Hey guys been working on this 47 Fleetmaster, got it all fired up, brakes bled ready to drive and realized I only have 2nd and 3rd gear. Never really dealt with transmission stuff especially on the tree. Any work or constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated, I have attached a pic of the linkage to see if it anything I can fix on the top end. Thank you guys!
With 3 on the tree, the "relaxed" position of the shift gate mechanism shifts 2 & 3 gear. From the neutral position, pulling the shifter toward you will engage the 1st and reverse shifter gate and you can choose which gear from there. If the two shifter gates are not lined up in neutral, the shifter will not move into that gate. A good procedure is to place both shifter arms at the transmission into the neutral position and see if the gates are aligned. If not, adjust the linkage. If they are, then something is amiss in the column. The linkage close to the spring is 1st/reverse. A shop manual will explain it in more detailed terms
^^^^^ dang skippy^^^^^^^ If no manual try the above mentioned Disconnect the linkage from the column put both the trans arms in neutral. That’s the middle detent for both. Locate the center movement of each shift arm from the column. Adjust shift arms to column sloppy linkage can goof ya up. So bushings on each end need to be in good shape.
AND, check ALL stations on shifter to make certain there's no discernible wear, lubing these stations with WD40, blaster, etc. Smooth movement here will ensure positive shifts if all other parts are in shape. (synchros, forks, side plate)
That’s where my confusion sets in, the smaller are on the trans is not moving, when you say put both in neutral I am confused.
Sounds like it’s hung up. Worse case is removing the side cover. Both arms have 3 detents. One arm has to be in neutral (center detent) before moving the other to neutral.
My Latino bud, Alfie was saying he had to go thru his standard transmission. I asked if it was 'broken'... (gears, shafts?) He said "No, all it needs are 'sinkos'.." I said, "No, Alfie...Those are called 'synchros'." (so he wouldn't ask for the wrong thing) He said, "No, Mike...'Sinkos'. It's a FIVE SPEED!" //Groan...//
Is that the transmission with the single lever that moves in and out to select range? You get 1st and reverse in the in or out position (I don't remember which position is which) and 2nd and 3rd in the opposite position. Take a look at the lever on the transmission and see if you can pull it in or out. That car probably came with vacuum shift. It might be part of your problem. I remember JC Whitney sold a conversion linkage.
I just posted on the Lincoln Zephyr forum because I went through the exact thing. I only had second and third and I could not get my shifter to move into 1st and reverse. On a Lincoln your rod pivots on a top pivot and also goes up and down to get the 1st gate or second gate. The car had sat 15 years and the lube on the top pivot was not lube anymore. I don't know if Chevy is same but it can't be that different.
Those transmissions work different than other transmissions. One lever on the transmission shifts all four gears, the other lever is what selects 2 and 3 or 1st and reverse. When you pull the shift lever by the steering wheel towards you, you move a lever inside the trans for the 1st and reverse gears. It's a very simple trans really and easy to fix and not real hard to remove from the car. It has to be removed from the inside of the car, center floor panel comes out and there it is. The rear end assembly pivots so all you do is pull the collar back on the rear of the trans, disconnect the yoke and slide the yoke back and remove the trans from the topside. Once you open the trans up, you will see what is wrong.
Yep, the '41 was hard shifting, didn't want to go in gear at all - so l tried spraying linkages with wd-40 type spray lube - that works but spray on bicycle chain lube works best 'cause it stays in place
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