40C Stuck in first gear

[odinrp]

Just a quick history. I bought the 40c about March 2009. At first it ran fine but then did not turn over. Took starter off and bushings were fine. Finially traced the problem to a direct short to the copper stud in the starter box. Fixed that and after changing some wires and installing new battery and spark plugs it started and ran perfect.

After about 16 hours of great work, I experienced the crawler being stuck in first gear. The shifter lever comes out like going into nuetral but the crawler is still in first gear. The shifter will go back into first gear, but not into any other gears. I do not necessarily need 2nd or 3rd, but I certainly need reverse.

How do I start to determine the problem. is it the clutch, throw out bearing, linkage or transmission. Do I take the top of the shifting box off or is access from underneath. Any help would be greatly appreciated. At the moment I do not know if I have a big or small problem and where to start to fix it.
Thanks in advance
odinrp in Issaquah, WA

[Lavoy]

I would pull the top cover off of the trans and see what lurks in there first. One question first, is there any difference with the engine running or off?
lavoy

[odinrp]

Lavoy;
Thank you for your timely response.
Here is scenerio; When first going forward, I depressed the clutch with left foot and it dis-engaged. I then attempted to shift into reverse and the shifter moved into the neutral position, but would not go into reverse. I then let out the clutch and that is when I discovered it was still in first. I tried several times to shift into various gears, but it would only go into first and neutral. I then turned it off and tried to shift, but got the same results. It remains stuck in first.

Would it help my efforts to repair if I ordered the service manual? I have the parts manual. If yes please let me know how to order it from you. Another question, why are there two clutch pedels on the 40c. I only have used the left one. Am I doing something wrong? When would I use the right petel?

Thanks again for your expertise.
odinrp

[Lavoy]

Service manual always helps, I should have them on hand.
It seems like your shifter is disconnecting from the shift forks somehow. It could be wear on the shifter and related components.
Lavoy

[shinnery]

[quote="odinrp"


Another question, why are there two clutch pedels on the 40c. I only have used the left one. Am I doing something wrong? When would I use the right petel?

odinrp[/quote]

I have never seen a 40C, I have a couple of 440ICs and on them the left pedal is the clutch pedal and the right pedal is a brake pedal. It applies both brake bands without disconnecting the steering clutches. HTH
Bryce

[odinrp]

Lavoy;
You were right. the claw was off. I took the cover off and moved the gear rods around to where I thought they should be. I then put the cover back on with the claws in the position to fit the gear rods. I only put in two bolts and started her up with the clutch in. Once I let the clutch out the girl was still in first gear, but I knew now where to move the gears. I took the cover off again and moved the gear rods around and also moved the claws to where they would fit. It was interesting to note that two gears move forward and two backward but it took awhile to determine which was reverse. I put the cover back on and she shifted perfectly with no grinding. I will now shift the crawler very carefully when she is perfectly still.

Yes, the right pedel must be the brake, but it moves in with the clutch when the left clutch pedel is depressed

Thanks again Lavoy for your expert help and advise. I have one further question. When the top was off, I could see oil in the bottom of the pan and all the gears were well lubricated. Is this oil resevior connected to the engine oil or separate. Does it ever need changing or filling?
The oil appeared very clean, but I do not know at what level it should be at or if it ever needs to be changed.
odinrp

[Lavoy]

One other thing to check. The shifter is held in place with a snap ring, and under the snap ring is a "bearing" as they call it, really just a tapered cup. Take the snap ring out, then lift the shifter out and look at the groove in the shifter ball. Sometimes this gets hammered out, and causes hard shifting. Also look in the top cover where the shifter sits, and make sure the pin the corresponds to the groove in the shifter is not loose in the casting. If the groove is good, and the pin is tight, put some grease on the ball and reinstall the shifter. When it is all together, lift the shifter up and down and see how much play you have. On occasion, I have put an second snap ring on top of the first to take out the play.
Transmission is it's own reservoir, fill plug is under you right heel, drain plug on the bottom under you left heel. Use 80W-90 gear lube, yes trans should be drained and filled periodically.
Lavoy

[shinnery]

Lavoy;
Yes, the right pedel must be the brake, but it moves in with the clutch when the left clutch pedel is depressed
odinrp

On a 440IC the clutch pedal is supposed to pivot around the brake shaft going to the left brake. There is a Zerk fitting to apply grease. One of mine they are stuck together, you can disengage the clutch by pressing the brake and vise-versa. I recently bought (it is not here yet) a tool for freeing stuck grease zerk fittings with the idea of pumping some Kroil (penetrating oil) into that joint to see if I can get them unstuck that way. Otherwise it may require removing the tranny to get them freed up.
Bryce