1946 JD "A" High Low dis-engaged

Yesterday, my father and I were driving tractors in the parade and his 46 A high low shifter became dis-engaged ( again) inside the transmission. This Problem has happened 3 times before and the only way to fix it, is remove the top cover of the transmission and put the shift lever back into the correct location. As I said,( again). He has had this happen 3 times before and he has removed the cover and fixed it. The first time, he thought the gate that the shift lever fits into was wore oversize so he welded up and ground the gate to repair. The second time, he talked to the local John Deere repair dealer, and was told he may need to adjust a sliding shaft located down beside the flywheel and locked with the sq. head bolt on the top. This whole problem has been going on for probably 10 years. My dad is now 82, the John Deere dealer has died and closed, and I will soon have the tractor. I have less tolerance for the repair by trial and error method, so would like some advise on the possible causes of the problem. I will help him this time. He has a POS junk IT repair manual for it. I will purchase a JD manual so we may stand a better chance of repair. I should also say, according to what he said yesterday, the problem started after he tore the transmission apart to replace some of the gears down inside the transmission that were worn and making the tractor jump out of gear. This may or may not have contributed to the problem. Please advise on possible causes of the problem, because as you know, "Just removing the top cover of the transmission"happens after a bunch of stuff has been removed. And, the tractor has a very nice paint job so touch up is required after the repair is completed each time.
Thanks
 
I have not heard of that issue on a the Hi/lo side of things... what you have is more common on the later As etc with a single shift lever. In that case, it is usually a
combination of worn shift gates and/or a worn lever and ball and socket joint.

I would suggest something is still out of alignment, or the ball on the end of the lever is worn enough that it allows the lever to come out of the gates.

YOu should also know, Deere never made a service manual for an A. I and T is it, or you can use a B service manual, knowing that the tractor is similar but not the same.

Good luck.
 
It sticks in my mind there is a hole in that shifter shaft for a cotter pin that prevents shifting problems! That cotter has to be removed to remove the shaft & if not replaced during reassembly, the 2/4 shifter & the hi-lo shifter can bump each other outta their proper detents messing up the gate alignment. If I remember right, the hi lo shifter just flops around aimlessly when with that problem? That cotter pin is part 7 on page 78 of the parts book. I wonder if that"s the problem?

Hope that helps.
 
Here is a little update: We finally got around to pulling off the top cover of the transmission tonight. Based on a suggest, I was homing in on any shaft that could have had a cotter pin or keeper. After reviewing the pictures my father took of the transmission before he dis-assembled it 10 years ago, and comparing it to what the transmission current looked like, I noticed that on the upper shaft with detents there is a hole thru the shaft on the right side and the picture from prior show a detent at this location. This leads me to believe he installed the shaft in backwards, and the hole should be on the left side of the trans instead of right side, and a detent groove at that location instead. And then, most likely, some form of pin or cotter key in the holed. I have attached a pic I took of the photo from before and a picture of the current condition. However, sorry for the rotation difference this is pissing me off because I can rotate the pictures in my file but they still come import incorrectly. Anyway, do any of you believe it is possible the shaft could be installed end for end rotation and still allow the gear shift to operate?
 

pictures of shaft gears
a240323.jpg
 

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