lefty67

Hello:
Here's the problem; normally when I want to put my 66, 4 speed in reverse, I pull up on the reverse lock out handle and slide the shifter over to the left and up. Then when I want to put it back in first gear I bring shifter to neutral and move shifter to the right till the handle "clicks" out of the reverse lock out position. Now the lock out is stuck in the up position until I have to manually force/push it back down. Do I need to lubricate it or what? If it needs to be lubed, what is recommended? Thanks for your help.

Mark

KSL '67 101234

I had the same problem with my '66 SS 396 Chevelle back in the mid-70's. Only, I had to get under the car to force the shifter into position. I was 16 then, so I didn't care. Best of all, my friends who drove 4-sp chevys called me for help. For a beer, I was a cheap mechanic and fast - 30 secs or less! I think some of my buddies still owe me...

I never diagnosed the problem, other than to blame it on a Muncie design flaw.

65GGvert

Unscrew the ball and look at the spring, it may be compressed and stuck. You may need a new spring. When you screw the ball on, it pushes against the spring and compresses it which pushes the "t" handle down. The spring may have compressed and twisted and binding on itself. If you need to lube anything, use grease, it's not a special device, just metal sliding on metal and there's lots of space, so usually lube isn't needed. Also make sure the ball is screwed down tight and not up the threads. If it were, it would rotate freely and I think you would have noticed.
Getting under the car won't get you to where the problem is, it's in the shifter at the top.

FFBillysCor

Hello Mark; Don't force anything! Your shifter plates may need a little adjustment. When you cannot shift out of reverse it may indicate the need to insert a shifter alignment gauge and slightly adjust rods to allow for smoother shifting. If you have an AIM the whole procedure is written there. It is a good skill to be familiar with. Best...

65GGvert

Either me or you guys aren't reading the question correctly. He didn't say it wouldn't come out of reverse, he said the t handle didn't spring down by itself any more. "the lock out is stuck in the up position" unless he pushes it down, which means it's no longer locked out of reverse. The problem is in the spring, or the t handle ***'y unless I'm misunderstanding the issue.

FFBillysCor

Hi 65, Never heard of a spring being "stuck" in compressed position. Most likely tang on shifter shaft is just not clearing shift plate. By forcing it down by hand it is a very temporary fix with undue wear. It will worsen without adjustment. Best...

65GGvert

It can get twisted and bind on itself causing the t to stick. The spring has to slide in the hole in the ball so it can compress and expand. IF it gets at angle, it rubs instead. I've had it happen before. Once he moves the stick to the right, it's out of the slot for the reverse rod, and he says that's when it "used to pop up" by itself. I think it's binding at the top. Easy to tell, remove the ball and move it up and down.

lefty67

You are correct. The t-handle stays in the up position until I "push" it back down. Then the shifter works just fine. It just started doing this and I checked the spring and it looks ok and the ball is screwed down all the way. So grease might help and no oil correct?

FFBillyscor, How do you adjust tang?

Thanks all.

FFBillysCor

That would hopefully be the easiest solution. But, as we know, easy don't come easy ! Best...

FFBillysCor

Ok, here we go. On the bottom of the shifter shaft there is a small tang that is somewhat rectangular in shape. It is not adjustable. The shifter plates, when properly aligned in neutral, will allow that tang to travel back and forth between them. The best way to describe this is when you can move the shifter from the left to the right, and vice versa, you do not feel interference. You can tell when you have free clearance from the reverse position past first and second, and third and fourth gears. This indicates your shifter and shift rods are properly aligned. There is a recommended procedure that can address this alignment, but I suspect that yours is a very minor adjustment. It must be done from underneath, and it could be turning a transmission rod (probably the outer,1st and 2nd gear) two or three turns one way or the other. The other possibility is a little known occurrence, where the round hole where the rod goes through the shift plate(the small plate that bolts to the transmission) becomes oval due to wear. This can also throw the adjustment out of whack. I hope I have been able to help, I would appreciate knowing what you find. Let me know. Best...

65GGvert

I've never had to lubricate the t handle on a Muncie. I'd unscrew the ball, remove the spring, and pull the handle up and down and see where it's binding. The nylon bushing around the bottom of the t may be damaged and rubbing on the inside of the shifter handle shaft. Whatever the problem is, you should be able to feel where it's binding with the ball and spring off. In neutral, it should slide up and down freely. Also pull the t handle all the way up and out and look at the bottom of the rod that does the lock out. If it was jammed hard to the side, it may be bent at the bottom. If so, straighten it back out and it should be fine.

65GGvert

I'm not trying to be difficult here, but if the alignment is off, the shifter handle won't move freely left to right through the gates in the levers. It won't cause the t handle to stay in the up position unless the lock out rod on the bottom of the t handle itself is rubbing on something it shouldn't be due to being bent. IF your shifter is binding left to right when in the neutral position, or trying to move in and out of reverse, then you need an alignment. BUT....that's not what our symptom is. It's a very simple lockout, it lifts up to clear the reverse gate and then drops back down (with the help of the spring) when you release it. I think you'll find the problem in the t handle portion, not in the shift lever alignment. Be sure to post back what you find in case it's something else, I don't want to offer bad advice.

lefty67

FFBillyscor- Thanks for the tang details. But now it does feel like it is binding where the plastic bushing is located in the t-handle per what 65GGVERT suggested. I will keep you posted on any improvement or change as I eliminate the possibilities tomorrow. Thanks,

Mark

65GGvert

The purpose of the bushing is to cut down rattle at rpm's. To test to see if the bushing is causing the friction, just remove the bushing and everything should work as normal, but may rattle more.

lefty67

Thanks. Did not have time today to check it out. I will Friday and let you know.
Mark

Gary's '66

Mark,

From the way you've described your issue, I think that 65GGvert is right on the money:
Your problem lies within the shifter handle.

It's either binding at the shaft, spring, or the spring may be just too weak. Remove the **** and check for binding of the sleeve. If the sleeve is binding try a little lube. If it still binds remove the nylon bushings and try it. If the bushings are the cause they most likely are an aftermarket product and those NEVER fit right (material too damn thick) so you may need to use a couple of strips of electrical tape on the shaft for the time being until you can locate some NOS bushings like I did on Ebay or from some other source. If the sleeve moves freely then there's an issue with the spring. If you determine that it is the spring then try stretching it to give it more tension so it will be able to push the sleeve all the way down. If that works then order a new spring from any of the usual vendors. Good luck and let us know what you find out.

Gary

lefty67

Thanks to all for the input and options. By process of elimination, it turned out to be the nylon bushing/sleeve binding under the T-handle for some reason. It(t-handle) was really jammed on the the shifter and took some force to pull the t-handle off the shifter. I had a new bushing left over from another project so I re installed and it is working as it should.
Thanks again,

Mark