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My trans has alot of slop in it. I mean when in gear I can still move the stick side to side quite a bit. What does this mean, and what can I do to correct this? Will it hurt to drive the truck much with thetrans in this condition? I mean the truck shifts fine, although it has popped out of third a few times as from coasting downhill then hitting the gas quickly. Hasn't done this much but it has done it. Any info appreciated, thanks.

IT MAY NOT BE IN TRANY IT COULD BE in the tower or the ball of your stick shift, had that happen in my 1971 hendricson had the ball of the stick rebuilt and never had any more problems after that . GOOD LUCK! with it

We changed out tons of top covers in the Army whenever the shifter wouldn't remain in gear-quicker than troubleshooting....
Gary

Nickathome wrote:My trans has alot of slop in it. I mean when in gear I can still move the stick side to side quite a bit. What does this mean, and what can I do to correct this? Will it hurt to drive the truck much with thetrans in this condition? I mean the truck shifts fine, although it has popped out of third a few times as from coasting downhill then hitting the gas quickly. Hasn't done this much but it has done it. Any info appreciated, thanks.

Shifter slop is all in the top cover, get a new one to cure that problem. If it's jumping out of 3rd gear, that is early signs of the snap ring issue I've talked about so much. I would pull the top immediately & check to see if 3rd gear has end play on the main shaft. If more than a few thousandths of end play exist, you are way ahead of the game to tear the trans down & repair it now. If you keep going, it will destroy itself from within.

Hi Nick: Don't know if you solved the problem yet, but Charles, as usual, is right on. I have rebuilt the top on two Power Wagon transmissions, but only because they are just not available new. I do not think you need to go to that expense for an M37 cover though. I do have a couple of good transmission covers if you want to have a look at one of them. Also, be sure to check the end play on your 3rd gear as Charles advises. Way back, when I did my "good" truck, I was able to just turn the snap ring around and it worked fine and still does after 6000 miles or so. Those snap rings are almost not available. They come in various thicknesses and there just aint any of them around. Also note, beg or borrow a really good set of snap ring pliers or you might damage the snap ring upon trying to pry it off.

Good luck with it. Sid

Sid;

Hi, how've you been?

I actually have'nt done anything with the tranny. In fact I've never had the thing open. Sure, I'd like to see what a top cover looks like. I've always been leery of diving into the trans etc but will have to I guess at some point.

As to my 3rd gear issues, Its only come out of gear a couple of times, and its usually if I have a hand on the shifter and subconsciously put pressure on the shifter, as when just before the actual shift. Just a light downward touch will cause it to come out of gear in that case.

Actually I do have a set of Snap ring pliers already. I bought them years ago when I broke a snap ring on one of my guns of all things.

I have the same shifter slop. The best way to repair is to get a new one??? How much do they cost if available?

Gerry wrote:I have the same shifter slop. The best way to repair is to get a new one??? How much do they cost if available?

Well for sure they are not as available today as they were 8 years ago when this thread started. We started rebuilding them along with the rest of the gear box a long while back. We also incorporate some modifications that pretty much eliminates the return of the shifter sloop anytime soon. I'll tell you up front, rebuilding with the modifications to make it the best it can be will cost you more than an NOS top assembly if you can find it, BUT the rebuilt, modified assembly we offer here will last much longer. If your truck is just a hobby vehicle that is not driven hard every day, I expect installing our rebuilt, modified assembly would be the last time you would ever need to worry about the issue.

The play I have is only side to side. I have never taken a top off is there anything special I need to know? hoping for a simple fix so I dont need to replace mine.

Gerry wrote:The play I have is only side to side. I have never taken a top off is there anything special I need to know? hoping for a simple fix so I dont need to replace mine.

Vast majority of side to side is stub ball / pin related. It ain't a simple fix. Can't do a proper fix without a complete tear down of the inner shifting assembly if yours is from a truck prior to the B1 series. Early style trans top, the stub ball has to come out from the inside, therefore all the shift rails and internal parts must be removed before the ball can come out. Late style comes out from outside like a NP435, quick and simple; one of the vast improvements they put in place on the later series NP420 used in the B1's.

As far as simply pulling the top cover off the main case, no biggy, remove bolts, lift top assembly straight upward until forks are cleared from 1st gear and synchronizer hub grooves.

Thanks Charles