AA 4 speed shifter tower Question

john charlton

john charlton

Well-known member
The shifter in my early AA is very sloppy . I need to remove the shifter lever to repair the ball slot . The lever is held by the cap with two pins which I guess need pulling out .The pins are flush with cap so no room to get visegrips on .What is the trick ? I do have a spare good tower which is the screw on type cap but is RHD so no go .

John in Suffolk County England cool and even more rain .
 
Thank you Fullrace I will use your system . BUT how do I remove the pins to get the cap off ??? No room to pull the pins as they are flush to the cap . Could I tap them in further to lift the cap clear ??? I dont want to drill them as could get swarf in the works .

John in same plac same weather .
 
On the very 1st versions the cap actually holds the pins in place the later version the cap screws down and the pin is flushed under the cap.
 
I have the early version but the cap is locked to the tower by the pin each side . I cannot get them out to release the cap . I can try to bend the skirt of the cap but that cannot be the solution .I will use a small punch and see if I can tap the pins in enough to release the cap . I have towers with the later screw on cap with one trapped pin but only RHD which puts the emergency brake on the wrong side as my truck is LHD . This early style cap must be rare as it is the first I have seen and no one has come up with the modus operandi !!!

John in sunny morning Suffolk County England .
 
On mine it's an early setup also but somebody mickey mouse the later threaded cap and drilled holes in it normally on the early version you should be able to pull those pins out you may need a pair of vise grips to grab hold of the pin but it should pull out once you rotate the cap a few ° to the larger opening.
 
The cap is under spring tension, you need to push it down
to get the pins out. Maybe you can pull them out with a magnet.
 
I held the cap down against the spring pressure with cable ties .Now the pins do not touch the cap . I thought I could maybe tap the pins in far enough to clear the cap . Not possible as the pins touch the shifter ball . The pins are flush with the cap so no way to get a visegrip on to pull them out HMMM what next I ask myself . The pins are very hard and would not like drilling out so a last resort .

John in same place same weather .
 
Maybe try distorting the cap oval to slip over the pins with a large pair of channellock pliers. If you do destroy the cap, replacements are available of the threaded type. Obviously you would have to drill the holes then. Possibly try a little heat. The pins should slide out but after 90+ years may have some corrosion. Mine were very loose but not original as you saw in my video.
As the last resort, if you destroy that cap, then the shifter will lift out. You can then drive the pins out from the inside. You could either rework the existing cap if you grind it where the pins are or just order another cap. I believe Snyder’s has them, but they’re the threaded one and then just buy some quarter inch clevis pins to put in there similar to the repair I did in the video.
If you have a small Dremel and a very small burr, like a carbide burr attached to a Dremel. You should be able to grind just the tip of the pin off so the cap will pop off. That’s probably your best bet if you have access to a small Dremel.
Since you would be only grinding on the outside edge of the tip of the pins nothing will get inside the transmission.
 
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I did manage to prise the cap off and all is revealed !!! In the pins one short one long there is a groove around the circumference . The corresponding holes in the cap lock the pins when the spring pressure is released . All very simple when you know the grooves are there . In my case you could not see the groove I did see a slight overlap but thought it was wear . To remove the cap you need a small pick to get at the groove when the cap is pushed down .

John Suffolk County England no weather today . Thank you for all advice given .
 
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Glad to see you were able to disassemble it without destroying parts!!! I'm curious what is the casting date? The date on mine is 2-29. Mine is one of the very first AA 4 speeds.
 
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