1951 John Deere B

Our 1951 John Deere B will not switch gears without a big fight. Before i take it apart can someone tell me what would possibly be wrong i do not want to split the entire thing.

Can you give a little more detail about what you mean by a big fight? A hard moving shift lever would be a different story than having to feather the clutch while shifting,for example.

Is your clutch releasing all the way ? Sometimes if pulling back too far on the lever the clutch will reengage itself. Adjusting the pulley brake may help if it is doing this.

If the Clutch-Brake is set way too close, it will bind the gears and make shifting difficult..

We always leave ours loose enough that we need to pull back on the clutch handle a little to stop the clutch drum, making shifting much easier..

Proper adjustments should be made before tearing it apart and see if the problem goes away..

Ron..

I'll ask a few questions to try to help you out. Is it in all gears? Possibly the problem is not in the transmission. It could be the clutch is dragging, putting a bind on the gears so you can't shift it easily. Is the engine idled down and running slow when you try to shift or is it running fast? Folks who didn't grow up on two cylinder Deere's tend to run the engine fast at all times because they aren't used to a slow running engine. When the engine is running fast the clutch wants to engage itself for lack of a better explanation. If you haven't already done so, pull the throttle back to an idle and then try shifting.

When it is in neutral at any engine speed does the clutch pulley want to turn on it's own without engaging the clutch? Do you have to pull back on the clutch lever fairly firmly to stop the pulley from spinning when it is in neutral? If the pulley wants to turn on it's own while the tranny is in neutral something is dragging inside the clutch and in turn putting pressure on the tranny gears making them hard to shift.

If the clutch is fine and loose and not dragging then either the gears aren't sliding well because of rust or lack of lubrication or the shift forks aren't sliding well for the same reasons. My guess is it's either in the clutch pulley or the shift forks. Let us know what you find just for our own curiosity. Jim

Oh yes, one more thing, the clutch brake could be set up too tight so it's holding the clutch lever in a slightly engaged position. When the clutch is pulled the brake pad should be a certain distance from the pulley but I don't have that measurement at hand right now.

it shifts between 3 5 6 gears but will not go away from there and when in gear it will not go

not really all that much work to get in to look at the gears.

I'm with you that'd be nice if somebody could say check x-y or z but - even if they did, sounds like you're operating either way.

The transmissions on the B are pretty simple - and I think you'll probably find an obvious problem once you pop the top.

Shifter slides the fork rides in possibly the under drive one. Broken gears (there noted for it) baring aside any clutch issues that have been discussed.

does your shifter move up and down in the socket if it does it will leave the high & low shifter ih between high & low and even if you are able to get in one of the gears it will not move. i am petty sure this is your trouble

you named it exactly