I got a new truck yesterday. It's a '55 Chevy with the stovebolt and three on the tree. It got stuck in third yesterday on my "reliability" ride. It was easy enough to pop back out by reaching under the hood. But, that's annoying. I've had plenty of cars, but this is my first manual on the column. How can I free it up and keep it from happening at all? Thanks in advance for the help. And thanks for this forum. I love this place. Because of the people, you guys are great.
There are a few things that could be happening. Check to see if the plastic bushings on the shifter rods are worn,if they are ,HELP products has new bushings for them, They could also be out of alignment which means they need to be adjusted. My 58 fairlane was doing the same thing but the PO had put a new clutch in and used bent nails instead of cotter pins and flat washers on the shifter rods as they entered the transmission, so there was too much movement. I would check the shifter rods first thing before touching the adjustment ends of the shifting rods. On your Truck, the bushings normally wear out up on the steering column under the hood.
I didn't even have to read the post and I knew it was a Chevy! Naturally you have to start with adjusting the shifter and rods to trans. Put trans in neutral and start from there adjusting. If your lucky this will help BUT most of the time you have to re-bush the shifting shafts............
Thanks guys. I appreciate the advice. I just got it cleaned up and have some little stuff to do. Basically, just a tune up and some new battery cables (they're crazy loose). After that, I'll try to fix up the shifter. It's a driver now, after that little stuff, it will be for sure. I'm already in love, lol.
Rebush x 4- Also, I learned at an early age that you do not "speedshift" a 30+ year old three on the tree- that'll get you an underhood session every time,lol. Even so, now that I'm not trying to race everyone I see, I find a three on the tree to be one of life's greatest pleasures. (truthfully, it's probably because my wife can't drive one )
Honestly, I think that's why it got stuck. I'm pretty sure I was shifting too quickly. Lesson learned. I do really like it though. Double clutching is nothing new. I'm an old washed up trucker.
Hey Turd, don't know if this will help, it is for a little later model truck, but you never know. http://www.67-72chevytrucks.com/vbo...5307&highlight=adjusting+speed+column+shifter
Hey Terd... Congrats on the truck. I dunno if this will help but the 3 on the tree in my '63 Chevy would also stick. After new bushings and re-aligning everything it still bound up from time to time. Have a look at the cab mounts. If those things are flat, and there is any lean to the cab what so ever, the damned shifter likes to bind. Just food for thought.
Had a '47 Chevy once that would bind up backing up in reverse, turned out to be broken motor mounts and motor would torque over. Some rope and a 2x6 cured that one!
The advance design trucks had a shifter box under hood that mounted on the column. These inevitably became worn and the only sure cure was replacement. If you have a late '55 this may not be the case, as I know the sedans went to a setup inside the column.
I'm not a truck guy, but my daily driver is a 1955 Chevy 150 with a 3 speed column shift. For a couple years it was a little sloppy on shifting and then it started having problems between 1st and 2nd. I tore the whole column out, cleaned everything, made sure there wasn't any awful wear, coated moving parts with a thin oil, reinstalled, and readjusted. The column shift is now incredibly smooth and easy to shift. There literally was 50+ years of crud in the column making it difficult to work as it should. About 3 hours work and back to new. New bushings as stated above is mandatory also. Good luck.
My 53 chevy had the same problems, re-bushed it and re-aligned the rods. Never had a problem in 10 years after that.
Nothing like having to shut it off,get out,and unhang your shifter.Unless you get back in,and it won't start(my luck)I have a 65 that was real bad,ended up just putting it in the floor.
Is it just the shifter, or are you having trouble with the clutch linkage, too? If there is that much wear in the shifter linkages, the bushings in the pedal, on the clutch Z-bar and rods are surely needing some attention also. In my wife's falcon, I installed ball bearings in place of bushings on the hanging pedals, new nylon bushings on the z-bar, new springs to tie it all together, pins and bushings in the shift linkage, etc. Now it works like new. Just don't forget.
Thanks a lot for all the replies. I appreciate the help. I left some info out that would've answered some of the questions. First, it's a '55 2nd series. Next, it shifts great. It just got stuck in third gear a couple of times. I had to get out and unhang it under the hood. The clutch and everything else shifter related is good. There does seem to be some slop in the rods and bushings. I'll rebush it and make sure everything's good as new. Thanks again for all the advice and tips. I really appreciate it. And thanks for this great forum. You guys make this place the best auto forum on the webz. And here's a pic for all the trouble...
In my 55 chevy 236-6 3 speed stepside It used to hang from 2nd to 3rd and from 3rd back to second. or in other words it was when I was going from one side of the H to the other. All the inline shifts were fine. I jsut took a moment longer and instead of shifting from 2nd into 3rd with a z movement I'd go into neutral up against 1st gears detent to make sure 2nd was all the way out, wait a fraction of a sec for neutral then back against 2nd gear detent to be sure 1st was all the way out...Then I'd drop to the other side of the H and select 3rd. I had an NP435 in a 77 f250 and a ZF in an 89 f450 both had a weak synchro. it would shift fine if you just spent a moment waiting for it to be all the way out and for the gear speeds to synchronize before selecting the next gear. the better matched you are to catch the gear (just like shifting without the clutch), the less effort the shifting linkage needs to make the shift. I think the old timers who spent alot of time with 1 rig knew how to doctor it just right when it got old (worn but not broke).
I will eventually. When I do a motor swap, that is. But that's a little ways off. If it ain't broke don't fix it, etc.. I like to take care of the "needs" first rather than the "wants".
I know exactly what you mean. I spent a lot of time driving a lot of different big trucks. Each one seemed to like to be shifted differently.
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