52 B Stuck Shifter Forks Question

JasonB40

New User
Hello all,

I have an issue with my transmission in which the shifter will basically only move into 4th gear. I've pulled the transmission cover and it appears that I have a rusty spring issue.

The hi / low fork (at the top in picture) moves side to side with no problem.
The two middle forks are stuck.
The fork at the bottom can be moved side to side by tapping with a mallet.

I have the IT manual and it appears that in order to overhaul the shifter forks, you have to remove the flywheel, clutch and the large cover on the right side of the tractor. My question is if there is an easier way to free up the forks (such as soaking in penetrating oil)? Or if there is an easier way to do a partial disassembly that would allow better access (as it doesn't seem possible to get at the springs without taking them off of the shafts)?

Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks.

mvphoto35838.jpg
 
You could try penetrant on the detent plungers since they're all on the top. Some light tapping with a drift punch may help. Lots of rust in the slots so the forks may be rusted to the shafts too. Kroil or PB. I know it's a lot of work but I'd take them out and remove all the rust from the forks and shafts.
 
I'd use 50-50 acetone and auto trans fluid mix. Dirt cheap, works well and you need a lot. Even if penetrants don't "fix" it, anything that can be loosened up is a plus for disassembly. Pour generously and
tap lightly on everything you can get a soft hammer or brass drift on. Pour and tap several times a day if possible. A little rust can bind up some big honking things and any movement you can get at all
helps a lot. Good luck! The B is a darn nice tractor.
 
Soak them and work with them. If you can at least free them up disassembly ( if needed )will be easier.
You could likely get away with leaving the reduction cover on. You should be able to get them out the left side. IIRC there is just a plate on the right side that the flat spot on the rails sits to keep them from turning and an adjustment bolt to keep one of the forks from moving too far ? If they were set close before it won't need changed. I did one before that had some bad or weak springs. Was not near that rusty though. Springs used to be really low price from Deere not sure how they are now ?
 
Can you fill the trans to the top with used oil and let soak, some tapping while submerged would help, oil should be easy to get.

kurt
 

Thanks for the replies. I need to ask a clarifying question. Are the three forks below the top fork actually supposed to move easily along the shafts? Are there gears under these forks that could be impeding their movement? It is hard to see under the forks. Thanks.
 
In the above picture the lower 3 forks would normally require some leverage like a pry bar to get them moving out of their detents and then pressure would lessen as they slide over to the other detent. The gear teeth will need to be in mesh to do this. You would want to return each one back to neutral before working on the next one to avoid getting it locked into 2 gears at once. You can turn the belt pulley by hand to help get the gears to mesh. If you jack up one rear wheel you can get the whole gear train turning and look for bad or missing gear teeth while at it.
 
Thanks Mike. ok, so I was under the impression that the three lower forks would slide between detents easily by hand. It sounds like that is not the case and I may not have a problem, as I can pull up the pawls with a vice grip and move the forks side to side. I think I will continue to soak and clean the forks and once the tractor is back together I'll see how to transmission is working.

Thanks again.
 
You would have to have strong hands ! I grab a crowbar and then they go easily. IIRC you can go against the edge of the case opening and then pry over on the fork. There is a little hole in the detent pawls that you can stick a wire in while they are moved out of detent position to hold the pawl and spring all in place in the fork if you have to remove any of the shifting rails.
 
The one on the top in this picture there is to be a spring goes down into the hole in upper right of photo for that rail and pawl. Make sure it is back in there before you set the top cover back down on. It sticks up above the casting and the top cover compresses it.
 
(quoted from post at 19:01:49 05/09/19) The one on the top in this picture there is to be a spring goes down into the hole in upper right of photo for that rail and pawl. Make sure it is back in there before you set the top cover back down on. It sticks up above the casting and the top cover compresses it.

Thanks for all of the info Mike and yes, I have the spring tucked away where I (hopefully) won't lose it.
 

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