three speed tranny with compound low

[themecanic]

hey everyone Im new here so this is just a break in message. I have a 1987 chevy truck with an automatic transmission and I just bought a 1987 GMC truck with a 3 speed that has a granny gear its a top loader floor shifter and right now its near impossible to shift even when its not running I was told that its because inside the case where the shifter goes in there is a nylon bushing or ball that is broken or worn out. where can I get this Item? The parts places say they dont know what im asking about, can this be a dealership only item? thankyou for letting me be on this site.
thanks everyone for your input, and I correct myself! its the right transmission but I decided to remove the shifter after I posted and found as you say "no ball or grommet or any such thing but what I did find was a two piece shaft and between them was what appeared to be plastic shims 4 of them plus a steel pin to hold them together. I believe the person that had it before me replaced what should have been nylon shims with ordinary plastic and wrapped it wih black electrical tape. anyway I went to GMC dealership and I was informed that they (GMC) discontinued that peticular shift lever and as I searched the internet found it to be true. I rebuilt the shifter using real nylon shims and when I went to test if they worked, the clutch master cylender or slave unit went out so i ordered both to be safe and came across a brand new shift lever on ebay and bought it also (master cyl $20 slave $20 shift lever $79) I think I made the right decision to buy everything new cause the truck sat since 2011 and everything was rusty or corroded. any thank you for all the info. by the way when GMC was selling that shifter it was listed at $150+

[kwmech]

I think you've been mis-informed. Don't know of any nylon ball in a 465 trans. Yes they can be hard to shift without the engine running

[Redcap]

I haven't heard of any nylon ball in the SM465 4-speed either. They are slow-shifting transmissions; in fact, trying to shift them fast will damage them.

[geezer#99]

Originally Posted by themecanic

hey everyone Im new here so this is just a break in message. I have a 1987 chevy truck with an automatic transmission and I just bought a 1987 GMC truck with a 3 speed that has a granny gear its a top loader floor shifter and right now its near impossible to shift even when its not running I was told that its because inside the case where the shifter goes in there is a nylon bushing or ball that is broken or worn out. where can I get this Item? The parts places say they dont know what im asking about, can this be a dealership only item? thankyou for letting me be on this site.

Maybe you just need to adjust the clutch.

[Bobzilla75]

Shoot... give me a few months and you can have mine! +1 on the hard to shift non-running.

[El Dorado Jim]

no nylon ball in those sm465's not meant to be shifted just sitting there...like geezer said, check clutch adjustment....sometimes they can be a little hard to shift in the cold weather, they have 80/90 wt. gear oil in them...great transmissions though....

[tucsonjwt]

Yup. An SM465 "granny 4 speed" will always be sticky into "low" or 1st gear. I have been told that 1st is a square cut, not synchro gear. This transmission has a naturally sloppy shifter, although the older they are the worse they are. I had a transmission guy tell me that the shifter can be welded to the mount to stiffen up the shifter, but then the shifter will rattle in 4th gear.

When the shifter won't go into gear easily, depress the clutch, put the shifter in neutral, release the clutch all the way, depress the clutch fully and try to shift into gear again. This usually works.

I have about 1 inch of thread exposed past the bracket on the clutch adjustment, which seems to be about right.

80-90 gear oil is specified for the SM465. You can take out the big square nut near the top of the transmission to check the fluid level. You add oil until the oil starts to run out (on level ground.) (Quite scientific, no?)
I would dip my pinky finger in that hole and if you don't detect any oil I would just drain out all of the oil. I think the drain plug is another square nut on the side near the bottom. I think a gallon of 80-90 oil is about $10-$15 at the auto parts stores. I would buy the cheapest you can get - if you need a rebuild it will just get chucked anyway.

My difficult shifting was all clutch related. Of course, I have had my 83 for 15 years, so I am sure that the transmission is not in the best shape.

You can look for oil on the bottom of the transmission before you start, but oil leaks are hard to track down. If you have a leak from the engine it can (an probably will) run down and drip off the transmission at some point.

Unless you truck was deliberately abused, most likely the transmission is in decent shape.

[themecanic]

thanks everyone for your input, and I correct myself! its the right transmission but I decided to remove the shifter after I posted and found as you say "no ball or grommet or any such thing but what I did find was a two piece shaft and between them was what appeared to be plastic shims 4 of them plus a steel pin to hold them together. I believe the person that had it before me replaced what should have been nylon shims with ordinary plastic and wrapped it wih black electrical tape. anyway I went to GMC dealership and I was informed that they (GMC) discontinued that peticular shift lever and as I searched the internet found it to be true. I rebuilt the shifter using real nylon shims and when I went to test if they worked, the clutch master cylender or slave unit went out so i ordered both to be safe and came across a brand new shift lever on ebay and bought it also (master cyl $20 slave $20 shift lever $79) I think I made the right decision to buy everything new cause the truck sat since 2011 and everything was rusty or corroded. any thank you for all the info. by the way when GMC was selling that shifter it was listed at $150+