[Sid Coleman]

Cousin built a M-20 for me. I installed it but didn't have the shifter quite aligned right (so I thought). Trans shifted fine 1-2 and 2-1. 3rd was OK, but when I went into 4th, 1st time it went in, but when I went to downshift to 3rd, shifter acted "hung up". Rowed it around and shifter unbound, shifted fine 1-2-3, wouldn't engage 4th, had a grinding sound. So I figured i had the 3-4 adjustment off. Trans sounded kinda funny for a bit, then settled down. So only drove it in 1st 3 gears.

Put it on the rack today, put the pin in, re-aligned all throws. Sat in it, rowed 1-2-3-4 and 4-3-2-1, everything felt fine!
Pulled it out on the road, took off, 1-2-3-4, all felt great. Went to downshift to 3rd, No-go. Shifter felt hung again. Sat on side of road and rowed the shifter around again, trans would shift 1-2, 2-1 fine, and go into 4th. No 3rd. So drove it back and put it back on the lift. With likage disconnect, trans still wont shift into 3rd.
BTW-shifter worked fine on old trans, never hung up on me.

Wondering if it's possible to have a mis-aligned shifter fork or something like that causing my problems? Know I need to pull the trans to find out what's up, but was too disgusted tonite to do that.
Any ideas??

 

[DZAUTO]

Sid,
It really sounds like one of two things. Either the clutch needs a slight adjustment (It may not be completely disengaging), or, it is an internal tranny problem. At this point, without being able to look at it, I wouldn't want to bet money that it is the shifter------------------unless maybe for some reason the linkage isn't installed properly.

 

[Sid Coleman]

Tom,

Fairly sure it's not the clutch, as it won't even shift into 3rd with the engine off and all linkage removed. Even with 2 people, 1 moving the car up & back, it won't engage. Just wondering if it's possible to install the side cover with the shift forks mis-aligned or something like that??

Thanks!

 

[DZAUTO]

Sid,
I suppose anything is possible. But, if the fork was not properly into the groove of the syncro slider, the side cover would not go on all the way. It is possible that something broke internally after assembly, or, some component of the syncro (one of the 3 syncro keys or springs) somehow got out of place during assembly. Maybe somehow, the brass synchro ring got damaged, bent, etc, during assembly. Who knows??? But again, based on your description, especially if it won't go into 3rd with everything disconnected, I suspect it is an internal problem. Maybe one of the arms inside the sidecover is bent/broken. Or maybe the spring connected between the 2 arms broke. It just sounds like an internal problem and not the shifter. Unfortunately, I think the only option is to pull the tranny and open it up. Sorry!

 

[Bow_Tied]

Is it possible he has the wrong style synchro? I thought there was moe than one style, like 63-65 vs 66+ or something like that? Just thinking outloud....

 

[DZAUTO]

You are correct, there is a 63-65 and a 66-74 style syncro. But the difference is in the syncro hub, not the slider or the 3 keys in each syncro. Subsequently, the brass syncro rings are a little different between the two. This could also be a source of a problem. Thus, still an internal problem.

 

[SS_Dave]

It sounds like the slider is very hard to disengage to/and from 4th. This could be the straight spline on the output shaft the slider rides on are messed up, or the primary engagement teeth of 4th gear are messed up. If you put a new slider on old hammered gear teeth, it will not work smoothly. It is not possible to put the fork in backward. There could be a worn bushing in the cover plate the 3/4 shifter lever rides in.
If you cannot shift it by hand from underneith
with the linkage off, something is wrong inside.

sorry.

 

[Sid Coleman]

Thanks for the responses guys. I'll be pulling the trans out on July 4 and will look for those problems.

 

[LS_5]

Sid

Should we watch for fireworks over Maryland on the 4th?

(Sorry, couldn't resist!!)

Andy

ps Hope your day goes well and you find your problem quickly and it turns out to be an easy, inexpensive fix!

 

[Sid Coleman]

Ah, see it's been revived, and I forgot to post the final details. Some idiot (me) installed the side cover incorrectly, how I'll never know, and misaligned the shifter fork, which wreaked havoc on all the internal parts and the case. Ruined a good trans

Oh well, another learning experience.....

 

[Guest]

How do you install the side cover wrong?

It only goes on one way, there is that nifty little pin in the cover that lines up with the hole in the case, the cover is made to fit only one way so how did you manage that trick?????

 

[FIG]

Me thinks Sid's been spending too much time in that ford van...

 

[Sid Coleman]

Wally, cover lined up OK, shifter forks didn't. Pressed the whole assembly sideways, spun the front bearing in the case. So....

Looks like when we're ready to rebuild that one, I'll be looking for a new case, bearings, syncros. Gears still look good.

Aw Crap! Another learning experience!