linkage problem?

[rob v]

hi all. i have a 62 falcon with a "three on the tree". i just put in a new clutch. now I'm having shifting problems. i can go into first and second,but i cannot put it into neutral or shift to third or reverse. basically it will only shift on one lever. any idea where i went wrong. thanks rob

[Luva65wagon]

Am I mistaken or is 1st and second gears on two different levers? I think you have to go through neutral to get from 1st to 2nd gear. Are you sure you don't have 2nd and 3rd? No 1st and reverse?

Regardless, you need to disconnect the linkages from the tranny or levers under the hood and put both the tranny and shift lever (inside the car) in neutral. Then adjust the lever lengths to fall into the holes on which-ever end you have floating. If the levers, for instance, got switchd at the tranny for some reason, I can assure things wouldn't shift right (assuming such a thing is possible).

That's all I can think of without seeing one again. I swapped to a 4-speed a few years, so I can't go look under my hood any more and see what's what.

[Nathan289]

Sounds like Roger got it right..

[rob v]

yes i screwed up.:(now let me see if i have this right.straight up is reverse,down is first. forward and up is 2nd ,then forward and down is third.so my problem is i can`t shift to the second /third lever.or get it out of neutral.i see your having a meeting .is this open to non members?(or prospects)

[Nathan289]

Pulling torward you and up is reverse.. Toward you and down is first.

Up and away is second down and away is third..

It soundls like the linkage needs to be adjusting.. do you have a shop manual? If not there is one online at Tffn.net go to forums and down at the bottom is online shop manuals.. scroll to the tranny section and theres a breif section on how to adjust..

Other wise I can try scanning my copy and posting it..

Nathan

[Nathan289]

yes, meetings are open to anyone that is interested.. though the meeting was last wednesday..

Nathan

[Luva65wagon]

Yeah, the meeting was last week.

But the problem with the linkage is pretty simple to sort out. In essence the tranny won't shift between two other gears if any other gear is already in mesh.

So the easiest thing to do is to jack up the car and disconnect the linkages from the tranny. This will allow the shift levers on the column freedom to move.

Next put the steering column shifter into the neutral position (where you can pull the lever fore and aft -- that won't happen unless the shift levers out n the engine compartment are aligned correctly).

Now, going down below, the shift levers on the tranny are "keyed" with internal ball/indents to lock the levers into place when they are in their neutral/center positions -- so, by hand, force these back and forth and stop them when you know they are in their center position where they naturally will stay in place.

Next take one shift rod and carefully position it over the tranny lever it belongs to. Do NOT try and move or force either the rod or the shift lever to get the pin into the hole. Instead, you need to adjust the rod length as needed (it is adjuatable on one end or the other) until that rod drops into the hole.

Now do exactly the same with the other shift rod.

Theoretically, if you haven't moved the shift column out of neutral and have not moved the levers on the tranny through all of this, your car should now be in neutral and both tranny levers as well.

Now you should be able to move through all the gears because the lever on the tranny will always be in neutral when the steering column is.

Barring any really worn out parts, this should do it for you. Good Luck!

If you still find you can't get it to go, don't hesitate to put on a big HELP flag and maybe one of us can swing by and lend a hand.