M9000 Manual Shuttle Problems

[Stephankol]

I have a 1999 M9000 with the manual shuttle and keep having a problem when shifting. I can push the shuttle forward and it doesn't always make it into gear it seems like. I push the shifter and most of the time it goes in, especially if I take it slow and easy and make sure to push the shuttle lever as far forward as it can go. One thing that almost always works when I'm trying to get it to go into forward is to push the lever forward and hold it there as I let the clutch out. Other times, it will go forward and down like it is supposed to and then the transmission whines at me (get no movement at all) until I push the clutch back in and put the shuttle lever back in neutral. I have also had it pop out of forward on me a couple of times. Reverse has always worked the way it is supposed to and it doesn't seem to matter which gear you are starting off in.

So far, the only corrective measure I have taken is to adjust the linkage below the floor of the cab and it seems to work mostly fine for a while, not 100% perfect, but always better than what it was before I adjusted it. Should I just adjust it as far as it will go, or is there something else I can fix to get it to do what it is supposed to again?

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Sounds like you have worn the syncro's down, or there is a failure in that set, you can pull the top cover off of it and have a look at the gears and syncro's.

 

[Stephankol]

Ok, I'll take a look in there and see what I've got. We bought the tractor about a year ago and it was doing it then, but the dealership I got it from "Didn't know what would cause that without tearing into it" I changed all of the fluids after I got it home and didn't have any major metal shavings in the hydraulic fluid (ran a magnet through it after I drained it all), but I couldn't tell you how recently it had been changed. The dealership said they didn't do anything to the tractor after it had been taken in on a trade.

Another question before I get into it, would a bad synchro cause it to be hard to shift on the fly? I haven't had any problems when I get on the road and start shifting.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

The syncros are brass/bronze alloy so they won't stick to a magnet. If you do pull the cover you might be able to tell, but pulling it apart is the only 100% sure way your going to know if they are bad.

 

[Stephankol]

Looks like I may have found my problem. I figured I would start at the top and work my way down to see if I could find anything wrong. Before I even took the steering column covers off, I could see that I might have found my issue. The locknut was stripped and the bottom spacer has fallen off, and now there is a lot of metal missing off of that shift rod! I'm really hoping replacing all of that will fix my problem. Getting parts ordered tonight, and we'll see how it works out!

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Excellent to hear!
I kind of skipped over the linkage as you said you had adjusted it, so I didn't think your problem was external.