Tranny question

[Mutt65]

So my truck has sat for the last 20 years with minimal use. I am now driving it daily and figuring out what needs to be fixed and replaced. I've got a question about the amount of play the shift stick should have. I know it's a little off but I wonder if that's typical. The engine and tranny are from a camino and were put on back in the 80s. 4 on the floor, reverse and second are right next to the dash and first and third are right on the bench. I've noticed second seems to be getting a little further away. I've looked at the linkage and it looks like it is missing some washers where the linkage hits the transmission. It also likes to get stuck in an undefined middle area where I can't tell what gear it's in. Any tips or advice on what to do to fix it?

I don't have a camera right now or I would post pics. Thanks for any help
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[padresag]

what trans is it? 1 & 3 up. reverse , second and 4th down is what the orig 4 spd gives you.
what is a camino. what you seem to be describing is a 3 spd with an aftermarket shifter on it.
ron

[Mutt65]

It was moved from the tree to the floor when the 1971 el camino 307 was dropped in. I'm not sure what tranny it is or how to tell. Reverse is in top left, 1st is bottom left, top right is 2nd bottom right 3rd, first gear is a granny gear. Any tips on discovering the type of tranny
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[padresag]

then it is only 3 on floor and you don't have a granny gear.
if you have slop in the linkage , tighten it up. it is tough to advise on what you don't reallly know what you have or what the lingkage looks like
ron

[1963c-10]

Sounds like a 3 speed to me. Reverse is forward right, 1st is rear left, 2nd is forward right and 3rd is rear right. Should be a "H" shift pattern. 3 speed would most likely be mc-318 muncie or saginaw. Borg warner also had a t-16 HD 3speed.

[padresag]

Originally Posted by 1963c-10

Sounds like a 3 speed to me. Reverse is forward right, 1st is rear left, 2nd is forward right and 3rd is rear right. Should be a "H" shift pattern. 3 speed would most likely be mc-318 muncie or saginaw. Borg warner also had a t-16 HD 3speed.

wouldn't reverse be forward left?
it is more than likely the linkage that is the problem
ron

[Mutt65]

Ive always been told granny was the first gear on this tranny how do you know it's not?
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[Mutt65]

It is h patterned

R2
13
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[Mutt65]

But the general issue of extra play should be fixed by replacing the linkage then? Not an issue with the tranny itself?
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[padresag]

Originally Posted by Mutt65

But the general issue of extra play should be fixed by replacing the linkage then? Not an issue with the tranny itself?
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it is an aftermarket shifter; there are cheap ones and there are good ones and everything wears. have you gotten under there to check what the linkage look like. is everything tight or is it sloppy?
now do you know what a granny gear is and what it's purpose is? I can answer it, but I want to see if you know?
ron

[Mutt65]

For applying a whole lot of torque and no speed. Moving heavy loads typically.

The holes on the shifter that hook to the pins in the transmission is not round it looks like it was drilled but it could be wear on both sides.
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[padresag]

the granny gear in trucks is usually around about a 7:1 ratio. it is usually the 1st gear in a 4 speed trans(that is 4 gears forward). after that the gearing in 2nd is equivalent to 1st gear in a 3 speed, perhaps 3:3 ratio , equivalent to what you have in your 3 speed(3 gears forward.
so if the holes in you shifter are oval, that means wear and more than likely the rods that fit in them are more than likely worn also. that means slop in the linkage. so you can either take the linkage apart and build up all that wear and machine it back to size or go and buy another shifter. that wasn't so difficult was it?
ron

[Mutt65]

I thought it might of been a modification. Thanks for the help. I'm still learning about this stuff. Ironically this was my grandfathers truck and his name is Ron.
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[markeb01]

For clarifity, this is what is referred to as a “granny” transmission. It has an extremely low first gear ratio that runs out around 5 mph and is great for pulling very heavy loads slowly, to get moving.

They are easy to identify and the shifter stick will come out in the middle of the floor, and look like this:



If you have a typical 3 speed manual transmission it will have two shift levers on the side cover. If it is a passenger car 4 speed it will have two shift levers on the side cover, and another lever for reverse on the tailhousing as shown in this picture. This is a display of different brands of 4 speed transmissions:



If you have an aftermarket floor shift conversion kit the stick will poke through the floor on the driver’s side of the transmission, not in the center of the floor. A 3 speed transmission will have two levers hanging out the bottom of the shifter. A 4 speed will have 3 levers:

Here’s a layout showing the 4 speed on the left:



Aftermarket shifters come in all quality levels and most aren't very good. It what you have is a cheap model and worn out, it may be time to replace it with something better, assuming you want to keep this type of shifter and transmission.

[Mutt65]

The shifter sticks up and angles back towards the seat. The shifter comes out in the center of the hump and the coonections come out on the driver side of the trans
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[markeb01]

wow, then it might be some kind of factory shifter. I had a Pontiac 4 speed with a factory shifter and it mounted on the passenger side of the tailhousing. It was the only one I'd ever seen like that, and it did mount the shifter right in the middle. Here's a very poor photo taken off a video tape. It would be interesting to know if your shifter looks something like this:



The linkage on this unit was very tight, but the shifter head and handle connection was really sloppy.

[padresag]

here is one Mark mounted on an a-833 trans
http://www.customclassictrucks.com/t.../photo_01.html
ron

[markeb01]

I've never seen one like that before. I've learned something new today which is one of my daily goals. Thanks for sharing the photo.

[padresag]

guess that I could have given the full link. it even goes on to say that hurst would rebuildd the shifter for these
http://www.customclassictrucks.com/t...n/viewall.html
ron

[T Smith]

Originally Posted by padresag

here is one Mark mounted on an a-833 trans
http://www.customclassictrucks.com/t.../photo_01.html
ron

Interesting transmission there, wouldn't mind having one!

[padresag]

Originally Posted by T Smith

Interesting transmission there, wouldn't mind having one!

they can be found
ron

[T Smith]

Looks like the rearward shifter position would interfere with the stock bench seat even if the lever was swapped out.

On second look though the tranny looks awfully short overall so it may still work?

[1963c-10]

Originally Posted by padresag

wouldn't reverse be forward left?
it is more than likely the linkage that is the problem
ron

Yeah, thats what I meant. Brain fart

[Mutt65]

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[Mutt65]

Here's a pic. After the fact
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