Carrier gearshift binds in first gear

[Big D]

Evening all,

Rob - have just reassembled the top. I cleaned up all the rods and fitted it all back together as per Lynn's instructions. No real problems putting it all back together but I've taken some more photos to have a look at first. Just wanted to compare the before and after photos to make sure I put it back together right!

What mounting blocks were you talking about?

Cheers on the coppercoat/molycoat Lew. I'm guessing I can apply a bit of that to the exposed areas now that it is all back together, or should I have applied that first?

Cheers

Darryl

[Lynn Eades]

The copper cote ,moly cote, anti seize etc. is a hi temp antisieze compound, but I personally think in this case that grease is much better.
It will be intertesting (one way or another) to see if you have gained anything. We are all learning.
Hi to everyone else.
Cheers. Lynn.

[Phil Waterman]

Hi

I've read with interest all the comments and suggestions, this type of problem is of course not limited to Carriers.

So please let us know how your various corrections work out and do they solve problem of temperature related sticking or difficulty shifting.

I've had a similar problem on Ford Truck transmissions of this vintage, in that case the transmission had been assembled from the best parts of a couple of transmissions with a few NOS parts thrown in for fun. In that case the problem was finally traced to gear on the spline shaft having a slight mismatch in machining and wear. That problem was only finally found by putting the various assemblies in the oven and heating them to operating temperature between 130-150 F. Discovered then that one of the gear clusters that slid smoothly at room temp bound up when heated. Fix a little careful polishing of the slide shaft.

Cheers Phil

[martyn]

Hi
I have had a few problems with the linkages have solved them now but have developed a new minor problem when i change gear some times the ball on at the bottom of the gear lever pops out the socket, when this happens it causes the gears to feel tight, something to just check is it the ball and socket playing up?

[Rob Beale]

Hi Darryl

I meant the two fittings that hold the gearchange shaft to the engine bearer rails. They should be parallel, and in line. I think mine were not, so the shaft bound up. A boot was needed to kick it out of gear, with the engine off!

As I described loosening the bolts slightly gave enough clearance. They haven't come loose either!

I oil all the joints from front to rear to ensure smooth changes.
It doesn't stop the gears clashing of course, that's operator skill, or lack of.

Rob

[Big D]

Gidday again,

I fitted the top of the transmission back on tonight. It went back on without a hitch - beginners luck I guess as I have little experience with gearboxes.

My initial impressions were the the gearchange seemed lighter throughout the gears (engine off) than before. It just seemed to move through the gears a little easier than before. However, bugger it - the binding in first is still there, and to a lesser degree still in third as well.

It doesn't happen every time but it still frequently needs a belt with the hand to get it back out of first into neutral.

I ran out of time tonight but I will go back and have another look at the brass bush mounts that hold the gearchange rod and ball joint again.

Rob - I think mine has the same problem as yours did. I still suspect an alignment problem with these and perhaps one of the bushes is acting as a brake when I'm trying to push the gear lever back out of first.

Will let you know how I get on.

Cheers

Darryl

[Big D]

Gidday again,

An update on where I am at with this problem.

I went back to scratch and removed all the moving parts (bar the transmission top cover) associated with the gearshift.

Ultimately I think the problem has been a combination of about 5-6 little problem areas which have combined to cause the bigger problem. Here's what I have done:

* enlarged very slightly the mounting holes in the brass bushes holding the gearchange rod and ball joint and adjusted these slightly to where the rod slides most freely.

* opened up the hole in the leather cover that covers the hole in the bulkhead where the long gearchange rod goes through. This was rubbing on the rod as it moved back and forth through the bulkhead, and giving off a wee vibration as the rod moved through it.

* put a little grease on the rod where it goes through that same hole in the bulkhead. The rod was showing signs of paint scraping as it has gone through this hole.

* put a little grease on the underside of the hull cross-shaft where it sits above the gearchange rod. Again, the rod was showing signs of paint scraping away where it goes under the cross-shaft.

* stripped down and cleaned up the gearchange linkage next to the driver's seat. I further cleaned up the rod and the inside surface of the sleeve that it fits into. I believe they slide a little better again than before.

* I also found that the end of this rod was quite a loose fit into the bush that mounts on the hull beside the driver. Upon inspection I found the channel in the end of the rod was quite worn. I can recall this provided a bit of backward and forward slop (and clunking) in the gearshift when you were searching for a gear. The rocking at the bush also tended to make the other end of the shaft rise as the gear lever was pushed out of 1st (or 3rd) thereby throwing out the alignment of the whole thing.

I fitted an O ring to the rod on either side of the hull mounting bush and then filled up the bush with grease. The O rings stopped that excess grease coming out and this has tightened that whole end of the assembly up.

I fitted all the moving parts back into place and tried it out. It is now a darned sight better than it was. There is not the binding there now that was in 1st and to a lesser degree in 3rd.

I can feel it drag ever so slightly though coming out of those gears and I feel this dragging is in the gearlever mechanism (in the front) in that rod and sleeve assembly and in particular the angle of the gear lever when it is in 1st and 3rd.

Do you guys use a particular type of grease on these moving parts and also the brass bushes where the gearshift rod and ball joint is mounted? I use a standard sort of automotive molybdenum grease but I just wonder if there is a better product that isn't quite so sticky? I still reckon these parts don't slide as well as they could and I'm thinking a better type of grease would further help the movement.

Going into all the gears seems much easier and smoother now and I put that down to tidying up the shifter rods in the top cover.

The next step now is a road test and just seeing how it is from there.


Cheers
Darryl