Transmission Tower Locating Pin

[legrandaa]

My 1930 AA has a problem with the locating pin in the transmission tower. The hole is elongated so the pin is moving causing the gear lever to move about and making it very hard to shift. The slot or groove on the ball it mates with is not worn. Is there a way to oversize the locating pin hole, install a bushing, and new pin? My tower has the screw on cap and a single locating pin. Thanks.

[spectria]

My 1930 AA has a problem with the locating pin in the transmission tower. The hole is elongated so the pin is moving causing the gear lever to move about and making it very hard to shift. The slot or groove on the ball it mates with is not worn. Is there a way to oversize the locating pin hole, install a bushing, and new pin? My tower has the screw on cap and a single locating pin. Thanks.

Can you post a high quality photo of the elongation?

[legrandaa]

I will try to get a picture sometime this coming week.

[Chris Haynes]

I had my holes welded and redrilled.

[34bb1.5]

I had my machinist make an oversized pin for my 34BB tranny. He also welded up the slot that the pin mates into and machined it to fit the new pin. Works smoothly

[RustydoubleA]

One way would be to drill the hole out just so it becomes round again and then make a stepped pin. No welding or messing with the threads (in the newer tower). Steve.

[macswoods]

I having the same problem , hard to get into 3rd out of 2nd. Took tower apart and found worn hole,slot and pin.
Do you think a larger pin hole and pin and make slot in ball to fit would work?

[Fullraceflathead]

I having the same problem , hard to get into 3rd out of 2nd. Took tower apart and found worn hole,slot and pin.
Do you think a larger pin hole and pin and make slot in ball to fit would work?

Here is a short Video I made, of the repair I did, to Fix all of the Slop in my 4 speed shifter on my 1928 Roadster Pickup.
I removed the Mickey Mouse set up from some previous owners repair made many years ago.
They basically removed Ford's 1/4" Pins and replaced them with 1/4" Stove Bolts, the whole thing was very loose fitting. This made the shifter so sloppy that I literally had 8" inches of slop in all directions. It was very hard to tell what gear it was in.
I measured the Holes at .260 wear and made up some Special Pins to match the .260 holes with a very slight press fit. This Fixed all of the slop in the shifter. This approach did not require me to remove the top of the transmission cover along with the floorboards.
The 4 Speed Shifter Tower is easier to work on than the 3 Speed Shifter too!
Hopefully watching this may help someone else with a AA 4 Speed Transmission with a Sloppy Shifter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIlsC9S ... 0cDoDpBOJh

[pyrodork]

I've been working on this problem myself. I think the holes are ok on my tower, but the non-threaded cap is out-of-round and the ball groove is slightly worn.

Up until this thread, I was considering welding extra metal in the ball gap and grinding it to specs. I've been looking for input on material and methods to use. I'm concerned about the fix breaking and screwing up the transmission. Someone suggested metal repair putty or a" liquid metal" product (that I'm not able to find). JB Weld has crossed my mind, too... but now I'm understanding that I should be more concerned about the cap and pins?

Could someone go through the thought process better? What am I ultimately trying to repair?

If I were to weld metal in the ball and/or cap, would MIG be sufficient? Is JB Weld ok to fix the worn gap in the ball? Even if I do repair, is an oversize still preferable in the long run?

Thanks!

[pyrodork]

Update:
I drilled and oversized to 5/8" with only slight improvement. First and second gears are mostly easy (if it doesn't pop out still), but third and fourth are impossible. Reverse is usually a no-go.

I wonder if I re-installed the shift forks wrong. Maybe I don't have it in neutral when I'm putting the tower back on. Perhaps the clutch is what's giving me trouble. I think I'm running out of options; er, budget options.

[blgitn]

Great videos! Good detail and explanation. Thanks!

I having the same problem , hard to get into 3rd out of 2nd. Took tower apart and found worn hole,slot and pin.
Do you think a larger pin hole and pin and make slot in ball to fit would work?

Here is a short Video I made, of the repair I did, to Fix all of the Slop in my 4 speed shifter on my 1928 Roadster Pickup.
I removed the Mickey Mouse set up from some previous owners repair made many years ago.
They basically removed Ford's 1/4" Pins and replaced them with 1/4" Stove Bolts, the whole thing was very loose fitting. This made the shifter so sloppy that I literally had 8" inches of slop in all directions. It was very hard to tell what gear it was in.
I measured the Holes at .260 wear and made up some Special Pins to match the .260 holes with a very slight press fit. This Fixed all of the slop in the shifter. This approach did not require me to remove the top of the transmission cover along with the floorboards.
The 4 Speed Shifter Tower is easier to work on than the 3 Speed Shifter too!
Hopefully watching this may help someone else with a AA 4 Speed Transmission with a Sloppy Shifter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIlsC9S ... 0cDoDpBOJh