T176 Replacement Shift Fork Too Big?
tbones999
Jeeper
Hey all!
A week ago, I backed into my garage, and when I went to put my Transmission in neutral, the shifter moved, but the Transmission was still in reverse. I had the same problem everyone with a T-176 does. One of the pins came loose. The PO actually put a collar around the shift tower and used bolts that were welded to the collar. One of the welds broke. Left one in the picture.
I ordered a new shift cover (with pins) and the shift lever repair kit (Shift lever spring, both caps). When I was moving the shift forks and rails from the old cover to the new cover, I noticed my first/second shift fork was really worn where the shifter contacts it to push it into first gear position.
I wanted to see if I could get everything back together. So, I assembled everything and dropped it back into the Transmission . Right away one of the pins came loose, so on went the hose clamp. Then everything was working fine, except it was really hard to get into first gear. (Go figure, right?) So I ordered a replacement fork. I ordered from Morris and they sent OMIX-ADA 18884.30. That matches Rock Auto's P/N.
The new one has a steel insert inside where my old one was worn. That makes sense; I would rather be pushing on steel than brass.
However, the new part is significantly bigger.
Big enough that the 1st/2nd fork is contacting the 3rd/4th fork where the shifter makes contact with them.
It is hard to tell in this first picture, but the 1st/2nd fork is contacting the 3rd/4th fork and rotating it toward the reverse fork. The top of the 3rd/4th fork (edge closest to camera) is rotated over toward the reverse fork.
It is easier to see the contact in these pictures. (These are taken from the bottom, so the contact is the edge closest to camera. 1st/2nd fork is on the left, pushing the 3rd/4th fork toward the reverse fork.)
I was able to get it into the Transmission , but it took effort to make sure the forks got into the right spot. (With the old 1st/2nd fork, it just dropped right in.) Even when it was lined up properly, it wasn't shifting well. It was stiff, especially coming out of a gear going for neutral. It really felt like the fork would move out of gear, then make contact in the neutral position. It wouldn't "get stuck" but it was hard to tell when it was in neutral because the contact made it stiff.
Now I am looking for some advice. Crown makes the same part. I could order the Crown part and hope that it doesn't have the same problems. Hopefully I can return the fork I bought, but it has been in and out of the Transmission a few times now and I am not looking forward to pressing out the pin that holds it in place.
The other option is I could machine (dremel/file) down that surface until it doesn't contact the 3rd/4th fork anymore. My only concern is how much do I file it down? The old part had a ton of side to side play. See videos.
IMG 0844 - YouTube
IMG 0845 - YouTube
This video is the old fork from below, at a similar angle to the picture above that showed the contact with the new fork. As you can see, there is a ton of play.
IMG 0866 - YouTube
I didn't take a video with the new fork in. When the new fork is in, there is zero side to side play in neutral. None.
The safe play is to order the Crown part and hope that it is closer to the original part.
If anyone has run into this and would like to share their solution I would really appreciate it. Also, if anyone has any advice on how much play the forks should have side to side (i.e. how much clearance between the 1st/2nd and 3rd/4th forks where the shifter contacts them) I am all ears.
Thanks everyone!
Tyler
A week ago, I backed into my garage, and when I went to put my Transmission in neutral, the shifter moved, but the Transmission was still in reverse. I had the same problem everyone with a T-176 does. One of the pins came loose. The PO actually put a collar around the shift tower and used bolts that were welded to the collar. One of the welds broke. Left one in the picture.
I ordered a new shift cover (with pins) and the shift lever repair kit (Shift lever spring, both caps). When I was moving the shift forks and rails from the old cover to the new cover, I noticed my first/second shift fork was really worn where the shifter contacts it to push it into first gear position.
I wanted to see if I could get everything back together. So, I assembled everything and dropped it back into the Transmission . Right away one of the pins came loose, so on went the hose clamp. Then everything was working fine, except it was really hard to get into first gear. (Go figure, right?) So I ordered a replacement fork. I ordered from Morris and they sent OMIX-ADA 18884.30. That matches Rock Auto's P/N.
The new one has a steel insert inside where my old one was worn. That makes sense; I would rather be pushing on steel than brass.
However, the new part is significantly bigger.
Big enough that the 1st/2nd fork is contacting the 3rd/4th fork where the shifter makes contact with them.
It is hard to tell in this first picture, but the 1st/2nd fork is contacting the 3rd/4th fork and rotating it toward the reverse fork. The top of the 3rd/4th fork (edge closest to camera) is rotated over toward the reverse fork.
It is easier to see the contact in these pictures. (These are taken from the bottom, so the contact is the edge closest to camera. 1st/2nd fork is on the left, pushing the 3rd/4th fork toward the reverse fork.)
I was able to get it into the Transmission , but it took effort to make sure the forks got into the right spot. (With the old 1st/2nd fork, it just dropped right in.) Even when it was lined up properly, it wasn't shifting well. It was stiff, especially coming out of a gear going for neutral. It really felt like the fork would move out of gear, then make contact in the neutral position. It wouldn't "get stuck" but it was hard to tell when it was in neutral because the contact made it stiff.
Now I am looking for some advice. Crown makes the same part. I could order the Crown part and hope that it doesn't have the same problems. Hopefully I can return the fork I bought, but it has been in and out of the Transmission a few times now and I am not looking forward to pressing out the pin that holds it in place.
The other option is I could machine (dremel/file) down that surface until it doesn't contact the 3rd/4th fork anymore. My only concern is how much do I file it down? The old part had a ton of side to side play. See videos.
IMG 0844 - YouTube
IMG 0845 - YouTube
This video is the old fork from below, at a similar angle to the picture above that showed the contact with the new fork. As you can see, there is a ton of play.
IMG 0866 - YouTube
I didn't take a video with the new fork in. When the new fork is in, there is zero side to side play in neutral. None.
The safe play is to order the Crown part and hope that it is closer to the original part.
If anyone has run into this and would like to share their solution I would really appreciate it. Also, if anyone has any advice on how much play the forks should have side to side (i.e. how much clearance between the 1st/2nd and 3rd/4th forks where the shifter contacts them) I am all ears.
Thanks everyone!
Tyler
. One person I know was able to grind the aftermarket forks down to get them to work, but from spankrjs thread above, it looks like a LOT of work to get the aftermarket