Th350 column shift issue

[Mike_The_Grad]

Hey everyone, this just happened 2 days ago. While I was parked at a friends house on a slight incline and in some dusty sandy loose dirt, I started my truck (72 c10) and tried to shift from park to reverse. I was able to pull shifter towards me but I had to really struggle to get the shifter to drop into reverse. I was trying so hard to shift that I was afraid I was going to snap off the shifter. (I've had this happen three times in the last 15 years.) Well it shifted into reverse finally. But now the shifter wont stay in reverse or neutral on it's own. The weight of the shifter alone let's the selector fall from reverse straight into drive. I've already had 2 scares where the shifter fell from reverse into drive and I started to hit the accelerator pedal. Both times I reacted quick enough to avoid hitting what was directly in front of me. So you can see how this is a pretty important issue I need to address. I completely removed the steering column last year and gave it an overhaul. Cleaned degreaser it, painted the outer jacket, lined everything up nice, deburred everything and made sure it was smooth and operating freely. And up until 2 days ago I had zero issues with it. I havent done anything to diagnose what it is yet. I'm not sure where to start. I'm gonna pop the drive pin out of the selector shaft and give it a look. Everything appears normal so far. I did notice that the gear selector detent plate on the engine side is worn down pretty good. To a point that there is not really a step anymore where it goes from park to reverse. Its rounded off. Also it seems like theres a lot less spring tension keeping the shifter in place. It kind of just floats back and forth if you try to pull it towards yourself to select a different gear. Any info or advice on what can be done to either tighten up the spring tension on the selector or help the gear selections be more positive and not fall out of gear?

[pjmoreland]

I wonder if the return springs that are down inside the bottom end of the column have failed. That could allow the detent plates not to engage against each other, allowing the shifter to move freely. I had an issue with a severely worn detent plate, but that just allowed me to shift between gears without pulling back on the shift lever. In my case, the shift lever still kind of stayed in position from friction. There are some photos of the springs in this post.

https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...d.php?t=811096

[pjmoreland]

How hard is it to move the shift lever toward and away from the dash? Maybe it's binding and just stuck in the pulled back position??

[LockDoc]

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If you are going to pull the lever out spray some penetrating oil in the hole where the shift lever goes in. Put the lever back in and pull it up toward you then push it back down toward the dash. It should move up and down a couple of inches. Do this 4 or 5 times and see if it loosens the shift tube up. Also spray some penetrating oil on the bottom end in the engine compartment.

LockDoc

[BigBird05]

If your going to spray a lubricant into the column remember to place a towel under the column at the bottom to protect your carpet.

[kwmech]

Do you have a parking brake that you use on inclines?

[Mike_The_Grad]

The shifter is easy to pull back and forth towards me. Two fingers and it slides towards me. No binding. I have the entire column out and apart last year. Greased everything up when I reassembled it. Worked awesome up until this happened. I could shift out of park drop the shifter slightly and release it and it would fall right into reverse and it stayed there until I pulled it back again to shift into another gear. Basically every gear had positive engagement with the detents. But now it doesnt take hardly any effort to pull the shifter back towards me and it will fall under it's own weight all the way to drive. And I think if it weren't for the detent plate being designed the way it is, it would keep falling past drive. It feels like it is just resting on the drive detent. I have to hold the shifter in reverse and make sure it doesnt just go at any time. It slides right past neutral like it doesnt exist. I just hope I didnt break something internal in the trans. Like the rooster comb or something.
I dont use my parking brake much anymore because of the speakers I have in the kick panel. The pedal grazes the speaker cover. I've heard of some people bending the parking brake lever for more clearance. And even saw a guy cut and reeled his parking brake pedal shaft with a kick out to clear his speakers. I havent thought about it since I dont normally park on inclines.
I pulled the shifter handle out of the column the night before last and the pointed end is still there. So my welds have been holding up. I broke this handle last year which is why I pulled the entire column apart to hopefully eliminate this problem. Not only is the design very weak but the materials used in manufacturing today just aren't what they used to be.

[BigBird05]

When I tore down my column I found that the large spring at the bottom was rusted into. After looking and not being able to find a replacement I took a very similar spring out of a Chevy starter.

[pjmoreland]

Seems like you might be on the right track thinking there is something wrong inside the transmission with the detent roller spring. The shifter shouldn't be able to just fall through the gears no matter what's going on with the column detent plate.

[BigBird05]

I have seen that roller spring break. Not often but it does happen.

[dmjlambert]

I'm still stuck on "I had to really struggle to get the shifter to drop into reverse. I was trying so hard to shift that I was afraid I was going to snap off the shifter. (I've had this happen three times in the last 15 years.)"
Huh? Snap off the shifter?

[slikside]

Originally Posted by dmjlambert

I'm still stuck on "I had to really struggle to get the shifter to drop into reverse. I was trying so hard to shift that I was afraid I was going to snap off the shifter. (I've had this happen three times in the last 15 years.)"
Huh? Snap off the shifter?

Yep. Surprisingly easy to do to break the tip off that goes into the shaft inside the column. I've done it...

EDIT: My issue was drawing the shift leaver towards me though, and that isn't his issue.

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by pjmoreland

Seems like you might be on the right track thinking there is something wrong inside the transmission with the detent roller spring. The shifter shouldn't be able to just fall through the gears no matter what's going on with the column detent plate.

I agree with it being in the transmission detent .

[Mike_The_Grad]

I had the column shift handle break the tip off 3 times. And yes it happened because of how hard I had to pull the lever towards me. Now that is no longer a problem since I've gone through the whole column.
I was afraid that the problem was inside the transmission. Well since I had it rebuilt last year hopefully the trans shop can help me out. I know that part isnt serviced during a rebuild. But hopefully the guy can help me narrow down what the problem is. He kinda owes me a favor anyways since I gave him my good made in usa ac delco ignition switch and key to install in his 72 shortbed project. I'll keep you guys posted as soon as I make it over there.

[Mike_The_Grad]

Little update. Still havent made it to the trans shop yet. I know, but some things have come up and I had to park the truck for a while. I did a LS swap for a friend on his 08 tahoe. That turned into a months long project. Company and shipping related delays. Anyways I ended up with his 5.3 old motor as partial payment. Which I immediately traded for a 388 stroker motor from my buddy. So I'm in the process of building that. But had to pull my motor to harvest parts. Was supposed to be about a week has turned into almost a month. All of a sudden people want me to work on their projects. Trailer rewire, airbag leveler install, jeep suspension over haul long arm kit, 2 different rack and pinion replacements, etc. You get it. But I did not forget about y'all. I will find out what can be done about my shifter problem as soon as I can get down to the trans shop. I'll keep ya updated. Thanks everyone.

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by Mike_The_Grad

Little update. Still havent made it to the trans shop yet. I know, but some things have come up and I had to park the truck for a while. I did a LS swap for a friend on his 08 tahoe. That turned into a months long project. Company and shipping related delays. Anyways I ended up with his 5.3 old motor as partial payment. Which I immediately traded for a 388 stroker motor from my buddy. So I'm in the process of building that. But had to pull my motor to harvest parts. Was supposed to be about a week has turned into almost a month. All of a sudden people want me to work on their projects. Trailer rewire, airbag leveler install, jeep suspension over haul long arm kit, 2 different rack and pinion replacements, etc. You get it. But I did not forget about y'all. I will find out what can be done about my shifter problem as soon as I can get down to the trans shop. I'll keep ya updated. Thanks everyone.

Being popular sucks sometimes!

[dz1087]

Originally Posted by pjmoreland

Seems like you might be on the right track thinking there is something wrong inside the transmission with the detent roller spring. The shifter shouldn't be able to just fall through the gears no matter what's going on with the column detent plate.

I have a manual column shifter in my truck since it used to have the 3spd before getting swapped to a Th350 sometime in the late 70s or early 80s. There are no detent plates or springs in my column and the transmission shifts in to gear fine and always stays in the gear I've selected. I'd definitely say this problem is inside the tranny.