Doing some extra tightening, lubricating, general checking under Lizzy. While underneath, I looked at the Ruckstell diff. unit and remembered how I like to have a goodly gob-o-grease in the shifter housing. It was time for more. In the past I have unbolted it and pulled the linkage pin, etc.
As I looked at it under there I had an idea.
Why can't I simply leave the unit in place, pull the cotter holding the threaded spring loading plug inside the nose, unscrew that plug, insert grease to my hearts content, then replace the plug to the same depth as it was?
You could. Too much could possibly cause a hydraulic lock in the detent plunger. If you get real energetic you could remove the assembly, disassemble it and install a couple grease zerks. One for the shifter shaft and one for the detent.
Since I have never taken this section apart, any trouble potentials to be aware of?
I assume there is a coil spring and a detent plunger under the threaded plug? Any issues pulling both out?
Why not take the shift lock off, add two zerks and replace the lock? Then you can grease it without having to remove it again.
Stan and Kenny, I agree and that is on my list, but will have to wait for another time. I am just needing to refill it with grease at this time for my own good feelings. Unit is only a few seasons old from new and I did fill it with grease, but it is time again. Next season or this winter I have the zerk fitting mod on my to-do list. In the mean time I did find some words of wisdom from the past, thanks to Stan.
By Stan Howe on Thursday, January 22, 2009 - 01:19 pm:
I'm not an expert but I'll chime in. I'm working on #31, 32, 33 to go to Chickasha.
There is a plug on the end of the long nose shifter that has a spring and a plunger behind it. To do it right, you should remove the entire shift lock assembly and all the parts, clean and restore it like any other part of the Ruckstell. I find that most of them are pretty worn. At the very least you should remove the plunger and the spring, clean them up and make sure the roller in the end of the plunger turns -- most of them are frozen solid or badly worn -- and pack the interior with good gun grease before putting the plunger and spring back in. On most of the ones I rebuild and on all the new shift locks I install, I put a grease zerk on the upper surface about an inch down from where the round part turns to the square part. There is no other way for the shift lock to get grease. Ruckstell's instruction was that you remove the shift lock "occasionally" and "pack it with grease." The zerk makes it a lot easier. You need to give it a good bunch of grease when you install it and a few pumps of the gun when ever you give the bearings a squirt or two.
The bearing and lock plate keep the differential grease from getting out into the shift clutch area so you should make sure that the sliding clutch has plenty of grease when it is first assembled. After that the regular greasing of the shift lock will provide enough grease in that area.
In rebuilding shift locks I find that there are three things that are almost always worn to the point of needing work or replacement. The shaft, which has just two flats milled on the sides to hold the shifting fork, the roller on the plunger and the leaf springs. Almost always a leaf or two is broken.
If you remove the shift fork assembly you will see how it all works and what needs rebuilding pretty readily. A new shifting arm (shaft) is about 30 bucks, the leaf spring set is about 35 and the plunger with the roller is about the same. If you have some shop tools and skills, you can replace the plunger roller pretty easily without buying a new plunger. The temptation when replacing the roller is to put the shifter arm up to the grinder and put a good sharp point on the end of the arm where the plunger roller runs. Don't do it. Too sharp a point and it will be too hard to shift. The point should be more rounded than pointed. Just grind it so it is smooth. I could take a picture and post it if you need to see what a new one or good original looks like.
Now to the original question. No, it should not shift hard. It should take a fair push or pull since you are moving the plunger and spring and all that but if you are having to REALLY pull or push you either have problems with the shift lock or internally in the Ruckstell unit. The bearing being worn or too much clearance between the axle bearing surfaces and the differential carrier will cause the unit to not line up correctly for the shift clutch gear to move easily. They will tolerate a lot but at a certain point will quit shifting. A new or correctly rebuilt unit will not have a neutral but with a bunch of wear they can develop a neutral. That's no good.
Here is how I set the plunger on the shift lock after it is rebuilt, greased and ready to install except for the adjustment. Holding it in the vise, I put a 12 inch cheater pipe on the shift arm. I tighten the plunger screw to the place where the cotter pin will just fit through the holes and try to shift it. It should shift easily. I give it a full turn and try again. It should shift noticeably harder and "snap" when it over centers. One more turn. It should be almost too hard to shift "easily." If it takes more than that I start over with a different spring, etc. I have had to add a washer behind the spring to get it to adjust right.
With the long nose shift lock there is not much danger of it not staying in gear once it is shifter so you don't need to have it really tight. I won't use the short nose shift locks if I can help it. They are a different deal.
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