Transmission Q

[Jordan Kruger]

Ive ran into a problem with my transmission. The trans doesnt find any gear but second gear. Ive taken off the shift cables and the trans doesnt engage properly at all.  I jacked the car up and checked the 3 shift poppet plugs at the front of the trans. I was able to remove the top and bottom ball and spring. But the middle ball seems to be jammed in an outward position. Also, when I place the other 2 balls and springs back in, they go in perfectly fine   and the plug bolts thread easily. Yet the middle one seems jammed and the spring doesnt seat properly, making that the only difficult one to thread back in.  The shift linkage on the trans currently feels like its not engaging correctly. Could it all be due to that one shift plug being seized?

[John Hartman]

can you exert any influence on the offending part?  IE move it in or out?  I say maybe smack it fairly firmly.

At this point I would suggest you will have to pull the trans out and break it apart to repair it.  I however have limited knowledge of the actual workings of the manual tranny so maybe there is another way?

[Jordan Kruger]

I guess I could tap the middle plug (ball) a little harder than I did previously.  But I really didnt get the vibe that it would budge. I tapped it with a small screw driver  and then attempted to pull it out with a fairly strong magnet.     ALLLLL the other ones came out easy. Including the ones on my spare 2g transmission.   

 Ill go beat the hell out of it on Saturday   

[Brett Haviland]

yeah i imagine it would be better idea to tap on the shift linkage with the hammer to try and unjam it...  sorta hard to tap on the ball thats inside a hole...  if you hit the shift linkage then it might "pop" free and you might be OK.

[Jordan Kruger]

Ill definitely give that a try.  With that ball jammed, the throw of the linkage feels loose and disengaged.... ITS GOTTA BE THAT DAMN BALL!

If I get the damn ball outta there , it may just save me pullin the trans. 

[John Hartman]

yea but why is the ball doing what its doing?  Thats the issue.  Thats why I suggest being a bit forceful because you have nothing to loose as I see it.

But like I said, I don't know tons about specifics on manual transmissions.

[Jordan Kruger]

Im pretty sure the ball engages into each of the geared positions (5speeds and reverse) and gives your shifter correct alighnment and engagement by popping into the various notches on the shift rail in the trans. 

[John Hartman]

yea thanx    I know what a detent ball does, but why is it jammed/stuck/borked? 

[Jordan Kruger]

Lol   wasnt informing you,   Im sharing the extent of my knowledge regarding the problem. I dont know enough!!   

[Brett Haviland]

if the linkage feels loose/ disengaged then that balls not your problem.  chances are is that something came apart/broke on the shift linkage inside the transmission.  Common things to break are the shift forks.

[Jordan Kruger]

That was my immediate thought. But without that ball disengaging wouldnt the stoke feel unrestricted? 

[John Hartman]

yea something is binding that one ball up.  It should move.

[Brett Haviland]

I think the opposite.... if the ball was jammed against the shift shaft detent,  the shifter would be jammed as well and would be restricted. (not able to move)

If the ball was jammed in the bore... but not against the shift shaft... the trans would shift sorta normally... but would want to pop out of whatever gears the detent holds it into.

[Jordan Kruger]

The ball is stuck in its bore and not touching the shaft. And the gears feel as if they dont quite engage. It feels like it almost shifts properly, but not quite.  It would definitely shoot out of gear if I were to start the car and attempt to move.

I agree totally agree Brett. But with that being said, It may still only be that damn shift plug causing this problem.   

Tomorrow Im working on the car, and Ill have a another wrench toss competition.

Thanks guys.

[Jordan Kruger]

Managed to get transmission in gear. However, the throw of my shifter/cables doesnt provide the necessary throw needed to get the transmission in gear.  We had got the trans into gear at the transmission linkage. Another however...  The middle shift detent plug is still jammed in its bore, and that effects  3rd and 4th gear. I tapped it pretty good with a little screw driver, with no luck.  Ill try again tomorrow maybe.

Going to change up the shifter base and cables and see if that helps. As far as the shift plug goes, it may come loose with a bit of heat from the motor running...