H41 problems

[cruiser_guy]

Good thought cruiserdrew,,, I don't even have that blue piece in there,,, I will try lifting up on shifting and see ,,,thanks everyone for the advices really appreciate it.

Not all H41's or H42's have that bushing. It's something that is more common on newer trucks. You may find that the top cover has it if it is aluminum. If the top cover is steel it probably doesn't have that ring but has a tapered area cast or machined into the top cover.

If it is still good it will be two layers, one layer is a blue neoprene or rubber ring bonded to a nylon tapered ring. The tapered ring tends to dry out, crumble and then fall into the tranny. When that happens the shifting between gates gets harder. By that I mean shifting between 1st and 2nd is OK and between 3rd and 4th is OK but going between 1st/2nd and 3rd/4th and reverse is difficult or impossible without pulling up on the shifter. I've had that problem and it doesn't sound like your problem.

 

[allan man]

That could well be the problem ( I hope) being a 74 with a H42 and a 1981 H41 which probably needs that plastic piece,,, or i could just swap the covers,,, if theres any differences between the two,,,

 

[cruiser_guy]

Swap covers. The only possible difference is if the H41 came from a '60 series the shifter will be in a different location.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Pretty sure the 81 requires that shifter seat.

Swapping covers while it's under the truck is a PIA. I'm not even sure it's possible. I would replace the shifter seat first, since that is trivially easy. The last one I got was $12 or so.

 

[allan man]

Heres what i read just now on SOR,,, im really crossing my fingers on this guys,,, hope this is the culprit


Is your gear shifting becoming more difficult, or does your transmission lock in reverse? Don’t be talked into an expensive transmission replacement or overhaul yet. If you have a 8/80 & Later transmission with a aluminum shift tower and find that the shifting out of reverse becoming more and more difficult, possibly having to lift the shift lever upward to get your transmission to shift, it’s time to replace the shift seat. It’s made of neoprene, so it does not last forever. Periodically changing this part will assist your shifting ability. At SOR we have found ground up pieces of the shift seats imbedded internally in the transmission we’ve serviced, this can cause an internal problem if you let this go for too long. It’s inexpensive and easy to install.
Buy
Part Number
Description
Price
*In Stock
Picture

(click to enlarge)

062-77
Shift Seat-
Fits 8/80-8/87 4 & 5 speed transmissions-Made of neoprene
$20.58
Yes

 

[Cruiserdrew]

You could just order from your local dealer-they can get it overnight, and will not charge the outrageous shipping of SOR.

Crossing my fingers for you.

 

[Volcano cruiser]

I was having a similar problem with my H41 just before the swap out and swap in of the H55. I could shift into 1st from a standstill and hard or not at all into 2nd. 3rd and 4th were fine. I could shift easily into 2nd only at a standstill. Reverse was not a problem I did three gear oil changes. Oil would go in clean and come out a couple of days later dark. The last time with some metal bits from the grinding. I';m gonna sell the H41 as I still believe in the tranny just making sure that I tell the buyer to do an overhaul, rebuild of it before it goes into his rig.

 

[MtnTrucker]

Allan,

Any chance you accidentally pulled one of the detent springs out when you pulled the top cover to fix your first issue?

 

[allan man]

Hi Randy thanks for chiming in,,, "spring is in" but when i got home today i was excited to try and pull up on the stick and see if it goes in smooth into 2nd while in motion,,,but backing out of the garage something else came up while in reverse,,, something is catching ,,i mean like preventing it from rolling freely,,,obviosly something has come off internally and is floating around inside the tranny
getting caught in the gear mesh,,,im gonna drain the fluid and see what i find,,,but im not in any hurry at the moment due to my frustrations,,, looks like im going to need a rebuild in the future or another H41

How is your H41 doing? hope your having better luck than i am,,,

 

[MtnTrucker]

So far so good, no issues at all (knock on wood)