Three on tree stuck in first

[smittymike19]

Looked through the forum and cant find answer.. The truck is stuck in first and from what I understand I need to whack it with a rubber mallet somewhere. Anyone care to help a newbie out and show me where to hit it? Also, I read that I should change the bushings. Any videos out there to show how to do that?
Thanks

 

[1strodeo]

sometimes the shift arms at the column can get wedged together, like every time I've let someone drive my bronco, I end up having to have them pull over, shut it off, pop the hood and I gotta reach in and free the shift arms %) can you move the levers on the tranny?

 

[smittymike19]

sometimes the shift arms at the column can get wedged together, like every time I've let someone drive my bronco, I end up having to have them pull over, shut it off, pop the hood and I gotta reach in and free the shift arms %) can you move the levers on the tranny?

The lever at the steering column moves slightly, but i cant put it into gear.

 

[B RON CO]

Hi, sometimes the levers on the tranny go out of wack and it could be 1/2 way in first, or another gear, and it gets stuck that way. If that happened, you have to crawl under and put both of the shift levers in neutral, which is both levers centered. Good luck

 

[1strodeo]

pop your hood and look at the 2 shift arms coming out of the column. You should be able to move them, one at a time, up or down by hand. The shift arms as pictured (Pic 1) are in neutral. One shift arm must always be in neutral in order for the other to move. Move each one up and down and look for binding between them.

If they will not move, crawl under the Bronco and try to move - again, one at a time - the shift levers on the driver side of the transmission. The levers in the second and third pic are in neutral. Hope this helps.

PS you can also do the Linkage Adjustment procedure in pic 1, pretty quick and easy.

 

[smittymike19]

pop your hood and look at the 2 shift arms coming out of the column. You should be able to move them, one at a time, up or down by hand. The shift arms as pictured (Pic 1) are in neutral. One shift arm must always be in neutral in order for the other to move. Move each one up and down and look for binding between them.

If they will not move, crawl under the Bronco and try to move - again, one at a time - the shift levers on the driver side of the transmission. The levers in the second and third pic are in neutral. Hope this helps.

PS you can also do the Linkage Adjustment procedure in pic 1, pretty quick and easy.

AMAZING response! Thank you. Ill give this a go when i get home. Thanks again

 

[smittymike19]

Hi, sometimes the levers on the tranny go out of wack and it could be 1/2 way in first, or another gear, and it gets stuck that way. If that happened, you have to crawl under and put both of the shift levers in neutral, which is both levers centered. Good luck

ok ill try that out. Do you think ill need to use a mallet?

 

[1strodeo]

ok ill try that out. Do you think ill need to use a mallet?

no you shouldn't need a mallet, both levers move pretty easily under normal circumstances, if they don't it usually means one is not in neutral as Ron was saying

once you get under there and get the levers moving, again look for any signs of binding between the long shift rods as you move the levers back and forth

 

[smittymike19]

Hi, sometimes the levers on the tranny go out of wack and it could be 1/2 way in first, or another gear, and it gets stuck that way. If that happened, you have to crawl under and put both of the shift levers in neutral, which is both levers centered. Good luck

ok ill try that out. Do you think ill need to use a mallet?

 

[DirtDonk]

A mallet is a last resort kind of thing and can literally break things if you've not careful.
Yes, these gearboxes are pretty robust, but if you need a mallet to move something, you have deeper problems than just a simple out-of-adjustment issue.

If things are just badly jammed, maybe it can help that last little bit. But I would still say that's a last resort.
Try it all by hand first.

Paul

 

[DirtDonk]

And make sure a wheel is chocked and/or your parking brake is working and set.

Paul

 

[jasonmcc]

It happened to me a few times. I would do this to try and fix it. Even if it doesn't work its good to know how to do this...

Chock wheels so truck can't move anywhere if placed in neutral.
Get under the vehicle with I think its 1/2" socket but could be wrong on size
Follow your shift rod down and you'll see where it connects to the tranny.
Loosen those two bolts or remove them
Take the shift arms connected to the tranny and place them in neutral
Grab a screwdriver or small drill bit
This is hard to explain but up at the top of the firewall on your column, you'll see the two shift rods. You'll want to line them up to where you can stick that screwdriver or drill bit all the way through both of them to hold it at neutral.
now go back under the truck and tighten the two bolts back for the linkage.
This resets everything into a neutral position.
Now remove drill bit or screwdriver
Check to see if it works.

I attached a few pics with the drill bit I referenced inserted as well as the two bolts to loosen.

 

[DirtDonk]

test test. I'm getting another "forbidden document" BWOD (browser-window-of-death) when I try to reply.
Have tried two different iterations of the message and no dice. We'll see if this gets through...

 

[bamabaja]

I rebuild mine with vendor kit and CB info. Maybe this YouTube will help. Good luck !
https://youtu.be/2TCHzIvAvRQ

 

[Okie69]

Great info! I've been having the same issue.

 

[smittymike19]

It happened to me a few times. I would do this to try and fix it. Even if it doesn't work its good to know how to do this...

Chock wheels so truck can't move anywhere if placed in neutral.
Get under the vehicle with I think its 1/2" socket but could be wrong on size
Follow your shift rod down and you'll see where it connects to the tranny.
Loosen those two bolts or remove them
Take the shift arms connected to the tranny and place them in neutral
Grab a screwdriver or small drill bit
This is hard to explain but up at the top of the firewall on your column, you'll see the two shift rods. You'll want to line them up to where you can stick that screwdriver or drill bit all the way through both of them to hold it at neutral.
now go back under the truck and tighten the two bolts back for the linkage.
This resets everything into a neutral position.
Now remove drill bit or screwdriver
Check to see if it works.

I attached a few pics with the drill bit I referenced inserted as well as the two bolts to loosen.

Holy shit! Thanks for taking the time to put this together. I’ll give it a go when I get a minute.

 

[smittymike19]

I rebuild mine with vendor kit and CB info. Maybe this YouTube will help. Good luck !
https://youtu.be/2TCHzIvAvRQ

Awesome info! Thanks What rebuild kit did you get?

 

[jasonmcc]

Holy shit! Thanks for taking the time to put this together. I’ll give it a go when I get a minute.

No problem man, it's nice to give back to a community that's educated me a lot. I'll note though be careful when you finish and go to start it. You may have inadvertently placed it in gear and the bronco could jump forward/backward on you when you go to crank it. Just make sure the bronco can't move on you till after you've ensured you are indeed in neutral. You also will want to test drive it through the gears as you may have 1st right but then realize you can't shift into second. If that happens start over and try it again.