312-8 hard to put into gear

[Alrashid2 288]

Hey guys, can you tell me if this is normal? Oddly enough when I got my 312-8 a few weeks ago, it shifted fine. The transaxle oil was wet and dirty though, so I drained, added 50/50 gear oil and kerosene, drove around for 10 minutes, flushed, then refilled with 80w90 oil.

 

Anyway, it is very hard to get into gear most of the time. Shifting to any gear and it wont go into place - if I rock back and forth a bit in my seat, it'll then go into gear. This happens about half the time.

 

Low and high is a bit harder. Sometimes rocking doesn't even work and I have to lean to let the tractor move a few inches before it goes in.

 

Anyone know what that's about? Thanks for your input 

 

Al

[peter lena 8,716]

@Alrashid2   not enough  time on the attempted trans flush , typically  put some miles and time on that flush , have any near by  roads , cul de sac  housing areas ? use every gear , hi/ low range , look at  fluid , when stopping , that will show you what's going on , would also refill that at the , shift boot area , for top down flush effect . having done this  a number of times , on a used unit , always bring a small bag of tools , etc  to correct  as you go .dropped the carb bowl yet ?  like hi mileage ATF fluid as a cleaner , kerosene , diesel , regularly check my trans fluid , for statis , did you lift up the front end , jack stands , to help drainage ?  drive in reverse , hi / low  , get some time on that flushing / slinging  effect . have you lubricated the  clutch linkage , make the rust run out ? also like a climbing gear oil , slings better , cleans / flushes . that 10 minutes , was nothing , just some suggestions , pete  

[Alrashid2 288]

You really think flushing more would help with the shifting though? The fluid had water but wasn't horrible. Looks clean and good now. I wasn't even going to flush it but figured I would just in case.

 

Maybe it's just normal for this to occur? As soon as I rock it a bit the wheels seem to move into the "right" spot and it shifts fine 

[Ed Kennell 38,598]

Try turning it in tight circles in both left and right for 5 minutes.   I have to rock my 312-8 sometimes.

[Alrashid2 288]

2 minutes ago, Ed Kennell said:

Try turning it in tight circles in both left and right for 5 minutes.   I have to rock my 312-8 sometimes.

Thanks for the reassurance Ed, glad it's at least normal...

 

Can you elaborate on the tight circles? Not sure I understand 

[oliver2-44 9,847]

When its hard to shift have you checked to be sure the belt has stopped moving and/or the transmission input pulley is not moving.

As you've been working on things did you remove the belt guard?  If I recall on that model there is a tab at the engine end that can be adjusted/bent to help funnel belt slack of the engine pulley.

I also seem to recall that model had a tab on the idler pulley.  If the bearing in the idler pulley is going out, it could change how it funnels slack to shift.

Go over all the clutch linkage looking for wear, binding, rust etc.  It could have had old hard grease built up filling a worn area and now that its cleaned out the wear area is changing things. 

Remove the boot from the gear shifter Looking down in there is the ball part of the shifter you see in the hole clean or rusty.  If its rusty the forks below it make be rusty to, so spray penetrant down there several times and work the shifter around.

Is the shifter wobbly in the hole, of medium firm when moved around.. if its real loose the dog point allen screw  at the the top of the transmission may need adjusting a little. 

As your aware the high low shifter does not have a rubber boot to prevent water ingress.  Their is a history on these hi/lo setups of the shift fork rusting an sticking in place.  I have a C101 no engine that came to me with the  hi/lo frozen up.  Take some penetrant and spray it around the base of the hi/lo shifter several times and shift it back and forth.

The gear shift sliding round rails are located in the very top of the transmission.  The gears sling plenty of oil on them.  Some good hot gear oil or flush fluid could help clean them up some. 

Putting several hours on it all at one time to warm that gear oil might be what it needs.  Sounds crazy. but you might put in on jack stands with a heater blowing on the transmission and run it for several hours, changing gears when every you walk by.   I did than to my C81. 

 

Just some thought an area to check!

[Ed Kennell 38,598]

Drive the tractor for 5 minutes with the steering wheel turned as far as it will turn to the right.     Then repeat with the steering wheel turned as far as it will turn to the left.

 

This forces the differential to turn over and loosen the gears.

[kpinnc 12,358]

21 minutes ago, oliver2-44 said:

When its hard to shift have you checked to be sure the belt has stopped moving

 

Often times an old worn drive belt will slip down into the pulley a little deeper and create enough pressure on the gears that you have to perfectly align those teeth to allow the tranny to shift. These old gearboxes don’t have synchronizers, so the alignment has to be pretty close. Also why it’s harder to shift when moving. 
 

One other mention: the tab over the drive belt idler/ clutch arm helps to completely stop the belt. It might not make contact as well when the belt is worn. And as always- never run your machine without the belt guard in place. It also supports the belt so it stops turning. 

[953 nut 55,734]

1 hour ago, Alrashid2 said:

Thanks for the reassurance Ed, glad it's at least normal..

My 310-8 has to be encouraged to go into gear from time to time also. Tried adjusting the dog point, no help. Changed gear oil, no change. backed off on the brake shoe adjustment a bit5 and had some improvement but the parking brake wouldn't latch then.

I just let the clutch back out to get the cluster gears turning a bit and grab second gear. Once I'm in second it will go into other gears reasonably well.     

[gwest_ca-(File Mod) 11,090]

Belt guard must be in place to support the belt when it is loose.

[squonk 41,291]

BG extreme pressure additive for gear oil. Yes I can hear the " snake oil " comments from here. 1986. I had an S-10 Blazer that was extremely hard to shift into 4WD.  Transfer case used ATF. Our BG rep was in the shop and I talked about it to him. He gave me a bottle of extreme pressure lube additive for manual transmissions and rear axles. I added it and when I drove the 8 miles home I tried putting it into 4WD and I could pull the lever back with one finger. I add marine  extreme pressure additive  to every manual gear box.