Shifting Repair Question on a 1973 Auto

[1973Auto 80]

Hello all, before I start to get into the shifting/auto mechanism on my 73 Auto, I am looking for some possible causes/ fixes. I can put the lever in forward but when I try to slide into reverse it gets hung up on something. Plowing last night was a real treat. It went into reverse sometimes but not all. I took off the cover plates and looked around for a few moments to see if there was something obvious but did not see anything. The lobe in the plastic slide (don’t know correct name) moves to the forward position fine but only goes to the neutral position when I try reverse. The pivot nut/ball that controls the plastic slide seems to be burred at the end but can not see if it is hanging up on the steel cam that controls the trany. Just trying to get some ideas to look for before I start twisting bolts. Thanks all.

[TT-(Moderator) 1,145]

It comes down to needing to tear the cam plate ("plastic slide" as you called it) out so you can inspect the pieces and move the control lever at the "front" of the pump by hand. If the control lever doesn't move freely (with some resistance) in both directions, that usually indicates a problem with the swash plate assembly inside the pump.

If you are extremely careful, you can start the engine and "test drive" the tractor by manually moving the control lever.

[Trouty56 567]

Sometimes the little ball that fits in a hole on that plastic slide (cam plate ) slips out. Mine acted similar when I bought it. I figured it happened from the slide not moving freely. Something cheap to check out.

[1973Auto 80]

Thanks Guys. The ball is still in the Cam Plate (got the name right) but it looks a little banged up. I am going to take it apart tonight and see what I can find, probably more questions!!

[can whlvr 993]

i dont have a 73 auto,but a 75 c160 auto and when i had similar probs it was the plastic plate,ive had to replace it twice,because the steel ball kept sliding out and wrecking the plastic,i bought about 4 of them incase they go no longer available

[Chuck14025 9]

HARD SHIFTING, C120 AUTOMATIC,

My control lever at the front of the pump (CAM FOLLOWER ARM) works freely so the real culprit is that something has moved to cause the CAM BLOCK PIN (called the PIVOT NUT/BALL in the original post) to hit the side of the CAM FOLLOWER ARM (  the control arm on the front of the pump ).

 

Member 1973 Auto did not tell us if he found a solution to his problem.

 

Suggestions on finding the cause would be very appreciated.

[Tim R 4]

I have been plowing snow with my 1973 no name 14 auto and shifting into reverse became more difficult and eventually stopped.  The "bolt" that fits into the plastic slide has moved too far through the slide so the end of the bolt butts up against the cam arm...  The plastic slide looks fine.  

[pfrederi 17,886]

I assume you mean the stud in this picture.  if it and the retaining nut are tight I would suspect you have a broken/cracked frame.  That lets the tranny move relative to the frame and motion control.

 

Check for cracks in the plate the tranny bolts to and also for cracks where that plate is welded to the end of the frame.

[Tim R 4]

Thank you for taking the time to post a reply.  Your suggestion to check the frame was exactly right!  Actually, no cracks in the frame but I had lost one of four bolts and a third bolt was loose.  I used a floor jack to line up the bolt holes and low and behold my shifter works smooth as silk now.  Thank you so much!  

[953 nut 55,823]

9 hours ago, Tim R said:

Thank you so much!

Glad you found us Tim.   Lots of good people on here with a lot of information to share.

[Sarge 3,463]

Any time that attaching point between the frame and the rear axle housing is compromised the first warning sign is a loss of reverse. If that rear plate shatters - the tractor will not back up at all. There are a ton of common fixes and some really good ideas about bracing that area to prevent damage to the frame - there is a huge amount of stress on that attachment point.

Sarge