35 Transmission - Getting locked out of Gear

[mit31]

I have a slant tower 1935 transmission mated to my 37 flathead. The problem I am encountering is when coming to a stop, I am used to shifting into neutral and braking to a stop. Shift to neutral, when I take my foot off the clutch, I can feel something move, and boom... shifter wont move. One of the two shift trays (normally the one on the left) has moved (back), so the trans gearing is out of place, and I have to remove the shifter, push the tray forward with a screw driver, re-insert the shifter, and I am off. Engine was just professionally rebuilt, brand new properly adjusted clutch, etc. Trans has not been rebuilt.


I am assuming that the nubs on the shifter have worn down to the point that they do not always properly engage the trays they fit into. Before I try and find a GOOD shifter for a 35, I wanted to see if anyone has had any similar problems.

[Charlie ny]

Sounds like wear to me, there were two slant back shift towers........Mac VanPelt has
covered this so I'll shut up and wait for Mac to come on board.
Charlie ny

[AnthonyG]

Ur a bit far but I have a rebuilt '35 tranny if interested send personal message.

[Mac VP]

Hmmm.....I’ve read your post twice now and am still confused about the problem. Before jumping to conclusions, I think we’d all benefit from more detailed information. Perhaps you could also remove the shifter housing (after placing the lever in neutral) and taking a picture down inside the gearbox......then upload the picture here into this post.

You could have an incorrect mix of gears, incorrect shifter forks, poorly assembled gears, bent shifter lever stub, and so on.

Also, were you in third gear when you came to the stop and attempted to put the transmission into neutral?

After the “boom” did it end up in neutral?

More information........

[Terry,OH]

Part of the problem may also be the top shift mechanism. The left shift rail is for 2-3 and back would be 2nd gear. With the shift lever in neutral the transmission should not force the rail rearward. especially if the spring that exerts pressure on the rail dentent ball is bad on the top shift mechanism. There are replacement parts available. Also the synchronize has about 6 spring and balls that should hold the syncro hub in the neutral position. it appears the hub either has not entered the neutral position or the hub spring detent is bad bad or the springs and balls are bad (Not likely) allowing the hub to move rearward and into 2nd gear. Best to follow Mac s advise above. Start repairs on the top shift mechanism if it has not already been rebuilt. Check the 2-3 shift lever on the top and make sure it is not bent also.

[Don]

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Ears on shifter could be worn and not moving the forks!!!

[alanwoodieman]

I would pull shift tower and check for lots of wear in the forks and on the stick "ball"

[mit31]

I was not careful enough in my description, so sorry for the confusion. To clear a couple questions up:


There was no actual "boom" noise, I was using that word to imply how suddenly and unexpectedly it happened.


This issue happened 3 times that day; each time I was able to push the shift rail back where it needs to be and drive on without issue.


Yes, I was in third shifting to neutral when this occurred. I am fuzzy on which gear it ended up in, since I was in traffic and harried trying to get it off the street. Once parked, I was focused on getting the rail back and driving. It was probably in third, or some in-between... not neutral... I had to depress the clutch when we pushed it out of the way. Not 1st or 2nd, since I could not drive it.


After looking around the web yesterday it seems likely that the shifter nubs or the shift rails are too worn to positively engage properly. I will pull the shifter tonight and get a pic. I wont be able to pull the shifter housing until this weekend.


When I bought this trans it came out of a very nice 35 ford in orange county... the owner had just swapped a 24 stud with trans into his car. All the gears were intact, not chipped, etc as we turned over the shaft with the tower off.

[1931 flamingo]

What does the ball on the bottom of the shift lever look like??
Paul in CT

[AnthonyG]

? did u figure it out?

[rotorwrench]

The angled tower was a characteristic of the 1932 through 35 transmissions. The later transmissions used the vertical type tower starting with single detent. The forks are a bit different between the two tower types. You may have better luck with the vertical tower type if it has a later case & gears. What serial number is on the case?

[mit31]

I did not have time to look into this over the weekend. I'll pull the shifter and get a pic tonight. Rotor, I will check, but I am very confident it is a 48-7006.

[rotorwrench]

That would be a case for the earlier model 40 types with the angled tower. The VIN number on the case can also pin it down to a year model. Later gears can be installed in he older cases with some limitations. I can see it has a spur for low/reverse gear so it has older stuff in there. It also has the early synchro type. The main thing is that the 2nd/high fork fits the syncho sleeve and that there isn't too much play there, in the shift fork shafts, or the slots where the shift lever makes contact with the shift fork shafts. The synchro sleeve also has to have a good fit on the synchro hub. The main output shaft can have too much play as well

Mac VanPelt's book has a very good list of what gears & shafts work well together. Some things interchange and some don't.

[mit31]

Here is the shifter. I was surprised how unworn the side nub is. and equally surprised how bent(?) the bottom one is.

[Mac VP]

Your shifter lever looks good as far as wear goes, and the little tweak bend at the very bottom is normal and correct.

Perhaps you could take a picture or two of the underside of the shifter housing....showing the forks. The early version (which you might have) was fitted with a stamped steel bracket in the center. That and the early forks were troublesome.

[mit31]

Roger. I will remove the floor and pull the shift housing this weekend.

[V8ER]

Mac VP: What a resource!

[svm99]

Is the 1/4" shifter pivot pin worn?

[mit31]

Ok! I FINALLY got the tower off last night. Confirmed this is a 40-7222 marked 33-35 tower.


I'm not really seeing any crazy wear or marks, but I also don't know what I'm looking at. Opinions?

[mit31]

duplicate