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To not hijack another thread. Reading in the service manual. The 2 forks should line up when the shifter is slightly above horizontal. Will it be apparent what slightly above is? IE should I disconnect both rods insert the drill bit and just take up the slack to the new position? Or should I only adjust 1 rod (which rod)? I am getting stuck in 1st occasionally.
Thanks,










This is what the shift arms look like with the car in neutral.

The slightly above horizontal is kind of arbitrary. In my 47 it is only one or two degrees but you do need to ensure the levers at the base of the steering column are somewhat in the center of travel and that they are not so high (or some might want lower) that the shift to a particular gear cannot be completed and fully detented before running out of room for motion.

The upper 2-3 lever is the one connected by the shift tongue to the operator lever at rest so that is the one that will be moved when you select your neutral slightly above horizontal position. The lower R-1 lever should be completely disconnected from the operator lever and free to rotate unless the operator lever is pulled back and has it selected. Most of the time it will just flop around. Inserting the pin thru the small holes to lock the levers together while adjusting the rods is important to prevent inadvertent separation. If the levers become offset by much, the slots for the shift tongue will not line up. If they get too far out of line, when trying to make a shift the tongue won't slide from one lever to the other and you will probably be fighting and need to fuss with the operator lever a bit when trying to engage a different lever.

HH56,
To make sure I get you, the 2-3 lever is the one to the left in the bottom picture, higher up the column? The R-1 lever is the one on the right with more of a right angle bend in it?
So 1) the R-1 rod gets disconnected, 2) lock the levers with the drill bit, 3)reattach the R-1 rod so in is in middle of its range of motion, 4) remove drill bit and check operation?
Thanks,

The procedure you outline pretty much sums it. Your levers look to be aligned well so I suspect any change in adjustment needed will be because of wear or looseness somewhere.

If you want to read exactly how the Packard manual shift linkage works, check out the clutch and transmission section of the 46-50 service manual. The linkage description starts on page 44. Except for the shape of the actual levers, the illustration and sequence of operation is the same as in your car.

The transmission detent and interlock operation portion is identical too and is detailed slightly before the linkage. Except for the mounting and shape of the levers and rear housing, yours has the same transmission. If you have Overdrive, your R11 will have a few different case parts and the lockout switch is at the OD unit instead of under the dash making the electrical a bit different but is otherwise the same unit described.

With a drill bit in the hole the levers are ever slightly not aligned maybe a 32nd of an inch. Not sure if I can make the alignment better? Is this a wear issue?
Thanks
John

That doesn’t matter as it’s the linkages you’re adjusting. However the arms are when in the central position on the lever, adjust the linkages to match.

Still working on this. Is there something in selector that only let's 1 lever move at once? Can this jamb so no gear change is possible?

On the drawing above, the selector is pinned to the selector rod assembly which in turn is attached via a pocket to the end of the operator lever. Since the selector rod is attached to the operator lever, the spring keeps the small extension tongue on the piece labeled selector which is splined to the housing or shift tube firmly seated in a groove machined in the flat part of the upper 2-3 lever and the operator lever in the down or toward dash position. That 2-3 lever is active most of the time and because the selector is splined to the housing tube and extension is in the groove, the lever will rotate when the operator lever is moved rotating the housing tube so second and third can be selected at will. The bottom R-1 lever is disengaged and detents in the transmission will be strong enough to just let the tube rotate while the R-1 lever stays still. It is somewhat protected from corrosion and rust so rarely is the cause of any issues.

When the operator lever is pulled back toward the driver, the rod moves downward against the spring pushing the extension on the selector piece into a machined groove on the flat part of the lower R-1 lever. That lever is supposed to move only when the operator lever is pulled back and reverse or first is selected. At that time the upper lever is completely disengaged from the operator lever and detents should hold it in place just as is done with the bottom lever. Issue in shifting is often due to the lack of lube. Since the 2-3 lever also is riding on the rotating shift tube called a housing in the drawing, lever must be completely free so it does not try and rotate when the housing rotates. Since the lever is on top and somewhat unprotected, it is subject to dirt and moisture condensing on the housing tube and usually has gotten little to no lube over the years. Rust and corrosion can form betwen the lever and housing tube and cause that lever to stick and try to rotate along with the R-1 lever when it is selected and should be the only one moving. That extra movement often causes the interlock to try and prevent 2 gears from being selected at one time by locking up the transmission or linkage.

Have you also verified there is nothing wrong in the detent and interlock section of transmission. That can be done by disconnecting the long rods at the trans. Move one lever at a time by hand to select gears. A distinct detent should be felt when it moves into each gear. Verify that happens in all gears by checking both levers so you select all gears. As soon as one lever has been moved slightly in either direction from the neutral position, the other lever should not be able to be moved. Some have found transmissions that due to wear or a damaged spring that either a detent or the interlock has failed. The detent block assy is bolted to the case and some have also found their bolts loose letting the detent and interlock block move.

Howard
Thanks. I will 1st check the interlock as you suggest. 2-3 lever can be pushed or pulled into gear from under the hood. The R-1 lever can be pulled up but will move down halfway from under the hood. Also using the gear shift 2 and 3 engage nicely with a defined detent. R and 1 don't have a defined detent and you just have to assume the gear is engaged.
John

If you have an overdrive and Reverse is the gear having a problem engaging fully, there is an interlock mechanism which is essentially a rod between the overdrive unit and the R-1 transmission shift fork. That interlock rod is supposed to prevent reverse from being selected if the overdrive is engaged or to ensure a mechanical part of the overdrive is moved when going into reverse to make sure OD stays locked out and cannot be accidentally activated if it is not engaged.. Perhaps the rod is sticking or cannot move freely because of an issue in the overdrive or with the interlock rod section of the transmission and shift fork.