc3566_b.jpg

After a bit of digging and a few phone calls I found em!

The linkage grommets are pt# HRN-23 (1948-1966 Shift rod grommet, with metal lining) at American Classic
*Note: They don't come up in a normal search for transmission or shifter parts like the box arm bushings do.

The 47-53 requires six of them and the 54-55 gets four.

For those rebuilding the whole box, you'll need these parts too.
CB803 (1947-1959) Column shift bellows
SLRB4 (1947-1959) Shift lever rubber bushing pair

From another thread so as not to hijack...


Yep. Kerosene and a spoon.

The steering column stays in place as does the top half of the shifter column/rod. There are two bolts on the back side of the shift box and a coupler on the rod inside the cab near the firewall. Undo those and the box can be removed. I opened it up before removing it and had a friend shift thru the gears so I could see how it worked and where it hung up. They're amazingly simple.

Before you get the whole thing pulled apart, pay attention to how the spring sits when you pull the top off.

You might also need a helper to hold things in place while you reassemble.

Inside I used a good coat of blue Lithium grease from Autozone. You don't need to glop it on either, just coat everything. I think its intended for wheel bearings, suspension & universal joints but I use it on everything from bicycle parts to blow off valves to adjustable coilovers, swaybars and other suspension parts.
This is similar (mine has been in a Grey Poupon jar for years) - http://www.bcf.com.au/online-store/...artridge-450g.aspx?pid=89002#Description

you don't really need to take the box off the column, start with taking the top off the box and it can likely be cleaned out quite well in place and most parts can be replaced without disturbing the adjustment of the trans control rods, just by lifting the fork assembly out of the lower box half - a '57 box for assembly reference, and more pics in that album

Bill

red58, mine was so packed full of grease and gummed up that it had to be removed. There was also a lot of foreign crud in there I could only get out by fully submerging it. It literally looked like someone packed both halves completely with grease and sandwiched the innards then continued to top it off over the past 60yrs.
Now that I have an appropriate amount of grease in there, next time I can simply pop the top, wipe it down and re-grease.
In my opinion, if this is the first time its been done that you know of its probably a good idea remove it and clean it completely.

As far as adjustments, other than getting the shift lever where you want it, you're only pulling the cotter pins out at the bushings so nothing should need any tweaking unless the clamps were out of adjustment to begin with. ...in which case you'd need to do it anyways.

Besides, removing it was such an easy process that I can't see why you'd skip cleaning it completely if it needs it. My shifter moves and springs back so freely now. I can only imagine it'll be like new with all the bushings and grommets replaced.

Thanks very much for the details. Right now, mine moves, but with a bit of a hitch. In neutral, and between the two "legs" of gears, it feels (on the shifter) like there is an elevation change between the legs. As in, when moving from neutral point between Reverse and 1st and moving "forward" to the neutral point between 2nd and 3rd, I have to elevate the shift lever slightly.

I am hoping cleaning and bushing replacement will cure this. I have never tried the kerosene trick, so thanks for that.

Will keep you posted.

I clean all greased bare metals w/ kerosene and a soft wire brush.

I've noticed that when I push up, out of first and I let the lever guide itself to neutral as I push into second it tends to jam. It seems that the "tab" on the rod that moves the "legs" inside the box slips between the legs of the R/1st lever and the legs of the 2nd/3rd lever. If I pull the lever toward me as I shift out of 1st and, once in the neutral position, let the spring pull the lever back before pushing up into second its flawless.
Shifting this way may seem a tad clunky but you get use to it and things become second nature.

If you take the box top off before removing anything else and have someone shift it so you can see whats happening, it will make complete sense. You'll also get an idea of where its jamming and what you can do to fix it. ...someone added shims to mine to push the arms closer together so the tab wouldn't slip between the leg pairs as easily. Now that its adjusted properly, it doesn't need the shims.


[edit] ...after re-reading your post it seems like your arms need to be adjusted.
Once you've cleaned, greased, reassembled, reinstalled the box and connected the column rod, reconnect the linkage to the arms and loosen the clamps. With the shift box top off you can realign the arms so the tab moves freely between the leg pairs (have a helper move the shifter back and forth in netural). Once everything is aligned, tighten the clamps and put the box top back on.

Great! Thanks again BLUEMEANIE. I think that's just what I needed. Will post after I get the bushings and have it reassembled (won't be for a couple of weeks at least).

Best,

Jim

No problem! Let me know if you have any questions.

I'll need to take it off again to putt the rod bellows on so I'll probably photograph the process and post it all as a tech tip with step by step instructions.