3 speed shift column
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3 speed shift column
My shift lever on my 1961 F100 broke the other day, so I order the shift collar and insulator. Today I change the two piece out and now when I try to shift it in 2nd gear all it does is grind the gears together. Does anyone out there know what I did wrong when I re-installed the two parts? Any and all help is welcome, thanks in advance....
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Work on the steering column today but with no luck, what I can tell you is that it only shift from 2nd to first now. I can manually put it in reverse and first with my hand at the linkage under the hood. To me it seems like the column is not functioning right with the lower shift arm at the end of the column. How does it attach inside the column? I pull out the steering column sleeve and its not broken. Everything work properly before I took the steering wheel off to replace the shift collar. Please send all ideal and suggestion this way they would be greatly appreciated.
Mountain Pass
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You may have to realign the shifter arms on the end of the column. When the truck is in neutral the need to be lined up. You can adjust them using the linkage the runs from the trans to the shift arms. This is how I did it. Block the truck then disconnect the linkage from the shift arms on the trans. Next put the trans in neutral by moving the shift arms on trans. Put your reverse and first linkage back on (it is the one hooked to the bottom arm on the column). The adjust the 2 - 3 linkage so the arms on the column are directly on top of each other while in neutral. You may need to fine tune it to get it to shift through the pattern smoothly.
Another thought. Make sure the shift arms on column did not move when you had the tube out.
Another thought. Make sure the shift arms on column did not move when you had the tube out.
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First, thanks for your help and suggestions. Worked on the truck today and here is what I found, bushing on the shift arms are worn, lever align on top of each other when in neutral. Then I took the reverse and 1st shift arm loose from the steering column and tried to shift it, but reverse and 1st gear was non responsive. The reverse and 1st gear shift lever did not move when shifting the truck from inside the cab. Here is my question, should it be like that or should it still function without being hook up to the shift arms? All suggestion are welcome and thanks in advance for your input.
Last edited by Chisum5013; Feb 15, 2016 at 07:00 PM. Reason: typing error
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Sorry for the double post, computer keyboard is acting funny... Bring on all the suggestions, thanks for all the help, you guys make it a whole lot easier trouble shooting.....
Last edited by Chisum5013; Feb 15, 2016 at 07:00 PM. Reason: typing errors
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Thanks MichiganLarry, Could you go into some detail of how I might fix this problem. Is there a trick to reinstalling the shift tube to ensure the shift arms go back into the proper place. I am far from a mechanic so all the details you could give would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time and help.
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Mountain Pass
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I pulled the column out of the truck when I did mine. With two people it could be done in the truck. You know how to pull the shift tube already. While one person slowly lowers the shift tube down the inside of the column the second person should be holding the shift arms and you should be able to feel them slide onto the shift tube. Not sure if your 61 is the same as my 64 but there is a spacer/thrust washer between the shift arms. Make sure that is in place also. Good luck and I hope this helps you.
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Thanks again MichiganLarry, tried all your advise but had no luck with it. I think the shift tube is in the correct position, let me ask you this. Could the upper steering bearing and sleeve have anything to do with it. Why I ask, if I hold my hand over the horn assembly and hold it tight I can find all the gears, but if I don't hold the assembly tight it has a lot of play in it. Could this be the cause of me not be able to find the gears?? What you think?
Mountain Pass
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There shouldn't be a lot of play in the shift collar. Is the turn signal housing bolted down tightly? Just an after thought - you did put the spring back in under the steering wheel? That is what puts tension on the upper bearing.
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Can you please walk me through securing the turn signal assembly, I must be doing something wrong. I do have the spring between the steering wheel and the turn signal assembly. Thanks for your time and patience.
Mountain Pass
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If yours it the same as mine there are two small bolts at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions with square heads. On the side of the turn signal housing that faces the firewall the bolt heads slide in a ramp. They pull into two openings on the sides of the outer steering column tube as you tighten them. You need to back the nuts off right to the end of the bolt and push them down to engage the slots in the column. This took me a couple tries to get it right. Once you tighten the nuts the turn signal housing should be nice and solid with no movement. No worries on the patience thing. Many here have helped me in the past. Just paying it forward. Good luck. Post your results.
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From: Simi Valley, CA
1961/62: The turn signal cancelling plate (13304) is separate from the turn signal switch (13341).
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MichiganLarry,
Thanks for all your help, sorry for the slow response but had some military obligations I had to take care of. The 2 bolts at 3 and 9 O'clock were the issue. I secured and tighten them down like you told me and it fixed all my problems. Again thanks for your help and everyone on this forum, this is a great place to gain knowledge and information.
Thanks for all your help, sorry for the slow response but had some military obligations I had to take care of. The 2 bolts at 3 and 9 O'clock were the issue. I secured and tighten them down like you told me and it fixed all my problems. Again thanks for your help and everyone on this forum, this is a great place to gain knowledge and information.
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