Transmission stuck in gear

[mach4g63t]

96 AWD 7-bolt tranny. Was having some problems when driving the vehicle to my house with having to double-pump the clutch for any shift. This is because the clutch line has a leak somewhere.

Anyway, on about a 35 mile ride home it would OCCASSIONALLY grind very softly... and i mean not even loud nor frequently, but enough to feel the resistance in the stick shifter. Shifted to 4th gear, no high revs, just standard driving and the next time i went to shift it to 5th wouldn't come out of gear. the clutch still disengaged with the pedal because i can free rev in neutral and let it out and drive again. checked linkage and adjustments - no problems. the levers on the transmission will allow a front to back movement as if it was shifting but won't leave gear. no movement from the level that controls side-to-side movement.

Anyone know what can cause this? Perhaps a bent shift fork or something of the likes? I'm just looking for ideas that i need to research before i pull it out and try to repair it myself. I'm not familiar with the internals of transmission beyond swapping output shafts. however, i'm prepared become intimately acquainted very soon.

all constructive input appreciated.

 

[donniekak]

Broken 3-4 shift fork. The roll pin hole will be split in half.

 

[rampridersrider]

Broken 3-4 shift fork. The roll pin hole will be split in half.

Agreed

 

[mach4g63t]

Okay, so I finally got this thing apart. I'm a completely new to the insides of transmission, but I'm rather certain this is a broken shift fork. I apologize for the bad pictures as this was taken on my cell phone... but it's pretty evident.

Anyone know where I can get a plain' ol shift fork and which gear this shift fork belongs to? I believe it's 3-4 as the car is locked in 4th gear at the moment. Of the three rods that come up (I'm assuming slide rails??) it's the middle one that is broken.

Uploaded these pics with the area I'm talking about highlight with a red circle.

 

[rampridersrider]

Thats a broken shift rail end. Jack has these for sale on his site.

Jacks Transmissions LLC — AWD input

 

[mach4g63t]

Thats a broken shift rail end. Jack has these for sale on his site.

Jacks Transmissions LLC — AWD input

Thanks a ton!

 

[mach4g63t]

So I got the new shift rail from Jack's transmission in today. I got it swapped out with the new one and am attempting to re-install the gear sets. When I put all the shift rails together and get the gears ready to set in their respective positions... the shiftrails won't align with the seats they rest in and I can't get it all in as one piece. Anyone have any tips/advice for installing the gear sets?

 

[rampridersrider]

So I got the new shift rail from Jack's transmission in today. I got it swapped out with the new one and am attempting to re-install the gear sets. When I put all the shift rails together and get the gears ready to set in their respective positions... the shiftrails won't align with the seats they rest in and I can't get it all in as one piece. Anyone have any tips/advice for installing the gear sets?

Patience. I usually use a long flat head screw driver and a rubber mallet. I set the whole cluster with the input/intermediate/and rails all in one at once, pull the shift shaft up and slide the 1/2 shift rail in and turn it accordingly and set rail end fork on the shift shaft and slide the shaft down. Then start working on the 3/4 5/R rails. It just takes a little patience. One time I can get them in in 30 seconds, then the next it takes me 10 minutes. I usually take and line them up with the holes they rest in, then lightly tap them with a rubber mallet so they seat in then start moving the rail ends around accordingly. Good luck and take your time.



Edit: ALSO, When you are ready to put the put the middle case on the bell housing, be sure to put the oil guide on correctly, and while your in there you may as well remove the magnet and brake clean any metal flakes off. Also, align the reverse idler arm with the bolt hole before putting the case back on. Be sure to keep the 5/R rail end on the shift shaft when assembling, if this falls off it may or may not become a total pain in the ass to put back on with the rest of the body on. Don't try to shift the trans until you have the 5th gears put back on and the 5th gear fork on the rail with the roll pin installed. Also be sure put the restricter ball assembly on the top of the transmission back in before you start shifting. Be sure to clean off all the RTV and put a new bead of sealent back on for assembly. And last but not least, take your time on the 5th gear input cluster. When installing it and torquing it down, keep the reverse synchro on at all times as the dowels and spring in the hub will pop off and then you have take the hub back off and reassemble it all and its a pain in the ass.

This is just all a bunch of stuff I've noticed from putting these together. Its not a hard job, just take your time and be smart. Good luck.

 

[mach4g63t]

Patience. I usually use a long flat head screw driver and a rubber mallet. I set the whole cluster with the input/intermediate/and rails all in one at once, pull the shift shaft up and slide the 1/2 shift rail in and turn it accordingly and set rail end fork on the shift shaft and slide the shaft down. Then start working on the 3/4 5/R rails. It just takes a little patience. One time I can get them in in 30 seconds, then the next it takes me 10 minutes. I usually take and line them up with the holes they rest in, then lightly tap them with a rubber mallet so they seat in then start moving the rail ends around accordingly. Good luck and take your time.



Edit: ALSO, When you are ready to put the put the middle case on the bell housing, be sure to put the oil guide on correctly, and while your in there you may as well remove the magnet and brake clean any metal flakes off. Also, align the reverse idler arm with the bolt hole before putting the case back on. Be sure to keep the 5/R rail end on the shift shaft when assembling, if this falls off it may or may not become a total pain in the ass to put back on with the rest of the body on. Don't try to shift the trans until you have the 5th gears put back on and the 5th gear fork on the rail with the roll pin installed. Also be sure put the restricter ball assembly on the top of the transmission back in before you start shifting. Be sure to clean off all the RTV and put a new bead of sealent back on for assembly. And last but not least, take your time on the 5th gear input cluster. When installing it and torquing it down, keep the reverse synchro on at all times as the dowels and spring in the hub will pop off and then you have take the hub back off and reassemble it all and its a pain in the ass.

This is just all a bunch of stuff I've noticed from putting these together. Its not a hard job, just take your time and be smart. Good luck.

Yea, I ended up getting it. Everything took a bit of patience and trial and error. Shifts normally and kink-free. Everything on the tranny is in pretty good appearance wise. Thanks for all the help! Hopefully I'll have it in by tomorrow.

Patience. I usually use a long flat head screw driver and a rubber mallet. I set the whole cluster with the input/intermediate/and rails all in one at once, pull the shift shaft up and slide the 1/2 shift rail in and turn it accordingly and set rail end fork on the shift shaft and slide the shaft down. Then start working on the 3/4 5/R rails. It just takes a little patience. One time I can get them in in 30 seconds, then the next it takes me 10 minutes. I usually take and line them up with the holes they rest in, then lightly tap them with a rubber mallet so they seat in then start moving the rail ends around accordingly. Good luck and take your time.



Edit: ALSO, When you are ready to put the put the middle case on the bell housing, be sure to put the oil guide on correctly, and while your in there you may as well remove the magnet and brake clean any metal flakes off. Also, align the reverse idler arm with the bolt hole before putting the case back on. Be sure to keep the 5/R rail end on the shift shaft when assembling, if this falls off it may or may not become a total pain in the ass to put back on with the rest of the body on. Don't try to shift the trans until you have the 5th gears put back on and the 5th gear fork on the rail with the roll pin installed. Also be sure put the restricter ball assembly on the top of the transmission back in before you start shifting. Be sure to clean off all the RTV and put a new bead of sealent back on for assembly. And last but not least, take your time on the 5th gear input cluster. When installing it and torquing it down, keep the reverse synchro on at all times as the dowels and spring in the hub will pop off and then you have take the hub back off and reassemble it all and its a pain in the ass.

This is just all a bunch of stuff I've noticed from putting these together. Its not a hard job, just take your time and be smart. Good luck.

I was just re-reading this to double-check and realized I had shifted all the gears without 5th gear being on the set and realized why you're not suposed to do that. The stupid shift fork came away from the selector lever and I had to pull it apart to re-align it.

Lesson learned.