544 shifter problem

[rick56]

Having an issue with a Farmall 544 shifter. Trying to move or remove the gear selector dowel pin
(round pin) on the cross shaft above the battery area. The pin has somehow worked it's way
partially out and you can't shift through neutral to the 2/3 or4/5 gears. The pin is in the R/1
quadrant currently and looking up from the battery compartment you can see the end of the dowel
pin is about flush with the surface of the cross shaft. Tried to pound it upwards with a punch in
an attempt to knock it out altogether but it seems to ether be stuck very tight or is hitting
something above. Very poor access to perform any work on it. I thought about drilling it out
hoping I could then just pull the cross shaft out but that pin seems very hard and I fear messing
up the cross shaft. It appears there is a hydraulic priority valve above the shifter gate area
behind the dash, if this valve were removed, would it be possible to get a punch in there and
pound the pin back into position or remove it? I've searched various forums and while this seems
to be a common problem on the 544/656 tractors, there isn't much for a solution ever offered.
Any suggestions on how to get that dowel pin moved so it's centered again? Thanks!

 

[pete 23]

There is a solution but it isn't easy or inexpensive. There was a kit offered to replace that shaft and the new one has a square pin along with new dividers.

Once that pin works loose it won't stay unless you loctite it in place once you get it centered. Depending on where it is stuck at now you can sometimes drive it out from the top. If it won't move it is definetly up against something, most likely the hydraulic flow divider body.

Best way is to remove the flow divider valve assembly so you can get at it and repair all the worn parts. The other problem is even with pin centered you cannot pull the shaft out. The kit gives instructions how to file, cut, or whatever a slot in the casting so you can insert new shaft with pin intact and thus remove it also if necessary.

Due to wear on many points it takes a bit of tinkering to get all those shift linkages adjusted so the shaft will move smoothly back and forth to select different gears. One has to be careful to make sure you shift straight forward and backwards to full neutral before trying to move lever side to side or you wear the corners off the dividers and pins.

You also have a ball detent under a set screw , nut and spring.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

Sounds like you might not going to get out of this without taking something apart.

I dealt with the pin on my Dad's 656. Loose pin + gravity = falls out the bottom. Very odd that yours worked its way up.

It was not easy but I could JUST get my sausage fingers up into the area above the shift linkage. Because when I first tried to push the pin back in place I pushed it too far. I was able to poke it back down by mushing my fingertip in the hole at the top.

I don't think there's clearance for the pin to come through when its at an angle you can tap on it from below. You're just beating it into a casting as I recall. If its loose enough you might be able to put it in Reverse and push it back down from above with a finger. I may have even gotten a small punch up in there to push the pin through.

My solution was to "stake" the pin around the middle. That is, take a center punch, and make a series of dimples around the exact middle of the pin. The dimples raise up metal and make the pin effectively bigger, so it stays in place.

You have to be EXTREMELY careful when reinstalling the pin because you will no longer be able to easily push it back out if you go too far.

 

[rick56]

Thanks for the insight Barnyard and Pete 23. I can reach my finger up behind the cross shaft and feel the end of the pin but that's about all the room there is. Seems like my best option is to remove the flow divider body and knock that pin back to where it should be. Mostly I wanted to know if removing the flow divider would allow access to the other end of the dowel pin before I went through the trouble of removing it. I've read about the upgrade kit for those shifters, seems like they are spendy. I think I'll get the pin back where it belongs and see if it works OK before I go that route. Thanks again!