Tranny/Shifter help

[69 6BBL]

Hey smart people I need some help.

Got a 69 gtx 440 4 speed resurrected from a 15 yr old restoration and then parked in a barn...

This is the third summer I've been enjoying it, or trying to enjoy it, we have put a lot into it but we are stumped right now with this one.

The car has been tricky to shift, not much slop in neutral, almost like it would get bound up... Lately it has stopped going into first gear making the car pretty much undriveable. Some days it would some days it wouldn't. I would take it out, enjoy it and then all a sudden while sitting at a light I would have to fight it to get back in gear. Sometimes while holding it up towards first it would take a couple seconds to go in, sometimes it worked better after moving the shifter lever around and then trying again, sometimes the fussy pig just would refuse to go.

Last weekend I was having troubles so I decided to get her home. Come around my last corner, go thru second, waaaaaaaa into third and release the clutch and it felt like it grabbed first, squawking the tires like a downshift, throwing me and my passengers forward and then it was stuck in gear, could it maybe have been two gears?

So we threw it on the lift, called a friend of ours who's got a few extra hurst mechanisms just laying around, and throw one of em in the car.

The feel of the lever is loose, very loose between gears, but still have to fight it into gears. With the car on the lift we sit there running it through the gears with the car off and it feels,...meh...

Start the car up and the mehhh goes to nothing but free floating shifter lever, sometimes it would act like I could get it into gear, but the odd part is the car will not go into neutral even with the lever free, and in neutral. After messing around for about an hour we just gave up without saying a word. We have no idea what to do next.

Anyone have any ideas?

 

[62 Dart Convertible]

Sounds like you may have several problems. If it feels free floating (like no notch), then perhaps the dedent spring is broken or weak. Difficulty in engaging gears is usually worn synchro rings. You may even have a bent/damaged shift fork. Only way to know is take the box out and check it out... Gearboxes are not that tricky.

 

[69 6BBL]

Gaaaah!

I was hoping to avoid that if possible. But I think ur right it's gotta come out.

I'm thinking that since its gotta come out it may be a good time to yank the whole engine/trans at the same time, redo some other things that need redone. It may be the loss of a summer of cruising,

:angryfire::icon_hang:

but it's probably for the best in the long run.

 

[62 Dart Convertible]

I would just do the gearbox first considering how easy it is to get out and get fixed. I wouldn't want to loose too much "cruise time", summer is too short!!

Good luck, and please update this with what you find as we'd all love to know and learn too.

 

[69 6BBL]

Yea im still debating it actually... The car had to take a number recently as there are way too many projects sitting here. First I had to do front end work to my LJ jeep, then I had to do some to my girlfriends jeep, friends got a busted brake line, oil changes and brake jobs... All sorts of miscellaneous crap for other people every week it seems like something else comes over...(I'm the guy with the car lift and all the tools). We have got an intrepid and an old stratus or breeze sitting outside for friends that both need engines put in, my brothers got a 73 duster he needs to get finished, as well as all of his other 4 cars that have just about all been in the garage for other crap in the last few months...I just got a 69 A-100 van to try to get back on the road, 15 acres to keep mowed every week, demanding job that's got me tied up 50-60 hrs a week, have a mentioned i have a girlfriend? blah blah blah I could go on and on...

I will keep this thread alive, start taking pictures if I decide to go the route I intended to go with stripping motor and trans out to fix all the little crap and do some needed body work. We are actually in the process of building a BIGGER garage also (as soon as the contractor starts actually doing some work) which will be nice. We can then take our time all winter to get er done and back together.

 

[62 Dart Convertible]

You my friend are a classic case of the old saying -

"If you need something done, ask somebody that's busy"!!

I think the only thing you could be accused of is being too considerate of others at the expense of yourself, and could perhaps learn how to say "No" nicely?!

Hey, we all go through stages like that though. I'm going through it at the moment too. Slammed at work, always busy at home, my kids and elderly parents and in-laws that require my time. Some days it's difficult to fit in sleep. All this leaves bugger all time to get out in my garage and get my motor back together over winter....

I look forward to hearing about you cruising a summers night in your 69 gtx 440 4 speed! We'd love to see a picture of it:icon_wink:

 

[69 6BBL]

So its been a while since I've made it to the site... I know 62dc had asked me a while ago to keep this post updated, so heres what happened. The car sat all last summer, and all of this summer. A few months ago I got into tearing the tranny out, and gave it to brewers performance for a full rebuild. I previously purchased my clutch through them and they were very helpful to me in the past.

And you were right - there were many things wrong, my main case had a 3inch crack, it needed all new syncros, shift forks and levers, and other misc things. Got the tranny back with a new case and she looks brand new. They also sent my clutch back to McLeod for me, there were problems with that too. One of the pp springs was busted, and you could see on the plate where it wasn't fully contacting the whole circumference. No questions were asked, and within a month my clutch was returned to me rebuilt at no charge. Couldn't be happier with the service I got from brewers, I can't wait to get it all back together.

I also yanked the motor to go through and rebuild, and the car is currently at a friend of mines for body work. I'm working on hoarding new parts for it this winter so I can finish it and get back on the road come springtime.



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[HT413]

You, sir, are one busy guy. Amazing that gearbox was so trashed and still basically worked.

 

[69 6BBL]

I know right. It was stuck in gear but I was able to drive it when I parked it in the big garage two falls ago, but this summer I fired it up, got it good and hot and then it wouldn't move. I had to crawl underneath it (still hot) and take out the driveshaft so I could push it across the yard to the other garage. As far as the busy goes I wish I would stay busy. I lack the proper motivation sometimes to do all the work I have in front of me, kinda overwhelmed.