Getting stuck in 4th Gear issues for NV4500

[Mopar1973Man]

The Beast NV4500 has a issue with getting stuck in 4th gear. 

 

Now I know @dripley mention his shift issue for his NV5600 where the steel tip was worn out and had to replace the shift tower. Now for the NV4500 I've been hanging up with 4th gear if I shift too aggressive from 5th to 4th. If I do hang the shifter up I've got to pull the shift tower up to free it and then shift all forks back to neutral. Then reinstall. When I heard about Dripley and his issue I only looked at the shift tip for the NV4500 and didn't see why. Well my trip back from Parma with the wheels I got stuck in 4th gear again about 8 miles from home. 

 

Yesterday morning I got up and tore it down again to reset the stick and looked carefully at everything and finally found the issue. 

 

 

Now look on the left fork which is 5th and reverse. Now the center rod moving up is 4th gear. You can see it would be super easy to cram the shifter tip between that rounded off corner and the 4th gear fork. All those years of driving back and forth to Ontario, OR. 432k miles currently.

 

Take notice to the wore off corner this always the shifter to sneak between the fork and jam up. I know that fork head is cast iron. I was thinking if I can find a good local welder and put a bit of metal back on that corner then file it back to make it square again. Anyone think this is possible?

Edited August 7, 2021 by Mopar1973Man

[wil440]

43 minutes ago, Mopar1973Man said:

I was thinking if I can find a good local welder and put a bit of metal back on that corner then file it back to make it square again. Anyone think this is possible?

If it is cast iron it is possible to weld it BUT from what I was taught the whole peice needs to be heated, also use cast rods in a stick welder not Mig although there may be a mig wire for the job nowadays I don't know.

If you have a stick welder and a heat source IE oxy acetylene or at worst oxy propane and can get some cast rods go for it

And as for heat it's not glowing for the record, from memory and this is at least 40 years ago (apprenticeship) if the peice is not heated when the weld cools it pulls the grain of the metal apart but not where the weld is maybe a 1/8th or a 1/4 away, if you have the equipment do a search for the temp to heat

[Mopar1973Man]

Not sounding to easy. Keep the ideas coming. I'm trying to avoid pulling the transmission. I know it I pull it I could pull the cover and change that one shift fork.

[wil440]

I've looked at your pictures again. 

Are you sure that 45 degree ish angle is wear, looks a bit too uniform for me, are you sure the end of the stick is not worn narrower and the gap between each is not worn bigger allowing the stick to go between ???

Here's another thought, the end of the stick will not be cast, just build that up and dress it back so it cannot go between 

[Great work!]

That type of cast is generally more friendly to welding then engine blocks. I've had pretty good luck with mig welding. Just a small weld build then grind the weld to get rid of the pits and weld again.

[Mopar1973Man]

My biggest thing is finding a way to keep the cherry from dropping back in the transmission. I was thinking like stuff wet rags around the area so to block the cherries from dropping in the transmission as much. 

[wil440]

1 minute ago, Mopar1973Man said:

My biggest thing is finding a way to keep the cherry from dropping back in the transmission. I was thinking like stuff wet rags around the area so to block the cherries from dropping in the transmission as much. 

Take a look at pulling the shift tower and welding that wider so it can't go between, that peice would be on the bench right ??

[Mopar1973Man]

3 minutes ago, wil440 said:

Take a look at pulling the shift tower and welding that wider so it can't go between

 

The tip on the shift is just about as wide as the gap between the outer shift forks. Making it wider might grab two forks together. I just have that one spot dowshifting on 4th that I can wedge that tip between because of the rounded fork on the left. All other shifts are fine. 

[Dieselfuture]

I think welding should be ok, but first make sure it's not supposed to be that way. 

[Royal Squire]

I’ve seen my Dad braze cast iron and build up worn parts many times with bronze rod and torch. 

[Doubletrouble]

 As @wil440said, that 45 looks pretty uniform but,, did it maybe break off?

[Mopar1973Man]

It's wore off the corner smooth. Its not broke off. This is cause from all the canyon driving on the old 31 inch tires. 235's or 265's I had to downshift a lot. Now with the 245's I don't have to downshift to 4th other to pass people now. 

[gerlbaum]

I would feel pretty confident with a hard facing electrode. They make them for cast iron but my guess is that is cast steel. They use that hard facing rod on machine buckets so it’s pretty darn tough. Just follow the instructions. The stuff I used did not require pre heat or slow cooling. It also said weld perpendicular to the crack.

 

I used stuff from Crow Alloys. They even make mid wire for this application. I learned about Crown from the pro welders on Weldingweb. Give them a call and they’ll point you in the right direction if you decide on welding it. 

 

http://www.crownalloys.com

these boys can weld

 

Edited August 10, 2021 by gerlbaum