My First Breakdown

[WarrenD]

Coming home from the Hartford Vet Day parade, the shift lever broke off at the base between 3rd and 4th on an upshift. Stuck in N I coasted to the side of the road, got the 4 ways working and looked ahead to see the rest of the convoy disappearing into the distance. I reached down and determined that my hands aren't strong enough to move the stud, so there I sat. An unmarked car came by and said he'd call a marked unit. Roadside assist said they would TRY to get someone there in an hour. I got a little frustrated and gave the stub a good nudge with my foot. It seemed to go into gear, so I started the engine and gently let out the clutch. I had hit 3rd, so I figured I'd try to run for home. Mostly flat running and I got the traffic light timing down pretty good, only having to start from a dead stop a few times. Ran 20 mph in 3rd for what seemed an eternity but I'm home. Got a pair of vise grips and was able to get it into rev and get it put away in the garage.
Looking at the break point, there was rust at the top and bottom with only a small band of clean metal so it was just a matter of time.
Wondering if the B1 shifters are prone to this or am I just lucky?

[HingsingM37]

Glad you were able to nurse her home. Never a good feeling to have a breakdown .
That is the first time I have heard of that failure since I have had my rig and been lurking here. AB Lynn and Midwest sells the transmission parts very reasonable. Good luck with the fix.

[HingsingM37]

Warren, I may have misunderstood. Was it just the shift handle that broke or the shift lever in the transmission top cover? I just saw your post looking for a long shifter handle.. Bill L had some a while back. I have an extra short lever to get you going if you can't find the longer version.

[WarrenD]

I guess you could call it the handle, it's the part that attaches to the top of the rod that comes up out of the tranny. The broken part has the shift knob on the opposite end. I'll see if I can post a pic later, but it snapped off right where the rod meets the cast part.

[Sal]

Warren. What is that a pic of ?

Sal

[WarrenD]

That's the bottom of the shift lever that sits atop the tranny. The cast portion where the shift hadle comes out. You can see that it had been compromised for quite some time as there is rust at both the top and bottom.

[Sal]

WOW....You would think that would be the last thing that would break...


Sal

[WarrenD]

Haven't talked with anyone yet who's heard of this part breaking including John Bizal. As I said before, I must just be lucky.

[sturmtyger380]

Hey Warren, You got a 30 inch bicep or something?

[WarrenD]

Yeh, I've been bulking up for winter!