Transmission / Overdrive: Shift Linkage Champ Pickup 3 Speed

[55s]

1962 Champ 1/2 ton 3 speed.

Went for a run, now the shift linkage is too sloppy under the hood. Difficult to shift.

Questions:

How big a job is it to change the shift linkage? (hours?)
Is the linkage the same for the cars? (I have a parts car)
What parts do I typically need?
It appears to be temporarily fixed by a lot of grease - OK?

I do have the shop manual - just looking for a little practical experience before I start.

Thank you.

[studeclunker]

there are rubber grommets that go in the shift levers on the tranny, have you checked those? If they get worn out or slip out of place, the shifting can be difficult, if not impossible. Check on the steering column base as well, though I don't think the truck has them there. Lastly, there's a... grommet (for lack of a better word) spot welded to the shifting tube in the steering jacket. If that grommet comes off or loose, it can also make shifting difficult or just plain impossible.

By changing the shift linkage, are you talking about just the shift levers (that go from the column to the tranny) or the steering jacket as well?

[55s]

Thank you, Ron.

We did get it shifting, but the rods are a little sloppy at the steering column where the two shift levers come up from the transmission. Transmission connections are tight. Does not appear to be a grommet there.

[studeclunker]

Sorry about taking so long to get back to this. Have you checked on the transmission levers? Those should have grommets. The attachment at the base of the steering column doesn't have gromets on a Champ. However the tranny does.

Another thing to look for; the inner jacket on the steering column also can get sloppy. There's an eye tack-welded on the top of the jacket that the shifting lever seats into. If it has come loose or fallen off, the shifting can get nearly impossible to accomplish. The only way I know of to check this is to remove the outer jacket of the column.