Shifter assembly installed and problems shifting

[SgtKish]

I rebuilt my transmission and transfer case. Installed and I guess I missed the hole for the rev shaft. This has been a 5 hour nightmare trying to get this top back on and that rod in the hole. Not only did I take a 5 ft ply bar to the head, I have a broken finger and stitches now. I am in a bad state at this point trying to figure this out. Is there a method to get everything lined up and to see that shaft dropping in the hole? At first it hit all gears great but wouldn't go in rev. That was the hole missed issue. Then I got it in 2 different times but I think I have something else lined up wrong, because one time I got it in the hole I was in gear and it wouldn't shift in any gear. Then the 2nd time I lined the rod with the eyelet hole as far forward towards the engine as it would go, right over top the rev gear like the book said and the top linkage rings were in the middle neutral positions. When I got it together it only shifted into 2 gear 3 and 4 I believe and now the rev button wont depress to try the reverse. So it took it off again and went inside to wait for the chest pains to stop..lol. am I lining these 2 top rings wrong? Should they be in gear while putting it together, and where does this bottom selector with the eye hole sit while installing the top? PLEASE help?

Mark

[beerman]

I was once told that someone some stick one of the fingers in through the oil  fill hole which is close by the reverse lever, and use the finger to help guide it in place. I haven't personal tried it, but again was told that it helps. Which may be difficult with the transmission mounted in the vehicle.
Thanks, Jeff

[Outsider]

Put all gear location in neutral.Then hold the cover directly over top the trans. and carefully lower the forks into place. This works best with 2 people so one can hold the cover and the other can make sure everything goes where it is supposed to0. Also don't have the shift tower on while doing this and you need to be able to easily move the forks or gears around with a screw driver, and it helps to be able to look down through the top to help line things up.
Steve

[coreyelliott]

This is a problem very similar to what we faced recently.  First the others are correct when they say to stick a finger through the oil drain hole to help verify and line up the reverse rod into the hole.  It definitely helps to have two people.  Shon and I can do it in 5 minutes now (we had a lot of practice).  Also, they are correct in saying that both shifters should be in the neutral position and the reverse gear should be all the way to the rear.

Now, you mentioning the reverse button not moving and it being stuck into only a couple of gears is what piqued my interest as that is one thing we experienced.  Did you use your original shifter handle or did you use a new/nos one?  If you used your existing one, I'd like to know how worn the ears are on the bottom end of the shifter.  We found out that we didn't really know that there were supposed to be "ears" there!

  One example of what can happen if the ears are worn is this, let's say you bring your transmission out of reverse.  Since the "ear" is not quite big/long enough, it won't push the rod back quite far enough before the bottom of the shifter slips into the neutral area.  Now you're screwed because you can't shift back into reverse.  Why not?  Because the button won't move because the ball inside that mechanism isn't exactly lined up with the detent in the rod.  With the ball not lined up with the detent, the reverse plunger/button won't move.  It's locked in place.  Remember that that rod is out of place by maybe 1/16-1/8 of an inch!  Also, you can't get it into other gears because that row of balls and springs on the other end of the rods are there to prevent other rods from moving when another is out of place.  Since your reverse rod is not in place, it has pushed all of those balls a little to one side and has now locked the other rods into place.

I had to weld mine up and grind it back down to something similar to it's original shape.  Below you can see the picture of before and after.  The difference isn't huge, but it makes a huge difference.  It's actually a bigger difference in person than it looks like in pics.

Our transmission now shifts great.

Corey



Before






After

[SgtKish]

I dont believe it but I figured it out this morning. Last night I must have disassembled that thing 25 times. This morning twice and she works great now. The plunger issue must have had something to do with it not all the way in neutral. I dont know what happened but I now that you say all this about the ears wearing down, I'm a bit scared to be caught off guard later. I used the fill hole to verify the seating of that rev pin, but while that thing is still mounted in the track and only having one person, its impossible to actually see and guide it in. You have to fiddle around and just take an educated stab at it. I lucked out,but it did help knowing that everything I was doing was right on. Sometimes it just helps to have the support and confidence of others to guide you into the storm. I appreciate everything you guys mentioned and learned some new thing as well for the future. Thanks again. Shes now running and driving, idling steady, and starts in a second with zero smoke. Its actually quieter then I expected.  The only thing now is when I come off the clutch in neutral she makes a wine noise. It sounds like it's coming from the PTO. I rebuild the thing with all new bearings, but when I tried getting the bearing for the gear that meshes with the trans gear I kept getting the wrong one. So I put it back together hoping it would be fine. Now it sounds like it's coming from the PTO. Does the trans normally have that wine noise, or do you think it's the pto bearing?

[coreyelliott]

Great to hear!!!  I can't help you with the PTO question as our truck is a roller.  Also, we don't have our halftrack moving around yet so I don't know what sounds to expect from the tranny area.

Corey

[spillmk1]

Not an expert on PTO's....but I don't hear any change in "whine" with clutch in or out on mine.

Great job on the trans.
Sorry about the finger!!

Keith

[Smadge]

Folks,

I rebuilt my transmission and transfer case last winter and while it was on the floor it shifted through all gears in hi and low with no problem.  I have the engine and trans in the halftrack now and I can't get it in to 1st or 2nd gear!  At first it wouldn't go in to any gear without a bit of force and I did get in in to 2nd ONCE, but I'm unable to do it again.  It goes in to 3rd, 4th and reverse with little or no effort.  Trans is filled with fluid.

Could it be that it was sitting for a long time??  Should I take off the shifter assy. and take a look to see if things are moving freely??

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Paul

[R.E.Co.]

Folks,

I rebuilt my transmission and transfer case last winter and while it was on the floor it shifted through all gears in hi and low with no problem.  I have the engine and trans in the halftrack now and I can't get it in to 1st or 2nd gear!  At first it wouldn't go in to any gear without a bit of force and I did get in in to 2nd ONCE, but I'm unable to do it again.  It goes in to 3rd, 4th and reverse with little or no effort.  Trans is filled with fluid.

Could it be that it was sitting for a long time??  Should I take off the shifter assy. and take a look to see if things are moving freely??

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Paul

I dont mean to insult your intelligence but the shifter lever was in the correct position sitting inside the shifter arms that go to the forks?  If it wasnt in the right spot, some gears may shift and others wont. 

Jon

[RK1944]

See if the reverse plunger, that provides tension to shifter to avoid accidentially shifting to reverse is stuck. I may not have had the exact issue your expiriancing but it sounds familiar, I second on the previous post. double check the forks, that took a couple of tries on the m16

[Smadge]

I’m going to pull the top and check. I’m still puzzled why it worked fine on the garage floor!!
Thanks,
Paul

[coreyelliott]

Make sure that you are 100% positive that the reverse rod is in the hole.  It's really hard to get it to insert correctly.  The manual says you can take out a plug and stick your finger in the hole where the plug was to help guide the plunger into the hole on the lever.  I've had hit or miss luck doing that.  It's really helpful to have two people do this.  If the rod is not in the hole, it can cause all sorts of various shifting issues.  I might be speaking from much experience here.

Corey

[67tank]

Paul

I have had to remove my top cover twice on my transmission.  The first time to do a rebuild after a shifter rod spring failed (broke in three places and prevented shifting)- I replaced all the worn rods and springs and put it back together.  About 15-20 miles later I lost the ability to get the shifter to go into several of the gears.  Took the top cover off again and dismantled the entire thing to find that the small cotter pin on the plunger had broke allowing the nut to back off and jam into the trans housing. 
New springs, new cotter pin and is smooth. 

It's a simple fix.  The TM 9-1710 pg 121 on has a pretty good breakdown on what to do. 
Curious what you find.

PK

[coreyelliott]

Paul

I have had to remove my top cover twice on my transmission.  The first time to do a rebuild after a shifter rod spring failed (broke in three places and prevented shifting)- I replaced all the worn rods and springs and put it back together.  About 15-20 miles later I lost the ability to get the shifter to go into several of the gears.  Took the top cover off again and dismantled the entire thing to find that the small cotter pin on the plunger had broke allowing the nut to back off and jam into the trans housing. 
New springs, new cotter pin and is smooth. 

It's a simple fix.  The TM 9-1710 pg 121 on has a pretty good breakdown on what to do. 
Curious what you find.

PK

This is also very good advice.  Those springs and balls play a very big role in shifting. 

Corey

[Smadge]

Guys,

Thanks for the advice and I'll let you know how it goes!

Paul