Farmall M won't go into 1st gear or reverse gear, Why ?

Anonymous-0 · May 8, 2009

I need some help and advise regarding my '51 Farmall M. I was discing my off-camber field when my tractor got stuck in an off camber depression. I unhitch from the disc, moved up onto level ground and pulled the disc out with a chain (connected to the drawbar). I reconnected the disc and pulled up hill while turning the rig around. It was then that I noticed I could not get the tractor into 1st gear, or reverse gear.
The shifter will only move sideways between 2nd-3rd and 4th-5th. Can anyone tell me what went wrong and how I can fix it without taking the entire top of the transmission housing off?

Thanks in advance.

Dick Archer

mkirsch · May 8, 2009

First thing I'd do is pull the shift lever and look to see that all of the three shifter rails are centered and lined up.

It sounds like the 1st-reverse shifter rail is slightly out of alignment. The ball on the end of the shift lever gets worn after 60 years or so, and will slip out of the slot in the shift rail prematurely. Often this results in the tractor ending up in two gears at once.

There might be more to the problem than just that, such as the detent balls falling out of the shift rail, but what I gave you should be a good start.

Farmall M won't go into 1st gear or reverse gear, Why ?

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member

mkirsch

Well-known Member

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