no gears

climb2safety

climb2safety

Member
I went to go for a ride yesterday and she wouldn't go into gear - nothing... It stayed in park, I went through r, d 2,1 and nothing. It didn't even sound like it was trying to engage. I checked the fluid as best as I could because it wouldn't go into neutral. It is cherry red and full.

My rig is a 1980, 304 automatic. From reading the forums the tranny is a t18.

I am not much a mechanic so any help in simple terms would be appreciated.
 
Unless IH changed things for the 80 year and you have an automatic transmission then it would actually be the chrysler 727 attached to the gaser motor. The t18 designation sounds to me like a manual stick transmission.

Kind of sound like the shifter cable is not attached properly or missing.
 
Yeah, thanks scooter. I found that out from my local IH crew. I will be checking the linkage when it is not 3 digits outside.

There will be an update later tonight.

Thanks
 
Hopefully it is a simple cable or external linkage issue. The alternative is not something you probably want to hear, so I'll save it for now. Oh, and the IH part designation for the chrylser torqueflite 727 auto is t-407 for all so equipped light line vehicles from roughly 1972 forward.
 
So this little gem was hanging down. What it is?

There are three connected wires to the outside. I found where it goes but that is where I now have a question.

When I plug it in, does it matter which way it gets plugged. I only ask because I am pretty sure I tried both ways and still got nothing.
 

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So after further review, I see that the part I didn't know what was, is a neutral safety switch. Can this be the reason it wont shift into gear?
 

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Nope. That unit, when wired properly, is to prevent the ignition to engage the starter while the shifter is in any gear other than neutral or park.

If your shifter cable is intact, then there is internal issues. Possibly the shifter shaft on the trans itself that the cable hooks up to
 
That switch has no effect on forward/reverse motion. Its only purpose is to allow/deny starter motor engagement based upon positioning of the gear selector. If that pigtail was loose and you can still engage the starter...likely in any gear selector position, that means that the switch failed at some point and a po has bypassed it rather than performing a proper repair. When properly functioning and hooked up, it will only allow the starter to be engaged in park or neutral selector positions. That's not your most pressing issue. Keep looking.
 
So I got back under the rust bucket yesterday; had my wife in the drivers seat shifting gears... I saw one component that was loose so I tightened it up. Jane (my wife) said it didn't seem like there was as much play in the shifter after tightening, so we cranked it up... Still no gears.

I did notice something peculiar, the reverse lights were lit. With the engine not running, I put it into reverse and neutral and attempted to push it - it would not roll so it is clearly in park...

So I am assuming the linkage is still malfunctioning, I can look further into that. But why would the back up lights be illuminated? Maybe that is where it broke.

This is sort of getting frustrating. I am learning patients.
 
Well. Seems that the neutral safety switch is functioning properly. Reverse lights function whether motor is running or not, when shifter goes into reverse. At least that's how I understand it.

Might be able to get by with adjusting the bands. But, hate to say it, it's sounding more like it might be time for a rebuild.
 
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