Author unknown
My 1965 Tiger Mk I locks in gear, the shifter won’t move. It usually happens in city traffic when shifting up and down several times. All at once it just locks up, but I believe it’s almost always in 3rd gear. I usually just coast to a stop with clutch in or continue in third until the engine dies. If you just wait a while, jiggle it a lot, and oh yes, cuss a lot, it magically comes loose again until it happens again. I cannot reproduce the lock up by trying, so I can’t show it to a mechanic. Examination eventually located the culprit; the gate mechanism at bottom of shift lever.
This gate mechanism has slots that require a pin to be properly aligned (as determined by shift lever position) causing the selected lever to be actuated. This gate is what forces us to shift in the classic “H” pattern. However, we are sloppy shifters and shift like a “Z’ when going from second to third. The end result is a worn and sloppy gate which allows the shift lever to actually try and select two gears or not completely disengage one gear before going into the next gear. Ok, so what’s the fix?
Simple, sort of.
- Remove shifter.
- See other tech tips.
- Send to a repair specialist like Dan Williams in Franklin North Carolina.
- Or, disassemble yourself, repair the gates, replace the pin and install new bushings most worn parts are available if ordered from local Ford dealers.