Saginaw 3 speed problems

[PassengerTN]

Hello everyone, I picked up my first C10 last Thursday, a '71 LWB with a 350 and floor shift Saginaw 3 speed. The day I bought it, all went well. Truck rode & drove great with no issues. The next morning it became a headache. I went to take it out for a spin, made it down the end of my short street, onto the main road and quickly realized the truck wouldn't come out of first gear. I limped the truck back home, this is where it begins.

Once getting it home, I wrestled the shift handle trying to cycle threw the gears to no avail. Fire it up, eased the clutch out, truck dies. Stuck between to gears it feels like. A quick Google Search had me up under the truck, manually clicking the detents into the neutral position so I can roll it into the garage.

Now this evening, I attempted to adjust the linkage. With both detents in the neutral position, I adjusted the linkage to where I feel the shift handle should be in neutral as well. Row the gears, seems to work. Fire it up, slap it into first, ease the clutch out and it's bound up again.

Am I adjusting this shifter incorrectly? Manually clicking the detents into each gear allows me to move the truck as it should, but once you use the shift handle it all gets fubar'd. Someone shed some light please, this is over my head as I'm used to Honda's and fox body/sn95 mustangs lol
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[88Ironduke]

This was a fairly common problem on the 3 speed gear boxes. Getting stuck/bound between gears is a pain. There is a thread in the faq section on properly adjusting the column and links going to the transmission. Good place to start is to change out the little bushings at the arms on the transmission.

I just reread your original post and you have a floor shift so the faq page won't apply. I would make sure that you have good bushings at the transmission input arms. Most likely your truck started out life as a column shift and this problem just too bad.

Paul

[geezer#99]

Likely something simple on your linkage.
Take us some pics of the shift linkage.

[burnin oil]

I bet the problem is in the floor shifter. I have seen more than one of the cheap MR Gasket shifters that where under $100 at the auto part store that had the same issue. The pin that engauges the shift rails in the shifter would get worn and cause the same problem. Look at the base and see if its worn. The pin will have a worn taper to it. If that is it you can either weld it up some or get another floor shifter. Back in the day I used to keep 2 lug wrenches in the truck and could pop the rails back in neutral in under 20 seconds at a stop light because I had so much practice at it.

[PassengerTN]

Thanks for the replies. I've got my baby girl for a few hours today, but once she goes home to her momma I will crawl under it again and snap some pics of the linkage.
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