Columbia valve query

My car has been off the road for many years and I am just getting it back together. The Columbia valve is mounted beneath the floor and operated by a rod bearing on a capped plunger. This moves freely - very freely - in and out with no resistance and no return spring. Another valve I have of slightly different type - Ford I believe - and on this the plunger is spring loaded. Should mine by sprung too? Does it matter? If it does, how do you take it apart? Removing a splitpin takes the cap off, but not the plunger.

Thanks,

Mike

Yes, it should be sprung. It's possible the spring broke or rusted in the compressed position. I believe you can use the square head of a 3/8 drive to open up the bottom of it. Let us know what you find.

If you want, I can dig mine up out of storage and take a look at it.

Thanks. Looks like I'll have to take it off the car this weekend and look then.

Thanks,

Mike

Cecil is absolutely correct. These valves have a tendency to stick when not used for a while. I had a Columbia in the box for several years and when I installed it, it would shift ranges when I pulled the control knob, NOT when I pushed the clutch. Dan Krehbiel advised me to remove the cap from the control valve with a 3/8 socket driver and clean up the ball and spring inside. It's a REALLY easy fix. Now my Columbia works as it should. I didn't have to remove the control valve from the car because it's mounted on the steering box and is accessable from under the car on my 1939 Zephyr. (See attachment)

Good luck with it!

Thanks Chaps, I eventually found a 3/8 square bar to unscrew the cover, and found the problem. The spring is broken into four pieces and the ball is in a rough state too with lots of flats on it. I thought it would have an easy life in there, but its not a pretty sight!

Thanks again.

Mike