|
It's possible that a detent has gone out. But it's much more likely that the shifter mechanism is at fault. Oftentimes, a worn shifter will not slide the selector far enough to properly engage the detent, and this is the effect you will see. If the shifter is flopping around in the transmission cover, and the cross pin is all worn and battered, and you have trouble finding gears, that's where I'd look. The shift lever should move freely, but precisely, to any selection, and there should be considerable spring resistance when you pull up on the lever. If the shift lever itself is not worn, the shifter basket spring may be weak or broken, or one of the basket pivots may have broken off the inside of the cover. Unfortunately, to get to this, you need to remove the hood, the steering column and steering gear and sundry and various other stuff. If the shifter is shot, I don't know of a source for a new one. You can either start shopping boneyards or get ready to build it back up by welding, then shaping to fit. Oftentimes, the spherical socket in the transmission cover is all worn out as well, so you may be looking for a cover in the same boneyard. But - if it's not the shifter - you need to remove all this stuff anyway to get to the top of the transmission and inspect the detents. llater, llamas
|
