Stuck in Third Gear

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Feb 28, 2008 | 06:08 AM

dogmad7

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From: North Carolina

Stuck in Third Gear

1979 F100, 6 cly, 3 on tree. Left the house yesterday and got down to the corner and the transmission would not come out of third gear. Limped on back home and it sits in the drive now. Did not have a lot of time yesterday after work but did look at the linkage at the tranny and under the hood. Looked ok to me and intact. Where should I begin to check this out, hope its not the tranny gone bad, I love this truck.

Feb 28, 2008 | 07:34 AM

BigShelby

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From: Huntsville, AL

Take a closer look at the bushings in the linkage. Severly worn bushings could be the problem.

Feb 28, 2008 | 07:52 AM

dogmad7

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From: North Carolina

Thanks, by bushings you mean the small plastic bushings between the nuts and linkage assembly at the tranny and under the hood. I did look at these but not closely, I'm guessing they should be present and not cracked or worn. Do you know if the bushings are available from a NAPA or Autozone or would this be a dealer item?

Feb 28, 2008 | 12:03 PM

tbear853

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From: The Shenandoah Valley

Quote:

Originally Posted by dogmad7

Probably at you local Autozone, Napa, Advance, etc.... with clips. Pretty generic, usually about 3/8" or maybbe 5/16" diameter inside.

Could just be a nut came loose and the 2-3 lever fell loose from the transmission side.

Could be a problem in the steering collumn.

Could be a worn shift rod from the collumn to the trans someplace wore through from lack of bushings.

Could be a broken shift fork or a problem in the side case with levers ... but likely, it's in the linkage.

Feb 28, 2008 | 12:39 PM

rbaker6336

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From: Blairsville,Ga

set parking brake or block wheels and try to put in neutral at the transmission,then recheck at the column

Feb 28, 2008 | 01:33 PM

dogmad7

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From: North Carolina

Thanks guys, I'll try to check it this afternoon if I get home from work before dark, I'll let you know the outcome.

Feb 28, 2008 | 02:19 PM

duste

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From: New Glasgow, Nova Scotia

This was a very common problem in Chevy's, mine would lock in 2nd whenever there was a crowd of girls around when I was in high school, (LAST CHEV I EVER OWNED) Ford did this also when the bushings got old. There are 2 linkage rods under the hood by the steering post going to the transmission. Try grabbing each one and giving it a quick pull, this will usually unlock the trans. but this will likely happen again. I found the more agressively I shifted the more often it happened. Hope this helps.