165D Transmission - play in shift lever

[misterbadger]

My 165D's running fine after spending lots of free time playing with all the corroded wiring and doing the general fooling-around that comes the purchase of any new toy. There's a fair bit of slop in the shift lever, though it goes happily into each gear. Is there a reasonable fix, or is this just something one lives with on a 30-year-old tractor? Not up for a rebuilding a transmission, as I've got a pretty realistic view of my skill set...any advice appreciated.

 

[winston1]

I would "guess" your slack is in the upper part of the shifting mechanism. I doubt it would be major surgery to inspect that area for wear if it is important to you. I would doubt the slack comes from worn forks or rails.

 

[scoops]

My 226 is the same way, winston is correct.
I would just drill it out, and insert larger dowl pin.

 

[misterbadger]

Thanks - might have to take a peek this weekend.

 

[rScotty]

There's a fair bit of slop in the shift lever (YM165D), though it goes happily into each gear. Is there a reasonable fix, or is this just something one lives with on a 30-year-old tractor?

Our YM165D has a couple of inches of slop ....maybe about 3"? of just plain old "play" or slop at the shifting knob after it goes into each gear. But the shifting is positive, lever doesn't shake, and it has never popped out of gear. It's been that way since new and hasn't changed a bit. So it seems normal to me. In my experience most rail-shifting std. floor shift tractors have a lot of slop in the shifting lever after the gear is engaged. Quite different from cars that way.
rScotty

 

[winston1]

That is not normal on my ym2002d, I might have 1" play when in gear.

 

[rScotty]

That is not normal on my ym2002d, I might have 1" play when in gear.

Come to think of it, the play in our YM165D wouldn't be normal in my wife's YM336D either. The 336 is much tighter. Let me back up a bit... In my earlier post I said that the 165 had been that way since new....but on reflection maybe I shouldn't have said that. In all honesty, it has been so many years that as I think back I now doubt my own memory of how it was new. It must have been tighter or I would have remembered THAT at the time. If the shift slop has been slowly changing or wearing over the decades there is every probability that I just didn't notice.
I do know this: Today the 165 does have more slop in the gear shift lever than the 336 does, and neither one has any transmission problem. And following Winston's line of reasoning, wear in the upper part of the shifter pivot does makes sense as most of the 336 shifting is done with the power shift lever up on the column while the 165 shifts with the stick on the floor.
rScotty

 

[misterbadger]

I popped the shift boot yesterday, and can see where the cross pin that runs across the spherical part of the shift lever has worn the slots that it rides in. The pin itself is a very loose fit in the lever, and would happily fall out if not restrained by the boot. No grease or lubrication to speak of, just steel against aluminum for thirty years. I think I'll try to rebore, insert a slightly larger pin (mild steel - see no reason for anything harder) clean up the slot, and grease the bejesus out of the whole thing.