Need help with Lokar trans shifter adjustment

[workingdog]

This trans mounted shifter and 4L60E used to work great together. Then I got the atlas, the trans was taken out, mated up, and reinstalled. During that, the Lokar came off and went back on. Now, I can't get the shifter into first. I can get into second. When I push the button down, the shifter moves down, but does not 'latch' into first gear and the computer says it's not in first gear. I'm not sure where to look for the issue. And since the transmission is installed, I don't have great access. I read the installation manual, and didn't find anything obviously wrong.

 

[NCFJ]

Go back to square one,
Remove the connecting rod between trans and shifter, one end will do
Run through the gears on the trans shifting with little lever, truck is NOT running
Run through the gears on the shifter, any issue with either?

Maybe the position is off just a bit from original install and connecting rod length is off. This can also put tension on both sides.

If you feel that the shifter is the issue, follow the instructions and set it up again. They are pretty simple units, generally reliable but everything breaks down once in a while.

Good luck with it, let us know.

 

[workingdog]

Okay, I'm finally getting back to this. @NCFJ, I want to do this, but it's really, really hard to get at the relay rod. Also, it looks like the quad lever was bent out away from the transmission to accommodate the atlas shift cables and the shift position indicator thing that sits on the shift arm on the transmission. I'm not sure if I need to worry about this, as the instructions say to bend the thread rod if you need to - not the quad lever. It occurs to me that bending the quad lever would essentially shorten it, and change the geometry.

But, I'll get under there and get at the lock nuts and free the relay rod and check that both are working.

 

[reddingcruiser]

You are correct, Grasshopper! Bending the lever arm DOES change the geometry. If the detents on the trans are not engaging properly you run the risk of trashing the transmission. If the valves in the valve body are not working (set) properly you can end up with low oil pressure in the system, and a pile of junk clutch disks.

 

[workingdog]

So, here's what it looks like. I think the shop bent it to accommodate the cables for the Atlas, but I I could bend it back a bit, maybe not all the way to straight, but a lot straighter than it is, and it will work go the other side of the cable. Here are pics. I really don't have any choice, I'm going to have to take the quad lever off the shifter to get access to get access to the lock nut on the shifter end and I'll be able to check the detents. And, I can put it in the vice and bend it back as far as I can.

Here's a picture from underneath. You can kind of see it.

 

[workingdog]

So, disconnecting the quad lever (that was easier than trying to disconnect the relay rod) revealed that the shift was not in the right alignment. The shift would not go all the way into park (it was hitting the dash board before it could get there. Apparently, when they had the transmission out to attach the Atlas transfer case, the took out the bolts in the banana bracket. Of all the things to take out, that makes no sense. When they put it back together, they didn't put it back in the same spot and they lost one of the fasteners (and you can't buy a 5/16-24 3/8" long from anywhere - even online - that I could find). So, loosening the one that was left and rotating the assembly and it seems much happier. Although I won't know until I get the other fastener and can actually take it for a drive. It appears I won't have to adjust the relay rod, as it goes into park and 1st now. It wasn't going into first before because the shift was out of sync with the trans.

Okay, took it for a drive, and although that was clearly step 1, I still need to adjust the relay rod as well, because it's too short to sit comfortably on the shifter anymore.

I still may bend the quad lever back to closer to where it's supposed to be.

And then, I still have to put all the covers and boots back in position.

 

[workingdog]

Okay, for posterity putting down what I've learned. I got a friend to come over and he'd take the shift lever off the transmission, pull the entire relay rod assembly out, adjust it, then put it back and try again.

We could get park correct, or we could 1st to work, but we could not get it so park and 1st worked. There was never enough travel in the shifter to get shift the entire range of the transmission.

This is the quad lever that was bent.

That bend up near the splined part at the top was put in by someone when the transfer case was put in. I am assuming that this shortened the effective length of the lever reducing its length of travel so that it can't shift the transmission any more. They needed the offset to clear some stuff in the way, but that was the wrong way to do it.

So, I'm going to lengthen the last bit on the lever adding two more holes and hope that solves my problem with a minimum of alterations.

 

[workingdog]

So, learned a lot. Here's what I had to do to the lever

It's about 1/2" longer than it was and it now has enough throw to get from first to park

So, here's what I learned, at great cost to my sanity. And the manual has very little to say, it's not wrong, it's just not helpful.

There are two adjustments you can make. You loosen the two bolts on the 'banana bracket ' and adjust the position of the shifter, you slide the bracket one way to get more clearance from the dash, the other to get more clearance from the console. Once that's set, then you adjust the all thread connection between the quad lever and the shift lever on the transmission so that it's essentially neutral and can make make it through all the gears. If the shifter isn't quite lined up, and you'll feel it - park or neutral won't be crisp, then try one or two full turns shorter or longer on the all thread (it may not be clear which way it has to go) until it shifts easily.

With the tranny out of the car, this is really simple. What I think happened to mine was that it was adjusted out of the car, and when it went in the dash was in the way, and it had to be adjusted in the car, and that lost me neutral safety switch because you can't really install that in the car. Then changing the transfer case introduced interference with the linkage cables. So, the shop just bent the lever out of way.

That essentially shortened the quad lever meaning that the Lokar no longer had enough throw to get all the way from Park the 1st. So, I lost 1st. It also meant that the steps on the lokar from gear to gear were no longer the same as on the transmission - that means when the Lokar is in 2nd, the transmission isn't competely in 2nd - which could have caused other problems.

One thing to note, the Lokar has it own set of detents and lock points, that's what makes it effective. It locks into Park and Neutral for safety. It's really important that the lokar and the transmission are moving together so they work.

I had to do redo the setup with the tranny in the car which is a huge pain in the was. Each time, you have to disconnect from the transmission (from underneath) and from the lokar (from above) and make the turns on the all thread. Put it back in, and see what happens. I got it, then I had to loosen the button screws and the banana bracket, moving the shifter alignment, and then I had to align the all threat all over again. Took hours and hours.

Giant PITA. That's a job I never want to do again.