Ford 3000 diesel Hi-Lo shifter in neutral

spurgon · May 17, 2022

I'm new here from NC.
My 1973 Ford 3000 diesel is a hassel to
crank. I must hunt for the sweet spot
With the hi- lo shifter to get it to fire
up. Well this be a major repair.?
spurgon

Ultradog MN · May 17, 2022

Pretty typical on those.
I usually have to hold the key to start then as you say, find the sweet spot on the hi lo shifter for it to roll the starter over.
The neutral safety switch is under the shifter cover. Has 2 wires going to it.
If you want to fix it open it up and have a look-see.
I just live with it as it also works as a double secret maneuver you must perform to start it.

Bern · May 17, 2022

Common problem for many 3-cylinder Fords of that era. I honestly believe it's a design issue. A slightly longer actuating pin for the switch might well be the cure. Or machining down the switch holder. Either way, the switch needs a little more stroke.

Texasmark · May 18, 2022

I had that problem on my 3910 that used the hi-lo lever to control the safety switch. I thought the problem was the switch but a new switch didn't solve the problem. In investigating I found that the lever wasn't pushing the ball down far enough. I added a flat washer to get it to protrude farther and that solved that problem. Off hand I don't remember to which side I added the washer but you can probably figure it out just by looking at your options as to where to put it.

Mike(NEOhio) · May 19, 2022

My 2000 would do that and really badly in cold weather. I pulled the wires and just connected them to bypass the switch. I found 90 wt. in the transmission so I flushed it and put in trans-hydraulic as recommended but that didn't help. I left it bypassed.

Ford 3000 diesel Hi-Lo shifter in neutral

spurgon

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Ultradog MN

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Bern

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Texasmark

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Mike(NEOhio)

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