'55 car 3 on the tree shift linkage

[Lamar Wadsworth]

New bushings on shifter arms. Steering wheel off and turn signal switch out of the cup. Is that piece at the top of the shifter rod supposed to be welded to the cup or should it move up and down and act as a stop when I pull back on the lever? Should I be able to wiggle the shifter rod side to side or should it be anchored at the top to only move up and down? I can move the lever back and forth in the neutral position but it doesn't want to go up or down to any gear. Not a transmission issue. It's the same when I disconnect the linkage from the shift arms on the transmission. The arms on the transmission work perfectly when disconnected from the linkage.

 

[KULTULZ]

Here is an ILL -

It will help you describe what you are referring to (by number) more concisely (if you can read it) (maybe if you print it you will be able to enlarge it).

I need to figure how how to fix this browser ...

 

[Lamar Wadsworth]

Ok, I see. The rod that the shift lever attaches to 7909 is hollow at the top and mounts on a pin that is anchored in the turn signal switch cup. There is a spring inside the rod 7909 so that the rod 7909 moves up and compresses the spring when you pull back of the lever to go to low or reverse. I figured out that the spot welds holding the pin to the turn signal cup were broken. I fixed that and now I can't pull back on the lever to catch the low-reverse arm. So the problem has to be down at the other end of the rod 7909 where the shifter forks are. Looks like I have to pull the column tube and shifter assembly out and take it apart at the end where the shifter arms are. Something is not letting the rod move up and down, and I probably broke those spot welds trying to force it. I will print out the exploded diagram and enlarge it to see how it comes apart and goes together. I'm thinking maybe some old rubber parts may have gotten hard or something in the 30+ years it sat in the shed.

 

[Daves55Sedan]

If the lever has difficulty moving up/down, usually the problem is friction between shift shaft 7909 and the dog that sticks out of the back of the steering column hub 3509, which means that the spring 7227 isn't moving.
The turn signal switch is completely divorced from shift lever operation, unless you are referring to the steering column hub 3509.
The ones I have seen have no welding to hold the pin at the back of the steering column hub. That pin was originally allowed to rotate in the hub housing. They do need ample lubrication with lubriplate to work properly. After decades of service, when the lubriplate hardens and becomes in-effective, the pin will rotate dry in the hub and wear the hole in the hub larger (which may be the reason why someone welded it).
You also need to smear ample amounts of lubriplate on the upper part of the inside of the shift shaft 7909 so that when it mates with that pin, it will not freeze up around the pin and become difficult to take apart.

 

[Lamar Wadsworth]

About to tear into Rube Goldberg's masterpiece. I mentioned the turn signal switch only because I had to move it out of the way to see what was happening at the top of the shift rod.

 

[Lamar Wadsworth]

I was referring to the cup that houses the TS switch. The TSS has a hole directly over the pin that the 7909 rod pivots on. Is that pin supposed to move up when you pull back on the lever?

 

[KULTULZ]

I was referring to the cup that houses the TS switch. The TSS has a hole directly over the pin that the 7909 rod pivots on. Is that pin supposed to move up when you pull back on the lever?

See if this helps -

 

[Daves55Sedan]

I was referring to the cup that houses the TS switch.

I have been calling this the steering column hub.

Is that pin supposed to move up when you pull back on the lever?

I actually have an entire '55 standard steering column all taken apart in my garage. The pin is smashed into the hole thru the hub by a punch press at the factory, but it is able to rotate within the hole. This allows the shift shaft to rotate, but the groove in the pin needs to be lubriplated. If the lubriplating dries up, movement of the shift lever can still be accomplished by the shift shaft rotating on that pin which is now stationary, but the tolerances there are much closer than that of the pin. The end of the shift shaft (where the spring fits in) should also be smeared with lubriplate.