1970 auto shifter broke!

[jwn1975]

Guys,
super frustrated here. A new to me truck I got running after years of sitting. I drove it at my shop today and putting it in gear, It was difficult to move the shift lever towards me to drop it in gear. After maiden voyage, I horsed the lever to put it in park and "pop" now she moves free (doing nothing) and Im pissed at myself. What did I break and how easy it is to fix? I know I should have lubed the linkage at the end of the shaft but was super excited to drive it.. Thanks

[HO455]

Here is a thread with a ton of information on columns. My Burban did a similar thing and it was the clamp on the rod to the tranny sliding on the rod

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=720752

[Ironangel]

Originally Posted by jwn1975

Guys,
super frustrated here. A new to me truck I got running after years of sitting. I drove it at my shop today and putting it in gear, It was difficult to move the shift lever towards me to drop it in gear. After maiden voyage, I horsed the lever to put it in park and "pop" now she moves free (doing nothing) and Im pissed at myself. What did I break and how easy it is to fix? I know I should have lubed the linkage at the end of the shaft but was super excited to drive it.. Thanks

You may have broken or dislodged/disengaged the ball pivot on the end of the shifter handle. Drive the pin out of the handle to release it from the shift collar. The end should look like this, ...If the ball pivot is broken you have two choices, replace the shifter handle, or...You can save the expense and do what I did...I drilled and tapped the end of my shifter handle for a 1/4"- 20 grade-5 bolt, smear some JB-Weld or red Loctite on the bolt and thread it into the handle, cut it to the proper length (3/4" I think?) and file it in to shape with a ball on the end. Worked like a charm for me but I was able to use the shifter out of my other truck as a pattern. You should be able to use the broken piece as a pattern...

[cleszkie]

Back when I still had an auto tranny (TH350), my column shifter became harder and harder to move. One day I forced it and the ball stud broke off the end. I bought a new lever and installed it, but it didn't solve the hard shifting issue. Turns out, the old grease inside the steering column had just hardened up to the point that it was causing a lot of drag on the internal column linkage. I simply sprayed a bunch of my favorite penetrating oil down the column, let it soak, hit it again, cleaned up the excess oil that ran out the other end, installed new shift lever and cycled it through the gears a couple of times. Totally freed up the internal column linkage and it shifted into gear a smooth as silk.