Really NOT a great design on the shifter, any tricks?

One1

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  • / Really NOT a great design on the shifter, any tricks?
I've got a 2012 pony 7 speed 17.5hp 42" and I've battled with the F-N-R shifter on a few occasions. Over time the base of the vertical shifter shaft wears a ring and becomes sloppy, causing me to have to weld some more metal in so it tightens back up. A replaceable bushing would have been nice in that spot (i know not to expect a bearing on a budget model). However that issue has been overcome as mentioned above. I'm a welder, no problem.

What I'm not pleased about is the swing around pivoting design. It would have worked SO MUCH better if it were on a left to right shift rod that followed the action of the axle input. It could have pivoted in the middle to make the throw very short, would have been great...... But it wasn't and this creates the issue of it being tricky to adjust so it goes into gear and STAYS in gear. There is an adjustment nut at the pivot point that allows minor adjustments which do more to keep it from rattling out of gear than to put it into gear. I've adjusted it many times and the best balance I've gotten is that it goes into gear with a firm approach on the shifter, and stays in gear at lower speeds, but above 4th gear tends to rattle out of drive into neutral.

Hence why I'm asking here.... Has anyone played around with these shifters enough to have either modified or found a happy place where you can still get it into drive, but it doesn't rattle back out at higher speeds? Would changing the used input shifter sleeve where it goes into the axle to a fresh new one help?





 

bertsmobile1

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  • / Really NOT a great design on the shifter, any tricks?
Inside the tranny there should be a ball bearing on a spring that makes a detent with some slots in the selector shaft.
You might be the lucky guy who got the Monday morning hangover special.
Dose the shaft "click into place " with a posatitve stop when you pull & push the shaft.
If not it is either put up with it till the dogs are worn or split the tranny.
The lever is not supposed to keep it in gear, just drag / push the shaft to the next position, the detent holds it there.
I have heard ( but not actually seen ) that the seletor shaft can get put in backwards so the slots are on the opposite side to the ball bearing & spring.

The poster on the "ANOTHER SLIPPING PONY thread is doing her tranny right now, you might like to have a read
 

One1

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  • / Really NOT a great design on the shifter, any tricks?
It's not SUPER firm, but i can tell it is hitting a dent in the roller when i shift it manually underneath as i am adjusting it. The thing about the adjustment at the pivot is that if you leave it sloppy the knob hangs outwards a little in mid air and rattles itself into free space.

I've built the engine in every bike, atv, and truck I own so a rear end/transaxle isn't too much to deal with...... But rather not of course. I'll stop by lowes and see how the new ones feel and compare how much wear is there. Already though i can tell you roughly half the resistance of new.
 

bertsmobile1

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  • / Really NOT a great design on the shifter, any tricks?
A bit of a PIA to have to split the cases to replace the spring and more than a tad messy too.
OTOH the two crown gears & dog are not exactly cheap either and if it keeps dropping out of gear they will quickly wear out.
 

PTmowerMech

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  • / Really NOT a great design on the shifter, any tricks?
Im not sure if this is the same situation. I have to almost fight to get mine (13WN77S011) to get it into the forward gear. Once it's in, it doesn't ever pop out. Although it's slipping sometimes.

The rod that goes into the tranny, and the shifter doesn't seem to be bent. But I did notice, there's no adjustments on any of it. (at least none that I can see)

With the shifter all the way into farward, a lot of time, something in there will grind really fast and loud.
 
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