3 speed transmission is stuck in reverse

[Montagne]

So I have a 63 c10 straight six and she runs but I can't get her out of reverse. The previous owner installed a Mr Gasket shifter in the floor. It looks to be installed correctly. The clutch seems to move freely but I'm wondering if it just isn't disengaging inside the transmission housing or what. Any thoughts would be great!
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[mongocanfly]

With the engine running and If you mash the clutch and the truck won't move then the clutch is engaging...sounds like the shifter..crawl under it and get someone in the truck and try shifting gears (with engine off of course) and see what's going on..did it ever work for the other owner? Some linkage may be loose

[57chevyman]

i had the exact same issue as you a couple of years ago.... there two bolts that attach the shifter rods to the transmission, makes sure theyre both tight. you can also replace the bushings in the shifter linkage. the best fix would be to replace the mr gasket shifter.

[57chevyman]

heres a pic of the loose bolt on mine before i tightened it

[nvrdone]

could be that you do have loose linkage. it happened to me with an m21. I took the shifter linkage off reverse & moved the lever in to nutural & drove home. turned out the bushings were worn out. easy fix

[Montagne]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

With the engine running and If you mash the clutch and the truck won't move then the clutch is engaging...sounds like the shifter..crawl under it and get someone in the truck and try shifting gears (with engine off of course) and see what's going on..did it ever work for the other owner? Some linkage may be loose

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[Montagne]

Originally Posted by Montagne

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Ok so there seams to be a spindle coming out of the transmission with a bracket that connects the rod from the shifter. Is this spindle the linkage? I was able to get the bracket to rotate but it is not moving the spindle. I'll try to tighten it and see what happens.
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[mongocanfly]

Those new looking rods in your pic are the linkage rods..the shifters that come out of the trans should move with the rod movement..the part that looks like a clamp with a bolt going thru it should be tight on the shifter..try tightening that bolt and see what happens..I'm not sure about the position the shifters should be in but it looks as if the one on the bottom has spun back to far..you can take the rods loose and manually twist the shifters to neutral then put the shifter in neutral and that will get you close to where it needs to be...

[OrrieG]

Most shifters have a 1/8" hole in the housing and shift rods used to adjust the rods. Get allthe tranny levers in neutral, shifter levers aligned with a drill bit in the holes, then adjust the rods to fit into the levers.

[Montagne]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

Those new looking rods in your pic are the linkage rods..the shifters that come out of the trans should move with the rod movement..the part that looks like a clamp with a bolt going thru it should be tight on the shifter..try tightening that bolt and see what happens..I'm not sure about the position the shifters should be in but it looks as if the one on the bottom has spun back to far..you can take the rods loose and manually twist the shifters to neutral then put the shifter in neutral and that will get you close to where it needs to be...

Thanks! I'll get back at it tomorrow. That's what it seamed like was the answer but being a Newbie I wanted to make sure before I messed it up.
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[Montagne]

Originally Posted by OrrieG

Most shifters have a 1/8" hole in the housing and shift rods used to adjust the rods. Get allthe tranny levers in neutral, shifter levers aligned with a drill bit in the holes, then adjust the rods to fit into the levers.

Thanks! The drill bit is good beta to know. I'll clean it up so I can see what's what and hopefully I can take her for a spin around the block.
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[mongocanfly]

Probably wouldn't hurt to get you some brake cleaner and a wire brush ahold of it and clean it up so you can see it better..

[Montagne]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

Probably wouldn't hurt to get you some brake cleaner and a wire brush ahold of it and clean it up so you can see it better..

So I tightened the shifter on the upper shifter but the spindle it's attached to still won't spin. I got the lower one freed up. If it was to fargorward the shifter may be on wrong because that is where it seam to move to. Any other trucks to free up the shifter spindle before I have to pay someone to look at it!
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[mongocanfly]

Did you take the linkage off the trans yet? Do that and the try manually moving the trans shifters to neutral...you may need to jack the rearend up off the ground because you may need to turn the driveshaft back and forth to take tension off gears..but it should be fairly easy to get the trans in neutral. A cresent wrench on the shifters will make them easier to move..mr gasket shifters aren't exactly top shelf stuff but it should work..

[MARTINSR]

Every once in a while I will park my Rambler that has a column shift three speed and it will be stuck in third gear. I park it the same time every time yet every once in a while I get in to drive away and the damn thing is in 3rd. I found that if I get out open the hood and push one of the arms on the steering column down and the other up, doing this with one hand, it easily, very easily releases and I drive away after shifting it into 1st just like every other time.

I have to assume it's a worn bushing or bushings.

Brian

[mongocanfly]

Maybe this will help a little.http://www.manualsdir.com/manuals/35...n-3-speed.html

[mr48chev]

Study the directions that Mongocanfly posted in post 16. Note that there are several pages and one shows pretty clearly how to adjust the shifter.

Take the rods loose from one end or the other so you can move the levers on both the trans and the shifter to get them in the right spots.

Line up the shifter arms with the pin or drill bit Keep that pin/bit in place until you have everything set right.

Click the shift levers on the trans to the neutral spot on each and make sure that the levers are straight up and tight. Then adjust the rods so the end you have out slips easily into the lever you took it out of.

Bad experience 53 years ago with a less than stellar floor shifter says the cheapies aren't good for speed shifting and if they hang up don't try to get them unhung with the rig running.

[Highsider]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

Bad experience 53 years ago with a less than stellar floor shifter says the cheapies aren't good for speed shifting and if they hang up don't try to get them unhung with the rig running.

Sorry and hope it wasn't too serious, because reading this made me chuckle.

[mr48chev]

Originally Posted by Highsider

Sorry and hope it wasn't too serious, because reading this made me chuckle.

Cheap floor shift (Sparkomatic) in my 51 Merc stuck between gears and the guy who was driving it forced it and blew out low and reverse. I had a hub cap removing tool in on the front floor board to slip down beside the shifter and pop it into neutral but he wouldn't wait for me to do

[_Ogre]

i had a 4 speed in my 57 moredoor that use to get stuck tween gears
got tired of climbing underneath and pulled the rubber boot to stick a tire iron in there
too young and broke to really care about fixing it

[Rude Dude]

I had a mr gasket shifter in a C10 truck started to hang up between gears often junk design finally switch over to a good Hurst 3 speed shifter drove the truck 13 years never a problem

[OrrieG]

Not a tranny but NP203 transfer cases are notorious to hanging up when they get older. I got pretty good at crawling under it with a big screw drive to get it out of 4wd. This time converted it to a twin stick set up, each stick is attached directly to each rod.

[mr48chev]

You probably have it fixed now but going back and looking at the photo in post 7 the low/reverse lever is attached all wrong on the trans.

We must not have caught it but it looks like the previous owner had installed the shifter with the low/reverse arm facing down and the 2/3 arm facing up. This would create an odd shift pattern where first was up where reverse should be and reverse was down towards the seat.

Both levers should be pointing up and usually you have to bend the rods some on those "universal" shift linkages to get them to fit and work.

[tmoble]

What Mr. 48 said. That deal doesn't look right at all.