3 Speed shifter locking up???

[Waydon]

Has anyone had this happen? I have a 63 Lark, OHV 6 with 3 speed manual transmission and the other day I pulled away from a stop sign and the gearshift got bound up in what should have been neutral. The car was apparently stuck in low gear for awhile as I had to go to a car shop and they got underneath and tapped on the forks with a small ball peen hammer , and got it to start shifting again. Is this more than likely to be shift linkage bushings going bad or is this some sort of more serious internal Transmission problem getting ready to happen? Any tips and ideas would be very much appreciated...

[jackb]

linkage adjustment needed...shop manual has it all...if you don't have one, email me off line...

[laughinlark]

Check your engine & transmission mounts. It is common for them to be squished from age, oil soaked ect. They will cause the linkage to bind.

Gordon

[wolfie]

As others have said its linkage. Grommets, mounts etc.. wear. Most column shift cars I have driven had to be pushed a bit past the neutral point then allowed to settle before going to second gear. It just became second nature to feel for the gear to release. Steve

[wolfie]

Just a quirk but the new forum seems to double some words. In my last post it doubled the word pushed and when I edit one of them from the post both disappear. Just weirdness I can live with but thought someone ought to know. Steve

[Tom Bredehoft]

Until you get the problem solved (I haven't yet) carry a long half inch box end wrench behind the front seat on the floor. When this lock up occurs, stop the car on level ground, shut off the engine, open the hood, and with the long half inch box end wrench, lift up on the rearmost shifter on the steering column, just forward of the firewall. You may have to rock the car a bit, but it will pull up into neutral.

[Welcome]

>>>Any tips and ideas would be very much appreciated...

YES!

Lift hood, locate the steering column and the two shift LEVERS. There usually is a grease fitting on the upper LEVER. Grease it liberally!!! (you can wipe off excess later). Next, oil the point where each shift ROD connects to the LEVER. Get in your Lark and depress clutch & brake pedals. Use the gear shift hand lever to slowly shift through the entire shift pattern several times. If you notice less & less effort to shift through the ranges, you may have addressed the problem.

[bezhawk]

The most common thing that makes shifting go haywire is the pot-metal bell that the shifter handle mounts to. I wears first and causes the dreaded 1-2 shift lock-up.
This is the same part as 60's Ford Econoline vans used too. I'd check your Stude vendors and see if you can find one. I bet it will fix your problems.

[Clem64]

My 8E5 Champ pickup used to do that when it was brand new back in the 60s! I would pull over to the side of the road, raise the hood and quickly pull the those two shifter ears on the column back to neutral then resume the trip. Eventually I figured out that it seemed to occur when I was shifting rather slowly. Once I began to shift more briskly the problem disappeared.

[Waydon]

Thanks for your advice, I will have to check these items....waydon