I won't be able to provide much info, my bro's truck, but I am just looking for things that would cause this problem and possible remedies.

I received a call today with my brother saying his tranny is f***ed. He said he's at a Wal-Mart parking lot and the tranny is stuck in first. Knowing my brother he probably pulled like hell to get it out so I am thinking a gate problem.? Yes it's a question too... He has driven the SHIT out of this truck as a DD too. He said he's going to just pull the motor tomorrow. But it was a 1/2 ton with 3/4 ton axles. D44 up front and 14B FF in rear, 350 4 bolt, SM465, and, I believe, a NP208.

But like I said, just post things that could possibly be the underlying problem or possible remedies.

-John

I had that happen a few times. What I did was pop out the shifter (the round piece at the bottom of the shifter push it in slightly and 1/4 turn counter-clockwise). After its out look inside and line up the gates (or whatever the right name is) and put it back in. If the boot is already off (mine was) it takes about a minute.

yup. pull the shifter, jimmy around a big screw driver till it lines back up with thte rest.

some times a very slight movement in gear of the wheels/truck can free up any static preasure on the gears.

Does anybody have any diagrams of the gates and how they line up? I tried searching but no luck.

EDIT: My brother just told me that he got it in neutral and it won't go into any gears at all.

Oh yeah he has a aftermarket B&M shifter.

Problem solved, thanks guys! Would've taken pics but they wouldn't have had the lighting necessary and they would've been blurry.

-John

EDIT: My brother just told me that he got it in neutral and it won't go into any gears at all.

If your talking about 1st instead of Low... mine does it too when I try to speed shift from 1st to 2nd and don't have the clutch out all the way. It takes me about 60seconds to pull the shifter and re-stab it where it should be. My guess is that your brother was trying to show off in the WalMart Parking lot :laughing:

Oh and where do you find an aftermarket shifter for a top loader? Never herd of such a thing...

Oh and where do you find an aftermarket shifter for a top loader? Never herd of such a thing...

according to b&m's website, you are correct. no such thing.

http://www.bmracing.com/PRODUCTS/Chevrolet

according to b&m's website, you are correct. no such thing.


Maybe it's discontinued??? More than likely it just has a B&M shift knob on it ;)

If your talking about 1st instead of Low... mine does it too when I try to speed shift from 1st to 2nd and don't have the clutch out all the way. It takes me about 60seconds to pull the shifter and re-stab it where it should be. My guess is that your brother was trying to show off in the WalMart Parking lot :laughing:

Oh and where do you find an aftermarket shifter for a top loader? Never herd of such a thing...

I got to that post and had to sit and think about that for a minute myself. :confused:

I second the shifter knob. I have one myself :flipoff2:

Oh. I will get pics in a couple minutes. And he wasn't trying to show off; he just drives it that hard. The shaft itself is chromed with a B&M handle on the end. But I think someone welded the shaft to the to end of the old shifter that goes in the tower.

Here they are.

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj186/Tonsoffun3203/IMG_0002-5.jpg

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj186/Tonsoffun3203/IMG_0004-3.jpg

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj186/Tonsoffun3203/IMG_0008-2.jpg

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj186/Tonsoffun3203/IMG_0009-5.jpg

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj186/Tonsoffun3203/IMG_0012-2.jpg

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj186/Tonsoffun3203/IMG_0015-2.jpg

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj186/Tonsoffun3203/IMG_0011-2.jpg

I had the same problem when running old 465s most of the time I found that the ball on the end of the shifter was worn. Took a couple of minutes with a welder and grinder and it usually solved the problem.

generally, those are the issues. going from 2nd to 3rd in the 465 4 speed you can run into some issues if your shift tower is "worn".

the first thing i would do is to push the pins back in that align the shifter and secure the locking collar in place. if those pins push out of the tower, the shifter gets sloppy as hell.. and since they are roll pins, they pinch a little bit easier than solid steel.

put a hose clamp on them to hold them in place after you drive them back in.

generally, those are the issues. going from 2nd to 3rd in the 465 4 speed you can run into some issues if your shift tower is "worn".

the first thing i would do is to push the pins back in that align the shifter and secure the locking collar in place. if those pins push out of the tower, the shifter gets sloppy as hell.. and since they are roll pins, they pinch a little bit easier than solid steel.

put a hose clamp on them to hold them in place after you drive them back in.

His shifter is already sloppy as hell! Of course it's a HD tranny used in trucks up to 2+ tons!

Damn i'm cool too :flipoff2:

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb119/Randy92782/trucks/Misc011.jpg

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb119/Randy92782/trucks/Misc009.jpg

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb119/Randy92782/trucks/Misc010.jpg

So they would appear to be discontinued. Most factory shifters I have seen in a truck are black, paint peeling off with rust spots, and *NOT* chrome. Unless you count Chevy's steering column shifters. :flipoff2:

chevy did have a stock chrome shifter..i have 3 of them

i have seen just as many chromes as painted ones

i think the chrome ones are from older trucks, newer trucks had the painted one

fyi, you are correct, your brother has a 208

and my 465 jams sometimes too, but usually i can push the shifter forward and give it a good wiggle, then it will go into gear

i have seen just as many chromes as painted ones

i think the chrome ones are from older trucks, newer trucks had the painted one

fyi, you are correct, your brother has a 208

and my 465 jams sometimes too, but usually i can push the shifter forward and give it a good wiggle, then it will go into gear

Well I guess this would be the first chrome one I have seen, (only 18) seems kinda weird that they would chrome the super slow shifting HD truck trannies though, but they sure do have a damn good finish that will last! :smokin:

I probably know more about his truck than he does; you could call me a research geek or something because I look up and research just about everything. I.e. axles, trannies, motors, etc. just to think in my head what "could be".:grinpimp: :flipoff2:

I have a painted one as well. No idea what years they came out in. The chrome i believe was a 77-79 at one time

i have a chrome one which came with my sm465 / 205 with a 10 spline

trim package. a custom delux/rubber floor mat truck would get the black, the silverado/seirra grande would get chrome.....


edit: oh, and my shifter is straight, no goofy s bend bullshit.

His shifter is already sloppy as hell! Of course it's a HD tranny used in trucks up to 2+ tons!

Duh. I think we knew that much already.

I gave him an option to fix it. Youre reiterating the same shit we all know. Tell me something new, tell us your fix. If you dont know anything, then try not to irritate people too much.

Duh. I think we knew that much already.

I gave him an option to fix it. Youre reiterating the same shit we all know. Tell me something new, tell us your fix. If you dont know anything, then try not to irritate people too much.

Man, you are a grumpy old fart! :flipoff:

Took the shifter out with the tranny "in neutral" and the shift forks or whatever weren't lined up right at all. I got under the truck and just "rocked" the driveshaft side to side while my brother took a screwdriver and pried on the forks until they lined up.

I could've sworn that on the center one, should be 3rd and 4th, there was a tiny little ball bearing type thing in a little recessed hole, but when I put the shifter back in it was gone. Was it just my imagination or is there one that should go there?

you're very observant... you should pay more attention to my signature line.

its your imagination.

in the photo below, you can see the detent pins in the tower. see how the ends are rounded off? swap the pins out by driving them out, turning them around and re-installing them. that might help you with your problem.
http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj186/Tonsoffun3203/IMG_0015-2.jpg

you're very observant... you should pay more attention to my signature line.

Oh yes, it is quite lovely.


No, I was talking about the shift forks themselves where the shifter itself goes into them. The center fork, 3rd and 4th I believe, has a little recess in it and when I took the tower out, it may have been light on oil, I thought I saw a ball bearing in it, and when I was putting it back in it was gone.

If it does need to be there, it isn't affecting the shifting at all so I ain't too worried about it.

your issue is in the pins, not the shift forks or rails, not the detents.

remove and swap the pins end for end. You will be amazed at the difference.

your issue is in the pins, not the shift forks or rails, not the detents.

remove and swap the pins end for end. You will be amazed at the difference.

Oh, damn I'm retarded, I just thought about what you're saying.
Yeah, you're talking about the slop in the shifter. Well, when he gets home sometime, I will turn them around for him.

in this photo, you will see that the weld is broken at the pivot ball. that also will allow a huge amount of slop and needs to be fixed, or the handle needs replacing.

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj186/Tonsoffun3203/IMG_0011-2.jpg

i fully welded mine there

then i took apart the lower section which is held together by a roll pin, then the center peice comes out, it has 2 bushings on it which are destroyed on every truck i have ever seen, as far as i know you cant buy them, i tried o rings but i eventually settled on electrical tape, it compressed over time, but initially, it helped the slop alot, now it only helped a tiny bit lol

I don't think either weld was broken, I wasn't checking that hard, but I will take a closer look later.

And I ain't the biggest fan of electrical tape as much as duct tape. Electrical tape glue "melts" in just sunlight and leaves this icky goo mess that I hate.