Wayaroundit2 Posted October 27 Report Share Posted October 27 Ok help please ! I have a 53 B4B an it's 3 on the tree I'm having big issues with finding reverse. I know where it's at but she won't drop into it always ends up in 2nd. The truck an I are the same age so things do start falling apart. Now there is 2" of play in the transmission gear selector. Is that suppose to be tight ? If I had a book that spelled out adjusting a 3 on the tree for dummy I would be golden ! Any words of advice ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Los_Control Posted October 27 Report Share Posted October 27 I'm thinking you have too much play. You should inspect the linkage good and see where the play is coming from. With the 2 rods, the one on the left has 2 adjustment nuts on it .... one just locks in place and holds the other tight. If they are loose you will get play there. On the right it has a rubber bushing on it ... if that is worn out or missing, you will get play .... The other end of the rods I think are just held in place in a round hole ..... If the holes get oblonged out from wear .... that will cause play. What I would do before trying to adjust anything, I would look for where the play is coming from and eliminate it. That may be all you need to do. I think if you have a 1/2" of play at the end of one rod, will be 1" of play at the end of the shifter. Because of the distance. Since you keep ending up in 2nd gear, I would be looking at the rod that controls the up/down motions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBNeal Posted October 27 Report Share Posted October 27 Maybe verify if the transmission shifter will go into reverse with the linkage disconnected... additional information - column shifter adjustments Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayaroundit2 Posted October 27 Author Report Share Posted October 27 Los_Control my curved arm in your picture is coming from the rear & mine comes across the front attached is mine . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Los_Control Posted October 28 Report Share Posted October 28 My truck is really a 1949 that identifies as a 1950 .... In 1950 was the first year for the 3 on the tree shifting. So it is possible some changes has been made over the years. Your photo actually shows all the possible pivot points better. .... Every small amount of wear at each point, gets magnified by the time it reaches the actual gear shift lever. Just check all pivot points and see if any of them you can remove play from them. On my linkage, the two adjustment nuts, one was loose and backed off 1/2" So there was 1/2" play in the rod right there. Because the threads had been destroyed from the nuts being loose for years, I used a stack of washers to take out the play and then tighten the nuts down. There are better ways to fix that. If the brackets round hole is wobbled out, you might need to remove the bracket and weld the holes up ... then re-drill correct size. I have seen cases where the rod actually wore and the round hole was fine. Same time it is possible your linkage may be fine, just needs a adjustment and will work perfectly. Usually at this age there is some wear and it needs to be addressed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayaroundit2 Posted October 28 Author Report Share Posted October 28 Los_Control looking at the Dodge truck manual the shift control disassembled showes the curved lever coming in from behind . I believe yours is right so I'm going to switch it an clean up all slack . If it's worse we'll only thing lost is a few hours but I think it will work. As you can see in my pic a sloppy weld to the top bracket so someone has had it apart. I will let you know thanks . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayaroundit2 Posted October 28 Author Report Share Posted October 28 Anyone have a 52 or 53 B4B that can take a pic of the shifting levers of a 3 speed on the column ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBNeal Posted October 28 Report Share Posted October 28 additional information- fluid drive with column shift Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9 foot box Posted October 29 Report Share Posted October 29 This is a column from a 53 B4B. The shifter support had broken off and was separate. I put it together today according to the three spot welds that had broke. All correction should be done with the gear shift in a neutral position. I would loosen the lock nut, pull the retainer clip and turn the threaded adjuster down to remove any free play in the selector link. When the adjuster pin fits into the lever, with the slack removed, you should be able to get 1st and reverse. Any engine or body mount changes will effect shift linkage on a column shift. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayaroundit2 Posted October 29 Author Report Share Posted October 29 9 foot box nice job ! I just removed the transmission Inspection plate in the cab well I discovered that the top slector for reverse an first was not moving just the lever was spinning free . Going to fix it an that should do the trick. Great pic shows 53 is different the 49 Thank you all ! Still a work in progress! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayaroundit2 Posted November 8 Author Report Share Posted November 8 Well all slack removed in the shift linkage. Like I said the 1st & reverse linkage is way to easy to move by hand. So I took the inspection plate off an removed the tranny top. The side shift arm I assume is 2nd 3rd the top rear arm that moves when you lift your stearing column lever. Looking at it off the tranny It all looks good it moves a Small cam that I assume moves the center lock to keep it in the gear . My question what is the function of the arm. Mine is Just a SS curved arm hooked to the top rear shaft held in place by a snap ring. How does it make contact with anything it's on top of the 1st & Rev thanks for the Help everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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