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B210 Transmission Troubles


stevenj

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I have a B210 with variable speed belt and 3-speed transmission. I was plowing tonight and when I shifted into 1st gear and let out the clutch, it didn't move. There was no noise and no initial movement, so it didn't seem like it just broke. I don't usually use first gear so it might have been broke before tonight. I tried 3rd gear (1st & 3rd are on the same shift shaft) and 3rd gear works. It is a little hard to shift in and out of 1st gear, 3rd gear shifts in and out ok. Reverse and 2nd gear work ok. I recently removed and replaced the large (driven) variable speed pulley. When I torqued the large nut to 50 ft-lbs I applied the brake to prevent rotation of the input shaft. I can't remember what gear I shifted into when I torqued the nut while applying the brake, but my guess is that I wouldn't use 1st because it would make it difficult to achieve the nut torque since the gear reduction would overpower the brake. Could I have damaged something when I torqued the nut using this method? Does anyone know what part or parts might be broken to cause only 1st gear not to work? Do you see any problem with continuing to use it for the rest of the winter before I disassemble the trans? What is the chance that replacement Simplicity gears, shafts, and othe internals are still available to fix it or do I now have a large boat anchor? p.s. Murphy's Law strikes again - - SmilinSam just sold a complete rear end for a B210 that I was interested in but I didn't bid on it.
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Not positive on one as new as a 210 but I'm pretty sure these trannies are all the same except for the input shaft lengths. Also the 725's were a little lighter built on the axle tube settup, least it looks so to me. No clue if your torque method could have caused your problem and as long as you can't hear anything ginding or clicking or any other werid noise, I think you should be able to plow til spring.. MPH
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I searched the archives and read all the posts with "gear screwdriver". The gear screwdriver trick seems to apply to cases where the transmission is stuck in gear or has 2 gears engaged. This doesn't seem to be my case though. One of the posts showed what looked like a cracked/separated collar on the gear set where the shift fork engages. I'm not sure this could be my problem since if the shift collar was cracked, I shouldn't be able to shift in and out of 3rd. Looking at the pictures that Kirk posted, it wouldn't appear that I have a sheared key on the input shaft since I have 3rd gear operation. I'm looking at the Simplicity Large Frame Repair Manual schematics for the transmission gears. For the reasons outlined above it wouldn't appear that I have any sheared keys on the input shaft. Shaft "E" carries gears 3,4,5,6 and all gears slide on a common shaft key. Gear 3 is engaged in 1st and transmits power to gear 4 via the key and then to shaft F and gear 8. Since 3rd gear works, I can assume that gear 4 & 8 are fine. Now when I shift in nd out of 1st gear, the action is not smooth, I have to tug on the shift handle to get it out of 1st. Could it be a fractured shift fork? But if it was, I shouldn't be able to shift in and out of 3rd gear since shifting involves both pushing and pulling the 1-3 gear set. For that reason, it seems unlikely that the shift collar has separated. Could I have experienced a fractured 1-3 gear set that separates the big and small gear and then have a fractured key on the input shaft under the small gear? This doesn't seem likely as I would have heard something break under load or would have been in gear under load and had power/motion and then all of sudden it would stop moving. This never happened. Could there be an problem with the shift fork and the shafts that is preventing the shift fork from moving far enough to engage 1st gear? I'm stumped so any help you could give would help. I've been studying the service manual, but if anyone (Kirk ??) has any additional pictures of the insides of the tranmission that might have been taken during a rebuild, I'd appreciate it if you could post them. Sorry for the long post, but sometimes it helps me to understand how something works when I talk it through and determine what does work and thus help isolate the problem area.
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This one sounds interesting.... As you noted, that key is a long one. Could it be possible that just one end is messed up(that would be the right end as viewed from above the tranny and facing it from the normal seated position)? I would think that if it were the key you'd have a hard time shifting back out of first and if the end were broken clean off you'd have to have the 1/3 gear keyway lined up exactly every time you shifted back. Have you changed tranny fluid and inspected for metal, indicating a trashed gear? You are right in that first and third are on the same gear, but second and reverse also ride on that shaft and key too. For only one gear to shift roughly and not work at all even when it does is unusual. Your options include just swapping out the tranny with a good used one or opening it up to fix it. When we held "Tranny School", we tore down two and rebuild one in a day. I have a couple of variable trannys sitting around, but the shipping might be a bit pricey.... If you can't find one closer and are still interested PM me. For now I'd just forego using first.......
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I'm a little closer,in Northern Indiana,and I have a trans from a B210. However,I don't know much about it,except that it seems to be stuck in gear.Maybe it needs the "screwdriver unlock".Let me know if you're interested.
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