Sloppy Shifter in AA 4 Speed Transmission

AA Ford Discussion Group relating to the repair and restoration of your AA Ford.
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Fullraceflathead
Posts: 10
Joined: February 25th, 2015, 9:04 pm
Body Type: Roadster Pickup
Model Year: 1928

Sloppy Shifter in AA 4 Speed Transmission

Post by Fullraceflathead »

I have a 1928 Roadster Pickup that was retrofitted with a AA 4 Speed Transmission many years ago. The casting date code on the case is 2-13-31. It has the shifter cap that is not threaded. It is very sloppy, worn out. I have acquired a BB 4 speed trans that is in near perfect condition with the later threaded cap shifter. I don't see a casting date code anywhere on it. The case does not have the boss for the Pedals shaft like the AA case does.
Can I swap out my early version worn, sloppy shifter and case top with the later style one that is not worn out?
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tiredtruckrestorer
Posts: 338
Joined: April 20th, 2003, 7:09 pm
Model Year: 1931
Location: Orwigsburg, PA

Re: Sloppy Shifter in AA 4 Speed Transmission

Post by tiredtruckrestorer »

The trans top cover should be a direct replacement. The gear shift lever itself is bent a little different and may or not work in a Model A. The gears in the BB case are the same as the AA four-speed, only the case itself is different.

Keith
JPP
Posts: 161
Joined: July 8th, 2011, 4:36 am
Body Type: 82-A
Model Year: 1929
Location: Townsend,MA

Re: Sloppy Shifter in AA 4 Speed Transmission

Post by JPP »

I did the exact same thing, and it is working fine.
Fullraceflathead
Posts: 10
Joined: February 25th, 2015, 9:04 pm
Body Type: Roadster Pickup
Model Year: 1928

Re: Sloppy Shifter in AA 4 Speed Transmission

Post by Fullraceflathead »

Thanks for the Positive Info!!!
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pyrodork
Posts: 166
Joined: February 21st, 2012, 4:10 am
Body Type: AA Stakebed
Model Year: 1930
Location: Minneapolis, MN

Re: Sloppy Shifter in AA 4 Speed Transmission

Post by pyrodork »

wow, i was just going to post regarding my sloppy shifter...

except i don't have a replacement. mine is the earlier pin style. i cleaned and greased everything individually and put it back together, but it's not going into gear hardly at all. sometimes it will go into first and second, but that's it... until it just pops out of place and i have to take the tower apart to realign it. fortunately for this reason, i'm not yet on the road with it. so... since i've got to use what i have, what am i looking at? bulking up the bottom of the shifter rod or replacing the forks? which is most likely to wear out? if i do need to bulk up the shifter bottom, it would be great to have a photo of what it's supposed to look like. if it's the forks, does someone have a measurement of what the spacing on the shifter end is supposed to be?

for those energetic types, it would be great to see a photo of what neutral position is supposed to look like; both on the tower and the gears. super duper points to someone whose got a photo of the tower articulately dismantled!

one final question, if i were to remove the reverse lockout apparatus, i would have no issues with normal driving, correct? i saw a reference saying that that's preferable for a doodlebug, but they didn't mention about normal street driving.
Rumored to be an Early '30 AA...

"Pics or it didn't happen."



-- Scotty "It-Only-Sounds-Like-I-Know-What-I'm-Doing" Petersen, Esquire.
Fullraceflathead
Posts: 10
Joined: February 25th, 2015, 9:04 pm
Body Type: Roadster Pickup
Model Year: 1928

Re: Sloppy Shifter in AA 4 Speed Transmission

Post by Fullraceflathead »

When I get my trans open I'll take photos of the gears and the shifter in neutral. I'll try to measure my good one with calipers to give you an idea of what the slots and shifter ball size is on a not so worn one.
Bob C
Posts: 1442
Joined: April 24th, 2003, 11:50 am
Body Type: Mail truck, Stake tr
Model Year: 1931
Location: SO CAL

Re: Sloppy Shifter in AA 4 Speed Transmission

Post by Bob C »

Page 385 of the Service Bulletins shows the positions of the gears
are in for all four gears and reverse. On page 442 it shows how to
adjust the reverse lock-out. If you don't have the Service
Bulletins you should get a copy.

Bob
User avatar
pyrodork
Posts: 166
Joined: February 21st, 2012, 4:10 am
Body Type: AA Stakebed
Model Year: 1930
Location: Minneapolis, MN

Re: Sloppy Shifter in AA 4 Speed Transmission

Post by pyrodork »

i realized that the sloppiness is actually the slot that the tower cover retaining pin goes into. just gotta get new pins and find someone to weld it up and grind it to proper specs. hopefully that will cure my issues.

i do have the service bulletins book, but never really used it as a reference. i was surprised and thankful to see there was actually a proper measurement for the reverse lockout rod. still, i have yet to find images of what the tower and gearbox are supposed to look like in the neutral position. images of the drive gear positions are great, but are lacking if you're rebuilding both sides (and weren't smart enough to take pictures beforehand).
Rumored to be an Early '30 AA...

"Pics or it didn't happen."



-- Scotty "It-Only-Sounds-Like-I-Know-What-I'm-Doing" Petersen, Esquire.
Fullraceflathead
Posts: 10
Joined: February 25th, 2015, 9:04 pm
Body Type: Roadster Pickup
Model Year: 1928

Sloppy Shifter in AA 4 Speed Transmission Repair fix for slo

Post by Fullraceflathead »

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
Last edited by Fullraceflathead on April 7th, 2015, 8:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
spectria
Posts: 1874
Joined: May 15th, 2008, 9:53 pm
Body Type: Mail Truck, Stakebed
Model Year: 1931
Location: Quincy, Ca.

Re: Sloppy Shifter in AA 4 Speed Transmission Repair fix for

Post by spectria »

Fullraceflathead wrote: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/playlist?lis...E4m50cDoDpBOJh


https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...E4m50cDoDpBOJh
Try this link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIlsC9S ... 0cDoDpBOJh
Dave in Quincy, Ca. I love Pics!!!! Post them All!!! :)
Join the Ford Model AA Truck Club - membership form at http://www.fmaatc.org
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