Transmission tower question

W

wrndln

Well-known member
I can't remember if the shift lever can be removed (the keeper and spring) without removing the rails, etc in the tower base? I want to get the lever renickeled. If anyone has recently removed the shift lever and unlike me, remembers how they did it, please post if it can be removed without removing anything else.
Rusty Nelson
 
You need to pull the top, flip it over and release the spring keeper. Its a Bear to do. You need to craft a tool to hold back the spring. The major vendors sell it, or as I did you can make one easily.
 
Buy the tool. Bratton's has them as do others. I just did one with the tool and it went sweet. The first time I did one was with screwdrivers, clamps and a few band-aids. My levers, dash , shift lever, and E brake handle are all nickel as original and it was one of the best investments I did in the restoration of my Tudor. It adds a sense of refinement to the car.
 
I am pretty sure you will have to remove the two shafts. Just be very careful and use the old parts. They are better than what you buy new.
 
The shafts have to come out. You need a spring compressor to release the tension of the spring. That spring has made many casualties over the last 80 years! You can order a spring compressor from the verdors or build one yourself which saves time and money. I made a video on YouTube to show the details:

https://youtu.be/OPDxo8z5V1M
 
Big hammer is right: check the ball. It should be perfectly round, no flat sides, and 1/2” diameter. It should fit snugly in the shifter fork slots. If not, buy new or weld up and grind back into shape. If there is play the shifting fors will not travel the full distance to fully engage the gears which leads to wear of the teeth and ultimately jumping out of gear.

I built a device that grinds the welded-up shifter-end back into a perfect ball shape. For some reason I cannot attach the pics. I will put a video of it on YouTube today or tomorrow. Check my channel 29FastFord
 
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I also made this tool to swedge the hollow point rivets that lock the shifter forks to the fork-shafts
 
Also if the ball isnt round the shifter forks will have indents worn in them as well that need welded up and milled down. usually the ball wears twice as fast as the forks.
 
There is an alternate way of getting it apart and putting it back together. Clamp the shift lever in a vice with protective jaws and face the bottom of the tower up. Remove the rails and forks. Clamp a pair of vice grips tightly around the ball end of the shifter. With a large screwdriver pry the spring retainer out. This will allow the spring to move up against the vice grips. Place the tower facing down on a work bench and remove the vice grips while holding the tower down against the bench.


After addressing the repair of the ball on the shifter, and the worn area of the forks, place the spring in a vice and close the jaws with a small portion of the spring protruding above the jaws. Slip a length of safety wire through spring and twist it tight. Rotate the spring and add two more safety wire raps evenly spaced. Put the collapsed spring in the tower, add the keeper and cut the safety wire. Fish all the safety wire pieces out.


This is not the recommended way to go about the task. Buy the tool! But it can be done this way, just be careful, the spring is not lethal, but if it thumps you in the head it will hurt.


Tom Endy
 
Thanks to all that have posted responses. The tool on Vince's web site looks very good. I have seen it before, but I don't know if I can find the correct tubing and and securely attach the partial washer to the inside of the tube, as I don't have a TIG welder.
Rusty Nelson
 
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