CA Tranny Shifts Hard - Victory!

Bill, those are kind words, indeed. Thank you. Half the fun is bringing them back to life! Which I couldn't do without the help I find on here, for sure.

I'm ready to declare victory here. Here are the details:

Unfortunately you will have to hold the shifter yoke in the approximate position it would be in if it were in groove on shift collar.

David - thanks for describing the shifting mechanism's operation. I will check the shifting action to see if the rods behave properly. The shift lever itself hasn't been welded or ground, but it could be worn. I'll try to get a good picture of the end of it.

Your don't mention whether or not any of the shifting mechanism has been welded on or modified. I have worked on shift levers that were welded up and ground down but not dimensioned correctly that would bind up in the forks shifting into certain gears and not others. Also the shifter rods have a cross pin interlock to prevent more than one shifter rail to move from the neutral position at a time. If any rod doesn't return to neutral position properly it could cause a problem. I guess what I'm trying to say is you detents and interlock pin and rod detents/springs must be in good working order. Also shift lever cup, retainer, and snap. Need to be in effect.

Okay. Hydraulic pump is drained same contaminated oil. Pulled side plate/shifter. All the plungers are clean, bright and shiny. Mopped last of the oil out of the tranny. Collars move easily on the shaft. Will check the plungers tomorrow to make sure that all of them move okay.

While you have it drained, would be a good time to remove the side cover and check how free the collars slide on the shaft. They should slide free, unless there is interference in the splines.

Rather I meant from CT

Thanks, CTucker. Much appreciated.

DavidnTenIll wrote: I believe CA just like WD changed transmissions around 1953 from a soft straight tooth sliding gear to a helical hardened and ground constant mesh transmission where you only shift collars not gears. Early ones are easier to shift at least in the wd. If your lube is ok I would be looking at rusty broken springs/ balls in shifter detents and also make sure foot clutch is releasing all the way and not keeping the trans under load. Unless you have some bad bearing but would think that would be more noticeable than just shifting. Have rebuilt numerous wd45 shifter assemblies and rusting rods, spring, and detent balls never work well.

 The CA never had a spur gear tranny like the B and C. It had the constant mesh tranny from the beginning.

You didn't mention what year it is?

The shop manual might have a hint:

http://geraldj.networkiowa.com/Trees/Allis-Chalmers-G-B-C-CA-Service.pdf

Gerald J.

Dave(inMA) wrote: Dennis, I don't know how to set or recall setting the "in play or backlash". So misadjustment in that area could be a factor. How does one set it and do you know what the specification is? Dick, I'm not following this part of your post: "Normally when replacing the side plate with the forks that you breath will cause them to move..." Can you explain this differently? Thanks, both of you! Dave

The slide gears move so freely that when the forks can not engage the grove because they have moved when being bumped so slightly you wonder how they could have moved.

If the seal housings behind the final drive on both sides have not been remove and the shims mixed up you have nothing to worry about.

Shouldn't be a need to remove the shifter stick to check it out. Drain the oil and remove the side plate. You will be able to move the slide gears back and forth to see if you have damage on the shaft from gear chips or grindings. You can also so see how bad the gear teeth are that cause it to jump out of gear. I don't have pictures of the CA gears and to darn old and lazy to take the plate off one in the shed and take a picture.

My guess is the slid gears are rough on the shaft. Normally when replacing the side plate with the forks that you breath will cause them to move and you get to keep trying until the forks to enter the grooves in the gears. If that is the case you might be able to smooth the shaft with a strip of emery cloth without removal or a total disassembly of the transmission.

Some more info. This morning with the tractor stone cold, shifting into gears works much better. I'm wondering if there's a heat build-up issue or a problem with the NAPA Hytran I used. While the container says it meets "JD, J20A, J14B, C (303) & J21A, Case IH Hy-Tran, MF Permatran Specs", no where on the container does it mention "821" which I dimly recall as being right for AC applications. Also doesn't indicate that it's low foaming. When I drove to my friend's farm for the plowing test, I ran 2 miles in 4th gear to get there. I noticed that it was hard to get into 2nd when I got there. So maybe heat buildup linked to the wrong fluid?