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transmission problemo

trucktony

trucktony

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I have got a chevy 3100 shortbed with 350 and 3onthetree with overdrive.
Problem is: it keeps popping out of 3rd gear
Manual say's: bearing,rod allignment, transmission allignment.
Transmission allignment will take a lot of work:rolleyes:

I just keep replacing the transmissions
That's the easiest way.
But now I want to take the truck out for a long haul to the France Alps
And don't want to get in all sorts of problems on my way.

Does anyone have some experience and tips how to solve this problem
(the easy way)

Thanks
Tony
 
Simple fix.it can be done with the transmission in,BUT its easier with it out.remove the sidecover of the trans and you'll see the the shift fork for 3rd gear and is probably severly warn. It is a common problem for jumping out of 3rd gear.Good luck
Bobby
 
He is right. Pull the tranny out sincce its fairly easy. Pull the top cover out and look at your forks. make sure they all slid fully and also inspect all the teeth. I seen a couple were the teeth rounded off and have to replace the gear. I have yet to rebuild mine but I have done countless 18 speed trannys and seen the same issue. Not really a easy fix for trannys. They are most the time in need of fixing when there is a issue. Hope this help. Good luck.
 
Thanks guy's
I had it out today
and compared it some other tranny's i have lying around
Couldn't figure out if there is to much play
Have to do some more measuring
Does anyone know how big the cut in the coverhandle for the gear to slide has to be?(play)
I will be checking the bearing
Because it had a sort of pumping feel on the shift stick(threeonthetree)
just before it came out of gear

The overdrive works great
Doing about 1500rpm on 55mph with a 3.90 gear
I found it ones on a scrapyard
and never knew where it was used for:confused:
But now Iám pleased to have it under the truck
I have been driving in second gear for a couple of weeks
Having some angry truckers on the back of me
So it's time to do some fixing on the transmission

Thanks
Good trucking
Tony
 

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Popping Out Of gear

So ;

This is a Saginaw three speed side loader ? .

You'll have to overhaul it but no worries , it's an easy job .

Look closely at the cluster gear as it prolly has too much end play as well as the roller bearings & shaft it runs on , is work out ~ this is very common and easy to fix .

Don't worry about " Transmission Alignment " ~ that's a red herring .

I assume you've already repaired the floppy shift arms between the tranny & steering column ? if they're too loose or mis adjusted , third gear won't fully engage and hence , pop out .

Use thing flat washers to shim the arms where they go into the tranny shift arms , be sure to fist prop the shift lever to 3:00 and have the tranny in neutral , then adjust the rods so they're exactly centered on the holes as you slip them in . the bushings must not be soft & blubbery , I see new ones for sale but many use plastic PVC piping to make up better fitting bushings .

I like the two pix you just posted .
 
Thanks for the tips
My rubber bushings are also blubbery
Never thought on using electrical tubbing

I replaced the transmission for one regular 3speed
So I have some time to look at the overdrive transmission
I have bought me another transmission that has a different shifterarmlock engagement configuration on the back of the top cover
It has (instead of the ball/hole lockup )some arms with springs to keep the tranny in gear.
I'am going to use that tranny to restore the overdrive
Can anyone tell me how much play the slider/fork that goes on the 2/3 gear
has?

The pic's are from the ones I own

the orange one is my daily driver
the panel is for when it rains(Bought in california christmas 2008) (but will have a paintjob this summer)(I really love it)
and the red one on my profile is for going to church and has a 383cui stroker in it
(lot's of owlnecking here)
and then I got 2 longbed fleetsides as projects(NOT on my wifes:things to do list!!!!)

Have fun
Tony
 
Something I've done to find whether the problem is in the transmission or an outside problem is to put it into 3rd gear and then disconnect both shifter rods from the trans shifter arms. Hold the clutch in to start the engine and then it will take a little slipping of the clutch to get going in 3rd gear but not that much with a 3.90 rear. Accelerate, decelerate, and run at an even speed. If it jumps out it's in the trans and if it doesn't it could be shift linkage/adjustment, engine mounts, etc.
 
Thanks Coilover

I will try that
It will be easyer to fix if I can sort out were exactly the problem is.
Every tip that will shortcut me to the problem is welcome

Thanks
Tony
 
I just had the transmission box back in
changed some gears
Still the same!
Looked better for a few minutes
but still pops out of 3rd gear
It looks as if there is to much force on 3rd gear in overdrive
I will take it a part this weekend and try it with a newer cover that has springlocks instead of spring/ball locks
The later cover mechanisme looks stronger to
Had to make my own gear levers because the levers didn't linup with the transmissionrods.
If there is anyone how can help me figure out this thing
Don't hasetate to write it down on this thread
Thanks
Tony
 
Hooray
Thanks Coilover
I tryed your trick and it didn't pop out of gear
so I took a closer look to the shifter rods
And they touched each other on the bolt that holds the lever
So I turned the bolt so the head was on the side that touches each other making some more play
still no result
GUES WHAT!!!
In my anger to hold it in to third gear I managed to bent the transmission rods so they were out of line and the gear did not engage enough
Now the problem is solved and she drives like a dream
did put some bigger wheels/tires on her and now she's purring like a little kitten at 60mls/hour
I just bought another transmission 3speed with a hurst shifter from an old truck with all the bellhousing flywheel,complete clutch setup and startermotor from Texas
funny little modification for a future project
you'll never now what passes by
Thanks for all your tips and tricks
I will use them in the future
 
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