Situation: 1989 C-6 out of an RV, behind my 460 - the two came to me together out of a good running but rotted RV. It had 88K miles, with good looking transmission fluid - no burn or heat soaked odor. Pan was clean too. To install in my '66, I changed the shift rod that is bolted to the slotted shift lever on the outside, and actuates a sliding piston on the inside, on the top of the valve body. I removed the '88 shift rod, and installed a '76 shift rod. The two appeared to be identical except for the external portion that bolts to the slotted lever. I just finished inspecting the internals - messy job laying on one's back (and I'll be taking some happy pills tonight for sure). I made sure that when the roller-stop inside was at Park, the gear shift lever in the cab is in Park - so external adjustments aren't the problem or solution. Problem: It will not go into gear unless I move it down into 2nd momentarily. Also, if in gear, it will not go into Neutral unless I pop it into Reverse momentarily. I am afraid that when in Drive, it really isn't fully in gear, and will burn up the clutches. Is this a true statement? Thanks for any help, and I'll be glad to call you if you would be willing to discuss it VOX, as text can get misleading.

 

I pulled the pan today, and watched the internal shift rod (called the manual control lever, I think??) as my son passed it through the gears. The internal action matched the column action correctly - so maybe it is something with the valve body? Also, I neglected to mention that it will sometimes slip out of Drive and into Neutral under light acceleration - WITHOUT moving the shift lever on the column. Thanks in advance, and I really appreciate any help to get this solved.

 

i would check ur rooster comb to see if it was the same or if it was damaged.

 

The "rooster comb" looks fine - no unusual wear or anything. The column shifter, the manual shift lever and the rooster comb are all working in sync, so I am thinking it is the valve body, or perhaps the actuator off the shift rod that moves the piston in the valve body? Help?