Problem: Simplicity 3-speed transmission is stuck in
gear or between two gears
If you have trouble hanging in gear, the
problem may come from pulling back on the shift lever when shifting out of gear.
In the transmission case are 2 roll pins that keep the little shift finger
centered between 1st & 3rd and 2nd & Reverse. I have worked on a number of
these transmissions with this problem. If you take the lever straight
across to neutral and then pull it back it will almost never hang up. What is
happening is like the old column shifts on cars used to do -- typically as you
are coming out of 1 or 3 if you are pulling back on the lever, the finger will
slip out of the shift fork before it detents in neutral and the fork will return
to the gear you were just leaving. This happens when the shift fork is worn
where the finger pushes it and the roll pins that guide the fingers between the
forks are worn. The one fork has slipped back in gear and the finger is in the
other fork that can't move without having the tractor locked in two gears. We
make a tool by heating and bending an old screwdriver and go through the pipe
plug hole behind the drive pulley and pull or push the offending fork [usually
front] back to neutral. If you split the case and pull up the large roll pins to
min spec. or a little less this will normally fix the problem. Another
thing to check is the detent spring strength, you can feel this by how well the
unit wants to stay "in gear". How close the roll pins are together inside
the transmission is very critical. Most people that come in with this
problem we just go in and hook the fork, without even unloading the tractor and
show them how to avoid tempting a belligerent transmission into repeating its
tricks. They usually get by without having to open up the case.
