4 speed toploader shifting issues

So as the title states i have a 70 wide ratio toploader, the problem i am running in to is its hard to get in to second. When it feels like it is in second it grinds then goes in. The next gear i have issues with is 3. When 3rd reseives power it has a tendency of maybe 35% of the time to kick it out of gear in a harsh manner. I have yet to open the tranny up due to my limited time on rnr, plus i am not familure with this transmission. Any help would be great.

I would start with my clutch adjustment. You may need to decrease the slack in the pedal to get adequate engagement for shifting. This is my best bet.

It is possible that the shifter is out of adjustment. There is a point where the plates that make up the shifter will line up and a pin can be inserted through a hole in each plate if it is in alignment. This has to be done from under the car (Use a large allen wrench that just fits the hole in the outer side) But I'm going to bet that isn't it.

There are a lot of possible issues inside the transmission and I'm not competent to diagnose them. With mine I had similar behavior plus the added symptom of the car getting stuck either out of gear altogether or in reverse. When that happened I could reach under the car and wiggle all the linkages until I freed it up. Mine was caused by wear to the case itself where the main shaft rode and required disassembly and machining the case for a bushing insert.

David Kee Toploaders has any part you may need, good exploded view diagrams and historical information on the toploaders.

Thanks for the tip with David Kee. I will be looking in to rebuilding and this site will save me a lot of time.

+1 Id say clutch adjustment.

Good luck!

now on the old linkage style is there an adjusment there

How-to linkage adjustments here:



Check the shifter linkage "stops" make sure its going into gear fully... if it is than->

Most likely our popping out of gear problem will be found inside the gearbox (cynchros).

Post up your location, you might find some local help-for instance I have a completely rebuilt wide ratio toploader and two hurst shifters all stashed in my basement-while I probably wouldn't sell the transmission and ship it, for a local, I might cut a deal.

For the time being I at ohio in the defiance area. i am stationed and will be returning to Fayetteville NC

Thank you for your service.

Assuming the clutch and the shifter are properly adjusted, 2nd gear synchronizer engagement teeth worn/broken, 3rd gear bent/worn shift fork/rail or detent check ball and spring. These are best guesses at this point.

Resources Dan Williams and Top Loader Heaven, in addition to David Kee already mentioned. I hope you get it fixed. Let us know what you find. Chuck

Thank you for all the help, i will check it out in the morning. This is just for a temp fix to get it to the body guy this coming week to start the metal work restoration on it. and yes i will start a thread to show every one the progress

metalfan,

16-17 years back, my buddy gave me a toploader for my 71, he said it was probably shot as it would easily pop out of gear all the time (he knew the history of the donor car). Opened it up to clean it up and check it out and found the internal detents were worn. Both pins and springs. Replaced all of them and now no issues with popping from gear.

Good luck,

Tom

I've rebuilt several toploaders. Popping out of gear is almost always worn internals. The worst is when it has the tendency of popping out of gear and the driver holds it in gear via the shifter. It wears things out in a hurry and the repair bill gets expensive.

In most cases, if the clutch adjustment is correct,,,, A grinding when shifting into gear is most likely a worn or damaged synchro to that gear.. Popping out of gear once engaged, is inherent to a bent shift fork, or the leading edge of the gear is worn or damaged.