Been working on tightening up the 3 on the tree assembly because shifting has become troublesome; not wanting to engage gears completely, tough to go from 1st to second and so on. I have already adjusted the linkage per the shop manual with no improvement and found that it was not misadjusted. One of the first tasks is to replace the bushings from the shift rod to shift level under the hood though the bushings have some play but don't look that bad.

I have noticed the amount of play in the column when in neutral seems excessive, between 2nd and 3rd I can move the shifter about 2-3 inches up or down from center without feeling any tension toward a gear. This I think is the shift collar. Before I go tearing into the column, has anyone had a similar situation and after replacing the shift collar was the amount of play significantly reduced?

 

Is what you're calling the "collar" the same thing as the tube in the steering column that engages the two levers at the base? I had a 3 on the tree in a 1976 Granada what got sloppier as you described, and eventually one of the little steel tabs that engaged the 2-3 lever broke off. I replaced it with a Hurst floor shifter, and no more problems.

 

Shift collar located in the cab when you remove steering wheel where the shifter goes into the column. It's possible the tube could be worn out also. There are so many things that could be worn on 43 yr old truck. Rebuilding the column may be the correct answer.

 

I recall reading somewhere that the Hurst three speed shifter is no longer made.

 

But I think you can still get them. Summit is one place that has them. They cost a lot more now...

 

Update.....I replaced the bushings where the column levers meeting the shift rods under the hood and readjusted the linkage. Shifting certainly improved though there is still play in the shifter especially noticeable in 2nd gear. Too bad there's no way to compare to a new column to see what play is there from the start.