column shift trouble

i am new to the forum and liking it alot so far, i drive a 63 ford falcon (not quite antique). it's my daily driver it runs AMAZING! but about half the time it takes me a few attempts to get it into 3rd gear, when i let out on the clutch it just makes a grinding noise but after a try or to it goes fine. and sometimes it shifts with no problem... clutch? syncro's? or adjustment? ANY input would be appreciated

It could be simply worn out rubber grommets on the shift rod that goes between the column and transmission select lever. At this age they could be well soaked with oil and mushy or completely ground up and missing. Result is the trans select lever doesn't get moved far enough to engage the selected gear. Any shop mechanic should be able to run it up on a lift and inspect for this condition and fix it in 10 minutes with the right replacement grommet.

Adjusting the reach length of the shift rod could also fix the condition but I believe 1st & reverse are one select arm and 2nd & 3rd are the other so if 2nd works ok, adjusting the rod to favor 3rd might louse up 2nd gear engagement. Stude8

Stude8 is correct. The grommet in the levers on the column is the likely cause. If I recall correctly, there are matching alignment holes on the arms at the end of the column. After replacing the grommets, Slip a 1/8" or 3/16" drillbit through both holes to align the levers. Remove the shift rods from the trans levers, manually ensure that you are in neutral, check the neutral gate in column by moving between R-1 and 2-3 locations without putting shifter into any "in-gear" position. Now, adjust the shift rod length either by the slotted ends of the rods or by loosening the jam nut and turning the end in or out to reach the exact length. It likely won't be far off if you had crummy bushings (grommets). Tighten everything, remove alignment pin from levers, install cotterpins if so equipped, and check engagement of trans in all gears. If necessary minor adjustments can be made to get them exactly the way you want them. If you still have a problem, you may have a worn pin on the shift lever that goes down the column and engages the two levers at the bottom. (this is the pin that rides a slot between the two levers when you pull up or push down on the shifter lever, passing through the slot is the "neutral gate") if the pin is worn you may not be getting enough length in the 2-3 shift to keep the trans in gear.

the grommet is oil soaked and looks "BEAT" i didn't think it would cause this problem but it does make sense now. also once in a while it feels like the shifter is squishing the grommet, i think you guys are right. is it a hard part to find? or should any full service shop be able to do it?

could it be that it needs a clutch or synchros or a new trans? <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

i REALLY appreciate the help. no one i've talked to knows anything about 3 on the tree

Any shop should be able to do it, but $1 at your local hardware store and about 10 minutes of your time would be worth trying. It's likely that if you just change the grommet, everything will be fine. Measure the hole in the shift arm and the diameter of the linkage rod and match it up. It's very likely a standard size.

I am not familiar with Ford products-but I had a similiar problem with a 49 Packard. I also had worn bushings-but the main problem was lubrication of the shift mechanism in the shift column. There was a small hole mid-way from base to the fire wall. After putting a good lubricate(not WD40) and working the shift lever-it freed up and works fine.

This is a common problem with column shifts ( along with the die-cast sleeve and shifter lever socket on the steering column breaking, in the case of 1960's Fords), and a lot of guys through the years went to crappy floor-shift conversions rather than taking a little time to replace worn grommets/bushings and make sure the column linkage is properly adjusted.

Glad to hear from a Falcon guy... my first legal car was a '62 Falcon Fordor Deluxe, that I bought of a Boy Scout merit badge counselor in 1984 for $100. It had 189,000 miles on it then, I it was still going at 213,000 when it got t-boned by a '77 Buick. Had the 170 cid six and 3-speed... peppy little thing for a "throw-away compact"...

Dad had a '63 Futura Fordor back in the '70s... nice car until he sideswiped the whole right side on a phone pole one winter...

I WILL have another '62-'63 Falcon one day !

Good luck making your shifter work ! I never had any problems with my '62...

<img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

i looked under it, wheres the grommet the rubber i saw beat up was more a "boot" where is this grommet you guys are talking about. im sorry i am illiterate when it comes to column shift this is my first one.

Two arms sticking out the side of the steering column, between the firewall and the steering box.

you should be able to reach it easily from under the hood. The one closest to the steering box will be the 2-3 linkage, the one closest to firewall is the R-1 linkage.

thank you so much im going out to look at it right now will post back.

the bushings don't look horrible but a little dry rotted, it's kind of hard to see, i will replace them to rule this out. should everything be tight, where the bushing are it has alot of play going down to the trans, should it be like that or is this a problem as well?

i finally feel like im on the right track i can't thank you all enough for your help.

There shouldn't be any fore and aft slop, laterally there should be a little to keep the arms from binding. Check where the linkage attaches to the shift levers on the transmission too, there could be some wear there. Make sure you lube the column where the shift levers come out. Gunk buildup over the years can contribute to crappy shifting as well.

I believe there are rubber or nylon bushings down where the rods connect to the levers on the side of the tranny...

I think I recall Ford using lots of those nylon shoulder bushings on linkages beginning around 1960...

At any rate, that's another place for wear/slop to cause the column shifter to "hang-up between gears"... the classic failure was "lever in neutral(bound tight), tranny actually in 2nd", and to "fix" it, you'd have to set the parking brake, shut the car down, open the hood, grab the offending rod and pull it into neutral ( now your hands a greasy-slimy-black), then close the hood, get back in the car re-start and go on your way...

And this usually only happens at busy intersections, at rush-hour... <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I can't remember if those were the linkages with slots and slide adjustments or threaded rods and jam-nuts. I had a 65 Chevy van that did the tranny sticks in low, shifter goes through neutral gate toward second, then hangs up trick too. (corrective procedure is similar, had to reach through the grille on the van) I still ended up with greasy hands and smudged steering wheel. The only way it ever came totally clean is when I was wearing a white shirt on the way to work. I sort of miss column shifters.

Mike,

Well, I'm firmly of the opinion that the only worse than a worn/balky column shift is a crappy floor-shift conversion that some goober buggered-in to replace the "worn/balky coumn shift"... <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

This was the case with my recently-departed '72 Chevy C-10 pick-up, straight-six & 3-speed.

A rust-free virgin cab floor was hacked to accomodate a junky ( tired) floor shifter that was designed for some other application... worse yet, it took me quite a bit of searching to try and find the correct relay rods to reconnect the column shift ( column lever was in the glove box!)... I discovered that there were different relay rods depending on whether the truck was a six or an eight, etc. etc.

Once I had all the proper pieces, and fresh bushings ( from a Hust service kit), the factory column-shift worked flawlessly ( yes, FLAWLESSLY ) for another five years and over 25,000 miles....

Chevies always seemed to be problematic though... even my Dad's '70 Nova had "shifter issues"... and my Dad always wore a white shirt & tie to work !!! <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

hey guys

i havent been on here in a good while and unfort. my 65 ford falcon clutch has been sticking pretty badly and my mechanic is so expensive! It doesn't always act up but when it does it won't go into first or reverse. Then sometimes I hear a grinding noise i think it could be coming from the flywheel. I plan on putting it in the shop next month sometime, but when my mechanic got it running after it sat at stans for 6 months he did some simple work to it and charged me like 400 bucks. So I am scared about what he is gonna charge for this. I fear going elsewhere because I just don't know who to go to.

You need to go to a couple of local cruises and find someone that has a similar car and hire him.

As I recall you have had a lot of trouble finding simple solutions.

Did you read the above thread? It sounds like your car has the same issues with the gearshift linkage. If that is the problem it can be fixed for $10 worth of parts and a few simple adjustments. It will help if you can find an old mechanic who is familiar with the column gearshift.