[Ichoptop]

heres the story, i have a hemi backed by a mid 70s th350. I built the mill but had the tranny done (dont know much about them) about a year ago. It has a 3500 converter and is pretty much stock. With the weight of the car (about 1900 lbs) I needed the stall.
Anyhow I was on my way downtown friday taking neighborhood roads till the highway onramp (1st and 2nd only) manually shifting like I have to because of the converter and the open lakes style pipes till I got on it pretty good through 1st and 2nd up the highway onramp. I hit the highway at about 4000 rpm in second and slid the shifter in drive....still in second....knocked it back into second then drive....still in second.....went past drive to neutral....still in second. Pulled off the highway and rolled to a stop and pulled it into first. It downshifted to first but wont move out of first. I checked the linkage for the shifter which is fine, checked the selector that goes into the tranny and it rotates as it always has but the car is stuck in 1st. With the car off I can rollit off the back of the trailer like in neutral but even with the shifter in park if I start the car, it is stuck in first. I changed my pan gasket last week to clean up a drip and replaced the fluid but thats it. On the side of the highway when this all happened I popped the drainplug and the fluid looks brand new and smelled fine.

anyone have an idea what I will find if I pop the pan off?

[XNTRCI-T]

Hey rd1, it's Lee in KC!! Glad to see you here. Be patient. It may take a day or two for the big guys to check in.

[Crosley]

pull the pan........ see IF the shift linkage to the manual valve in the v-body has come loose.

[Ichoptop]

Originally Posted by Crosley

pull the pan........ see IF the shift linkage to the manual valve in the v-body has come loose.

Howdy Lee. Yeah, I made it over here. Thanks for the link.

Crosley, can I see that by just dropping the pan or do I need to pull the valve body as well.?

[Big Mouse]

Have you checked the vacuum line leading to the vacuum modulator?

Check both ends - at the manifold and the VM itself. When my old TH350 wouldn't shift out of first, 9 times out of 10 my vacuum hardline popped off on the manifold.

It's easy to check & if you were working down there, it may have been bumped...

[Ichoptop]

yeah...about that.....

I havent had a vaccum line to the modulator hooked up for the last year. Ran fine without it and I didnt have an open vaccum port in the hemi manifold I have.

[Crosley]

Originally Posted by Ichoptop

With the car off I can rollit off the back of the trailer like in neutral but even with the shifter in park if I start the car, it is stuck in first.

this statement is what points to pull the pan off.

Either the linkage is loose and the manual valve is in 1st gear position...

OR the forward clutch pack is stuck together for some reason (usually not good).

That is how you get 1st gear while the trans is in "park" or "neutral"


YES, you will see the linkage loose if the pan is pulled off and the link came loose.

[chieftain]

Hows your downshift cable, my old Nova got stuck in first gear once from the cable getting stuck. I dropped the pan and disconnected the cable inside the trans.

[Ichoptop]

dropped the pan, shift mechanism was loose. Pulled off the detent spring, tightened it all up, looks like it will work. Now, I had a clean drain pan when I dropped the pan, when I dumped the drain pan there is an S hook in it. I didnt see it fall out nor do I know where to put it back in. If someone has a pic or a descent description where it goes I would much appreciate it.


oh, and no downshift cable. I manually row through the gears for everything.

[jws]

I'm not very good at explaining without using my hands but I'll give it a try. The S hook is what connects the manual linkage, the part with the rooster comb on it that the detent roller engages, to the manual control valve in the valve body. There is a bent tab or leg on this part with a hole in it that one end of the S hook goes in, the other end of the hook goes in a hole in the manual valve in the valve body directly behind the linkage. You can slide this valve back and forth with your fingers without the S hook attached. The easiest way would be to loosen the bolt that holds the detent roller arm to take pressure off the rooster comb section. Then take the nut off the end of the shaft, pull the spacer clip off the shaft, this slides over the shaft and sits between linkage and the side of the case. Slide the shaft back out of the linkage arm then you can re-hook the S clip. You should check the S hook to make sure it didn't get distorted when it came loose. I hope this helps.
John

[Nitrousbutton]

Those were very good instructions John!!,,Better than a manual could explain it!!

[Ichoptop]

very good instructions. I know all the parts your talking about. I'll give it a try when I get back into the garage tonight after woork and let you know how it goes.



thanks.

[Ichoptop]

I think I got it back together right. There is really only one way to do it. I'll know tommorrow when I fill her with fluid and fire it up tommorrow.

[Crosley]

hmmmm , linkage was loose. who would have thought that??


that is how I test my cars when I got them running. neighbors were not amused....

[Ichoptop]

I couldnt tell the linkage was loose eternally. Everything was tight and the selector shaft rotated as it always had. Luckily, it was just loose and seems to be working fine now. I took her for a short 5 mile jaunt last night and she shifted fine. Now my hemi has developed a miss. Sounds like a fouled plug. Oh well, I had nothing to do on a friday ngiht.