International I 6 stuck in gear

Mikebr5

Member
Greetings brethren of the Old Iron.
I am in a pickle... I just added an I 6 to the Iron Stable, and after I'd handed over the green paper it became stuck in a gear. (Who am I kidding? I was in love and would have handed over the green even if I'd known.)
While I was falling in love with it I didn't have any problem moving the shifter and feeling the gears move around a bit. I backed my trailer up to it and prepared to roll it up for its ride to the new forever home. After working for an half hour to tease it out of gear I gave for the evening and said I'd come back the next day to get into it a little better.
Note- I am not a transmission guy... So far I haven't had to do anything with transmissions that involves more than fluids and shifting.
So I drove out a pin and lifted the stick out of it's hole to have a peek inside. "This is going to be a cinch" I think to myself. I spent 1 minute staring and convincing myself that I "got it" and then put her back together.
Nothing... I can occasionally feel a shifting gear type feeling, but I remain in gear. Screw it, I am getting this recalcitrant beast onto my trailer and getting it home where I can win it over with affection. I built a ramp system out of 4x6's and supports and started pulling with a good quality come-a-long. What happened was I moved my loaded suburban and trailer backwards the 2' until the ramps wedged in underneath the I-6's back wheels. The tires didn't turn until they finally contacted the ramp, then the gears finally gave enough for a rollercoaster of pressure release pressure release. The engine does spin ok- not stuck. "Well, this is going to be a joy." It is a good quality chain come-a-long, but the handle was cut short several years ago for a special job. Yep, I was sweating like mad 1.5 hours later when I finally had it up on the trailer ready to strap down for the ride home.

So now I have the I-6 at home but am still no nearer figuring out how and why it's stuck in gear now. I forgot to mention that pushing in the clutch doesn't seem to change anything at all. I did have the machine moving out of gear before I bought it.

When I look down in the hole that the stick normally occupies I see 3 sliding "bars" with a spot formed in each to receive the tang from the stick.
Would anyone know the "combination" I need to unlock this sweet machine?

This is my first Int'l. I have 3 Fords (660, 641, and 861) and my eye on the crown jewel... If I get it I'll post details.
 
The three notches should be lined up across the center to be in neutral, each one has a detent forward and back to be in gear, and again cross the center is neutral.

Could be that the end of the shifter is worn and it slipped out of one of the notches so that when its shifted you are locking it into two gears.
 
(quoted from post at 17:33:16 05/26/15) The three notches should be lined up across the center to be in neutral, each one has a detent forward and back to be in gear, and again cross the center is neutral.

Could be that the end of the shifter is worn and it slipped out of one of the notches so that when its shifted you are locking it into two gears.

Thank you J.J., much appreciated.
Since I can pick up the stick and move it between the three sliders your "could be" scenario seems likely. When I first looked in there it looked to be as you described- all three of the notches lined up evenly, but I was stuck. Could I have had all three sliders moved forward or back? Maybe just enough to cause lock up...?

This is stopping me from hooking a battery up and seeing if it'll fire up like I think it will. :)

I did a quick search for PDF manuals for this sweet thing, but nothing stood out. Any links to I-6 info besides tractordata ?

Thanks!
 
Yup - to be in neutral the notches all 3 shift rails ("sliders") must be centered in the shift lever opening.

If the 3 notches are not centered and resist movement back toward center, jack up one rear wheel. Now rock the jacked wheel forward and back a bit. This will take any residual load off the internal gearing and should permit the shift rails to move easily to the center position.

Good luck - the I6 is a wonderful old machine!!
 
As Bob M said, all three of the shifter rails must be in the center position. The transmission should then be in neutral. When in gear, only one
of the rails should be forward or back. If any two are both not centered, then you will be in two gears at the same time and the transmission will
be locked. The I6 is equipped with a brake system on the clutch so that when the clutch is depressed it holds the transmission shaft from
turning. Not totally positive, but enough to make it difficult to move the tractor with clutch depressed and the transmission in gear. My I6 has
stuck in gear a couple of times. Not fun to pull and reinstall that shifter lever as clearance for the pin is really tight. Your shifter pins and the
hole the pins go in are probably worn so the end of the shifter jumps out of the rail slots. Or the end of the shifter may be worn. I installed a
sloppy shifter fix on mine. Search for that on e bay. It includes new pins and a new way to retain the pin to get rid of the slop where the shift
mounts to the transmission top.
 
Well, I can't find the sloppy shifter fix on e bay. Don't know it the guy is still making them.
 
I appreciate the tips... I also searched for the sloppy shifter fix kit.
The fellow who I bought the I-6 from hadn't ever driven it. It was his father's and he died a few years ago.
I expect that the old man knew how to finesse the shifter - but I worry that if I try to learn it that I'll end up wearing out something important. I'm not a big fan of metal shavings inside a tranny or engine.
Bob, I'll jack her up tomorrow evening and see if it'll pop loose. It is good to know that someone else has experienced this.
Haas, I noticed that when I depress the clutch pedal, the brake pedals also travel forward a bit. Is this what you are referring to? It doesn't sound quite like what you are saying... I would have thought that the brake pedals only affect the drums in the rear wheels. I haven't figured out how/why the brake pedals move with the clutch yet.

I think the sloppy shifter is probably my main problem. When I first hopped on the tractor I could lift the shifter handle right out of the top of the tranny... Looked around and found the pin (it fit loosely) and assembled it the best I could. The tip of the shifter looked pretty beat up. Can you give me any clues as to what the sloppy shifter kit fixed? New tip for the shift handle? The sliding bar slots look pretty reasonably preserved.

I am looking for the manuals for this - on Ebay I found "Operator's Manual", "Operator + Parts", and "Service Manual"... They do not seem to be self-explanatory- ie, the "Operator + Parts" looks to be much smaller than the "Operator Manual".
Can someone give me some working knowledge-advice as to which is the best combination of manuals for the I-6?

Thanks much.
 
Go to this link for the sloppy shifter fix. The kit replaces the small pin that holds the shifter assembly to the transmission cover and also the
larger pin that goes in the big hole in the shifter rod. This assembly makes a sort of universal joint for the shifter rod. The brake pedals and the
clutch pedal are all mounted on the same shaft and the clutch pedal and the right brake pedal swivel on the shaft. The pedals that swivel on
that shaft must be stuck so they can't move freely Go to nnalert to find manuals. Parts catalog has diagrams that show how things
go together and is very helpful. If the shifter pins fit loosely that is at least part of your problem. These pins were originally machined close
tolerance fits. Corrosion and wear over 70 years or so, they lose the close fit.
Sloppy shifter fix
 
The clutch pedal pivot is on the same shaft as both brake pedals. It should have a grease fitting on it to keep it from binding on the brake shaft (that does rotate to actuate the left Wheel brake.) The right wheel brake pedal also rotates on that same shaft, but actuates the right brake. The shift system on the I6 can easily be crossed up internally. A sloppy shifter kit is a good answer, as is the image of the correct size to the tip touching the rails. The tip can be welded up and resized to original. (picture in the archives) Jim
 
... The shift system on the I6 can easily be crossed up internally. A sloppy shifter kit is a good answer, as is the image of the correct size to the tip touching the rails. The tip can be welded up and resized to original. (picture in the archives) Jim

All of this information is greatly appreciated. Thanks very much.

I'll do some searching in the archives for the images.

I have an "Operator's Manual" and an "Operator + Parts Manual" in my shopping cart on Ebay... and I still haven't figured out how the manuals are organized. The "Operator's Manual" is 100 pages long... the "Operator + Parts Manual" is 48 pages.

Can someone give me a general idea of which books are good to have for this machine, and which are not? I dislike shotgunning when I buy.

Thanks kindly.
 

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