Busted Transmission Shifter Fork

[ezslim]

Hi All,
Just broke the 1st/Reverse shifter fork in my Farm Pro 2430 transmission. Very interesting break as it allowed the tractor to be in two gears at once! (By the way, it doesn't budge in this condition) I took the top off the transmission and found the offending piece jammed into the gearbox. After a little rocking and gentle coaxing, I got the broken piece out, but for the life of me, cannot figure out how to remove the remnant on the shift rod and install a new fork. Does anyone know if I have to split the tractor to pull the shift rods (that the fork rides on) or is there an easier way?

By the way, once I got the transmission out of 1st and fourth at the same time, it drove itself very nicely to the barn. For anyone who is interested, the spinning gears sling grease EVERYWHERE if you leave the top off the transmission! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Thanks in advance for any tips on replacing the shifter fork.
Slim

 

[bluechip]

Dont remember on that specific tractor, but usually you can drive the roll pin out then slide the rail forward or rearward until you the the piece out. When you see the forks, you wonder why they don't break/bend more often. Kinda negates the "chinese soft steel" theory, except maybe in your case, since you broke on /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[Affordable]

The shaft will slide out towards the back if I remember right, we have the replacement forks in stock

Tommy
Affordable Tractor Sales

 

[Soundguy]

Don't feel too bad.. lots of tractors can get that proble,/ many of the old fords i collect will get a worn shifter pattern and let it slide into 2 gears.. then you get the fun of prying them back apart and hoping no teeth got broke in the process.

Soundguy

 

[ezslim]

Thanks for the tips, but I am now looking for a trusted tractor mechanic in central Virginia. I think the job just became bigger than my time and skills will allow. While fishing for the fork that I (re)dropped into the transimssion (yes, I was fiddling with it and dropped it inside again), the magnet found a single broken gear tooth. I cannot locate the damage gear, so will probably have to take the tranny apart to find the damaged one. I have also given up trying to pull the shift-rod aft or forward in order to slide a new shift fork on. It appears the shift rod will only go far enough aft to reach the gear-hold-detent, but will not go any further. If I force it, I am afraid that whatever spring-loaded ball bearing is in there may drop into the differential and become another piece of gear-wrecking flotsam. The only thing I can think to do is split the tractor and try to rebuild. Any experience with the shift rod or last-minute tips that could save this?
/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif Slim

 

[bluechip]

Once the shift rail (rod) gets past the detent, it will hold the detent ball in its bore, unless you pull the rail out past that point. But that won't help you find the gear that has a gap in its smile. To change the gear will most likely result in pulling the transmission section.

 

[RonMar]

Well if I am interpreting the drawings correctly, the ball/spring detents on the shift fork rods are in the rear wall of the transmission Gearbox. Along the top rear edge of the gear case where the top cover bolts on, you should see 3 holes in a row, one above each rod. These holes pass through the holes that the shift rods ride in and down into the rear wall of the gearbox. Into these holes are placed a spring with a ball bearing on top. The spring and ball are compressed from the top with a punch or small rod and the shift rod is inserted over the top of the ball. You would have to completely remove the rod from the rear hole to release the ball and spring. I would think to replace a fork, all you would have to do is drift out the pin holding the shift fork to the rod. Then drive the rod to the rear far enough to remove the shift fork and install the new one.

One trick that might make this easier is before you remove the pin connecting fork to rod, you slide the rod/fork assembly either forward or aft till the rod is out of a detent position(ball and spring fully compressed against shaft of shift rod). Once out of detent, drive out the pin that holds the shift fork to the rod. Once the pin is out, use a pair of vise grips to rotate the shaft 180 degrees so the shaft detent notches are pointing up and away from the ball/spring. You should then be able to slide the shaft in question toward the rear without the shaft wanting to stop every time the spring pushes the ball into one of the detent notches on the shaft.

As for the gear tooth you found in the bottom of the case. That is another matter alltogether. Personally, before I committed to splitting the tractor, I would place the rear axel up on jackstands, depress the clutch and roll over the gears by hand, going tooth to tooth on each and every gear in the box untill I found the owner of the missing tooth.

 

[ezslim]

Chip, Ron,

Many thanks for the info and words of encouragement. It helps knowing I won't make the problem worse by moving the shift rail further aft. The tip about rotating the shift rail sounds do-able as well. I did "walk" through all the gears and did not find a single missing tooth. Seems too good to be true, so I will re-do the search before re-assembling the tractor. There are other indications that this "new" tractor was someone else's retread (worn out ball joints when new, epoxy-fixed fuel bowl when new, major scrathces on body-work, etc) so it wouldn't surprise me if the transmission had previous problems. Keep your fingers crossed!

Thanks again. You guys are lifesavers.
Slim

 

[Soundguy]

It's very possible the prev owner had a tranny problem.. fixed it, and never fished the broke tooth out.

I found a few metal bits in the tranny of a 1975 ford 5000 i was working on when i drained the oil... yet.. there are no skips when running in any gear / any range.. i figure it is a 20-30 year old 'in frame' repair that they didn't clean well..e tc.

Soundguy

 

[ezslim]

Amazing!

Do what the smart guys say and it works! Thanks for the advice. The shift rail slid backwards very neatly and rotating the shift rail captured the spring and bearing as advertised. Only downer to the deal is I found the broken gear and no longer have second gear. A small price to pay in order to get the tractor working and my spring chores done. Thanks again,
Slim

 

[Cinco]

Raising a thread back from the dead, I know, but I just wanted to say this was the best informative bit of info I read on the topic after several searches.

Just broke mine off as well, I am very relieved to hear I can repair it without splitting the whole tractor open. As long as I did not bust anything driving it the short distance home, I should be alright.

I tried calling the place in TX, but I guess they dont work Saturdays any more like he was saying! JMparts.com lists the part as 304.37s.121 but then says there are two versions, I will try and pul mine off and see if I can figure out what exactly I need. Looking into the gearbox I was sure I had cracked off a side flange or something, all the other forks line up into grooves. This is an odd looking piece from the photos, with 2 parts that hang down over the gear.

Thanks and have a great spring!

 

[Affordable]

Oh yes we work Saturdays until 1pm Central time.I know which one you need it has the brace on it,we also have a online parts store where you can order 24 hours a day

The correct part number is 304.37S.121 ,the fork without the brace has the same part number without the S.

If you want to order online go to the website,parts center and at the top will be a search box type in Fork you will see it come up,put it in the cart and it will be on it's way to you Monday

Tommy
Affordable Tractor Sales
"Your Jinma Parts Superstore"
Home of compact Jinma, Foton, and Koyker Tractors and Parts, Wood Chippers, Backhoes - Affordable Tractor Sales Company

 

[Cinco]

Wellllll, its a little more complicated than I thought. I did try calling saturday but no answer. For the best anyway, I'm gonna need a "few" more parts. Seems I took out pretty much every gear in there. Have to get it apart to fully figure out what is needed. I don't know if I will be able to do it myself or not now. I do not have a crane or lift to hold the 2 halves up if I split it. I am thinking of some big wooden blocks under the back half, then maybe some blocks with wheels that I can roll away under the front. I have a big enough cement floor barn, I will have to clean it (thats a chore in itself) in order to have room in there to work. I was going to look and see if there is a way just to order everything all at once, or order each piece as I figure out what is needed. Sometimes a complete "kit" is easier/cheaper when ordering parts.

I have the website book marked, when I get ready to order I'll give it a whirl.

I went round to some local farmer guys and asked around who can do the job. Seems everyone is gearing up to start farming, and no one wants to take on a new job. One guy was the head mechanic for a big farm outfit and came highly recommended, the farm, a commercial operation, shut down last month. He said if I had called last week he would ave taken the job, instead he just got hired on a factory. The least recommended guy said he would take the job, but wants $70 an hour, and I was kinda told if I use him I might not see my tractor back til christmas...

I'm going to do some searching and see if anyone else has posted about their experience with trying to do it themselves, maybe come up with some ideas on how to support the halves. Not teh way I wanted to start out spring!

 

[3RRL]

You can split the tractor yourself, but it is a big job.
There are lots of fuel, oil, hydraulic, mechanical and electrical connections to remove so the two halves can split. It's best to have someone help pushing or pulling the two halves apart, and back together again. I have split my tractor 2 times with the help of my wife. Here are a couple of threads with photos that may be of value to you.

Starting on post #162 in this thread
Engine Overhaul Kama 554

and more detailed in this thread Clutch Repair Kama 554

 

[Cinco]

Thanks, mine will be different somewhat than yours, I will split between the front of the gearbox and the bell housing, so a lot less stuff to disconnect. I have the two hydro lines that run to the tank on the rear. I would love to see a write up or pics of the split that way, and pics of the front of the gear box. Someone told me there should be a plate and "window" to work through, someone else said just holes with everything held in place with circlips.

So after reading your report, I have to ask, do you still set the throttle with the hand lock and just "run" it, or do you use the gas peddle to bring the RPMs down when engaging gears?

 

[3RRL]

Thanks, mine will be different somewhat than yours, I will split between the front of the gearbox and the bell housing, so a lot less stuff to disconnect. I have the two hydro lines that run to the tank on the rear. I would love to see a write up or pics of the split that way, and pics of the front of the gear box. Someone told me there should be a plate and "window" to work through, someone else said just holes with everything held in place with circlips.

So after reading your report, I have to ask, do you still set the throttle with the hand lock and just "run" it, or do you use the gas peddle to bring the RPMs down when engaging gears?

Pretty much I set the hand throttle and rarely use the foot pedal.
That doesn't I don't vary the rpm of the hand throttle though. I usually run the tractor at (between) 1500rpm for light work and 1800rpm for heavy work. Rarely do I have to push the rpms up to 2300 where maximum horsepower is developed. My peak torque range is around 1670/1700 (approx), and to me, that is the most important power to have. When the tractor bogs down at the 1800rpm range, it drifts back into the peak torque range which surges the tractor back to 1800rpm. I save on fuel consumption as well.

One thing I do is make sure the tractor is completely stopped before shifting forward to reverse, or visa-versa to avoid gear grinding. The engine rpms don't need to be lowered that way. "Feel" the shift lever into it's spot to avoid grinding. I've learned to up shift through the gears but occasionally, I still grind a gear that way. Down shifting... even with double clutching still doesn't work for me though. But up shifting yes. I guess the best thing to do until you get used to it is to start in whatever gear you plan to work in. Mine will start in 8th gear forward or reverse if I want.