Shifting problems on 1950 Dodge B-2 three speed.

[Bucko]

First time posting.  My son's 1950 Dodge B-2 1/2 ton has been undergoing a long rebuild.  As part of it we replaced the rear end with a 1993 Ford Ranged axle and modified the drive shaft.  After getting it back on the road it shifted pretty good for about thirty miles or so in city traffic.  Then, it actually stuck in second gear and we could not shift out of it.  The clutch would disengage but we could not move the shift lever.  Took the trans out and opened it up to see if there were specific issues.  With the exception of one of the ball bearings having come out from under the linkage bar, there did not appear to be any problems.

 

Put it back in and it seemed to work okay with the drive shaft off.  Reconnected everything and took it back on the road.  This time after about a mile it began to shift "hard" into second and would pop out of second.  Was able to nurse it back with first and third but when I got back it was now "stuck" in first and could not get it out of gear.

 

Any thoughts, directions, or "rudder" on this issue would be greatly appreciated.

 

Aloha.

 

[kencombs]

I would guess that either the synchronizers or bearings in the back of the main drive gear,front of the mainshaft  are worn or broken.   In any case, a full transmission teardown and inspection is probably needed.

[Dave72dt]

Is the shifter on the floor or on the column?

[TodFitch]

1 hour ago, Bucko said:

. . . With the exception of one of the ball bearings having come out from under the linkage bar . . .

On my much older transmission the little ball bearing under the shift rails (actually bars on mine) are the lock out mechanism that keeps you from engaging more than one gear at a time. If that is missing or displaced you will almost certainly lock the transmission up. On my car’s transmission I can’t fathom how that ball bearing could come out with the shift rails properly installed. But, again, it is an older design than yours.

 

Anyway, I would look at how the shift lock out mechanism works on your transmission and see if anything seems amiss.

[Ivan_B]

If you have loose random parts inside the transmission - this is bad. Need to take the whole thing apart for inspection/repair. I would not attempt to drive it anymore, otherwise, next time it will brake a tooth or something like this. ?

[Los_Control]

The 1950 3spd would be a column shift. In this case improper linkage adjustment will cause the shifting issues that you describe .... assuming you do not have loose parts in the transmission.

 

Even if the linkage looks good and correct, bad motor mounts, cab mounts etc.... can shrink and move and throw linkage adjustments off.

I'm sure you have looked at it already, you might want to spend some time and look it over really good including all the things that can affect the adjustment.

 

Just my 2 cents.

[kencombs]

As I read the problem, the trans works ok, until it sticks in Second gear.   Then the lever cannot be moved. indicative of something inside the trans preventing the synchro clutch sleeve from moving.   

 

Maybe the OP needs to provide some more details.

[Los_Control]

My linkage seems to work fine while moving the truck in the driveway .... I have messed with it a couple times for different reasons.

I quickly learned to be sure the 2 shift arms on transmission are in neutral along with the gear shift.

 

All 3 work together like a well trained dance trio. If one gets out of sync then the others can not move like they should.

One lever lifts up & down to switch shift rails between 1rst,reverse or 2nd, 3rd gear rails .... the other lever moves the rails back and forth to select the gear on that rail.

Does that make any sense?

 

If the linkage is not adjusted properly, you are in 2nd gear and want to move to 1rst gear, the linkage does not move together as it should .... WHAM! you are stuck in 2nd gear.

You can not lift up to switch rails or you can not get enough throw to pull it back into 3rd.

 

When this happens, move the gear selector to neutral, crawl under the truck and move both levers to neutral. If this corrects the problem .... you know it is linkage out of sync.

If no change, then probably internal problems.  ...... This is where I would start to diagnose the problem.

 

This has happened to me on my truck twice, both times self inflicted. .... I remember as a kid my buddy had one of those white camaros with the blue stripes ... 327/4spd.

We got ran off the road on a very dangerous curve ... 1/2 on the road 1/2 in the ditch the linkage got moved out of sync. We were dead in the water and could not move.

We had to jack up the car to get under it to put the transmission levers back into neutral in order to drive away. .... The whole time thinking we were going to die with the next car to come around the corner ..... We did not want to be there.

[Bucko]

Thanks for the input.  As this is a three-speed on the floor, there is no external linkage.  The shift lever moves two "flat bars" each with a form of fork on it that slips over the shaft and serves to slide gears back and forth as you shift.

[Los_Control]

Ok  .... never mind .... your issue is internal.

 

I specifically wanted a 1949 because it was the last year of the 3spd floor shift, 1950 they were moved to the column.

 

I was a bit upset when I bought my 1949 and it had a column shift .... Turns out mine was a early 1950 for the dealers to show off next years models .... still titled as a 1949.

 

Same time the companies were known to use the leftover parts from last year and push them out the door anyways.

Or someone swapped in a different transmission in the past 70 years .... you can swap the top cover converting a column shift to a floor shift .... who knows what happened.

 

A typical 1950 was a column shift.

 

 

[Bucko]

Interesting.  Not sure if it was swapped out or not.  No evidence of any mod to the steering column or floor, but of course lots of stuff could happen in 70 years.  Would love to have external linkage at this point.  Thanks.

[Bucko]

Is anyone aware of a source for any of the parts to fit this style of transmission?  Have checked MOPAR Mall and DCM.  Suggestions?

[Los_Control]

I would spend a few minutes and watch keiths video. He explains things pretty clear usually and shares where he buys parts.

I'm afraid if you need gears or shafts replaced, you may have to find good used parts .... possibly a spare transmission.

And it has been done to take a column shift transmission and swap it to a floor shift by changing the tops on them.

So the tops are different, the transmissions should be the same .... so not limited to just a truck floor shift for parts.

 

While he is working on a 1938 car, I think there were very minor changes between his and yours ..... who knows what year yours really is.

 

As a side note, it could be possible your 1950 came out with a floor shift 3spd ... just using up the inventory they had.

Or just as easily it originally had a 4spd with 1rst gear granny ... would be a floor shift from the factory and later on got switched to a 3spd.

No big deal either way .... little things make me curious.

[Dodgeb4ya]

Had a 1950 panel years ago that too many times locked into 2nd gear...cause was the top loader detent ball springs were weak.

New balls and springs...fixed.

The ball detent plates can wear and add to this issue too.

I'd check shift fork wear, all bearings and syncro's too.

 

 

[CB96730]

Any chance you remember where you got the springs and balls from?

[Dodgeb4ya]

S.L. Savidge Chrysler Plymouth....downtown Seattle.

Has been closed for 40 years sadly.

[Ivan_B]

You need to look online (eBay, Face Book, Craigslist, good old Google search). There are still some NOS parts available here and there. I once bought a used 3-speed, in hopes of repairing it an using it in my car. It was shifting too... Upon disassembly and wear inspection, every single part inside the main casing had to be rejected, including the casing itself ?