H shifter pins

Good morning. Yesterday, as I was about to mow, I got my 41H stuck in reverse and had to go all the way back from the fields backwards. I didn't get any mowing done. Searching the archives here shows that the shifter lever is the culprit, and sure enough, when I took it apart, it was just as the archives had described.

However, looking more carefully shows that the pins that fit into the shifter itself are very worn. The smaller one is between 0.400 and 0.373 in diameter, and the hole in the larger one is egg-shaped, with dimensions between .489 and .448. The OD of the larger pin is between 0.750 and 0.729. The picture shows significant pitting.

Using my drill set as a crude pin gauge, the through-hole in the tractor itself is 15/32 (0.4688). According to the archives, the pin should be 7/16 (0.4375), so even this hole is 0.031 oversize.

My questions: does anyone have any experience bushing the through-hole in the tractor back down to its specified size? Other than buying a "sloppy shifter fix" kit, are there any other suggestions to dealing with this much slop?

I have a lathe and can make these two parts without too much difficulty. I just wanted to see if anyone had done this that might have some pointers before I start. Bushing the through-hole in particular carries some risk, as I would probably drill it out to 1/2 and then bush it down to 7/16. If you think bushing the hole is over-kill, just let me know. Thanks in advance. Dave

I've seen a lot of the old farmalls with the pin drilled out and a bolt put in its place. My H and M are both like that.

I was at a Red Power show, and bought 5 new sets, like you have in the picture, i think I used 4, No opinion on the thru hole, after you make one see how it feels !

Google Sloppy shifter kit. Jim

I would recommend you get the sloppy shifter fix. I put one in my I-6 and it worked great. The sloppy shifter fix transfers the load from the 7/16 hole to the larger hole where the push in plugs are located. The cross pin is in two pieces and has shoulders to fit the hole where the plugs were and screws together using Allen wrenches. If you have skills on the lathe I?m sure you could make something similar. A couple of bushings with OD to fit the plug hole and with 7/16 ID would work. Then you could just use a 7/16 bolt for the cross pin.

If you have a lathe just turn a new 3/4 piece then turn the other. With those back to original size and the tab at the end of the lever in good shape it will out last you. The holes in the tower for the lever are not a big deal unless they are severely worn.

Thanks, that is a good point. Haas also makes a good point. I will make a new short pin on my lathe, then simply fit it with a 7/16 bolt. If it is still too loose in the through-holes in the shifter tower, then I can make a sloppy shifter-like shouldered assembly to fit in there, or punt and just buy the kit. Thanks for the insight.