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I think I would change your brake fluid since it probably needs done anyway, and pay special attention to bleeding the system properly. Be sure you use the correct type as 4 and 5.1 are compatible but not 5. I would also remove a front drum and check the wear pattern. If there's not much contact, for all 4 wheels tweak the shoes on a press like Ross showed a couple months ago and/or get the drums turned.

Mine squeaks big time.

I pretty much can say. Slipping bushings..

Only bushings I never have replaced are the front torque arm. I have New ones . Haven't done it.

What gear were you in when you selected Drive in each case?

The two times it didn't work I was in Park beforehand. The time it did work I was in High and changed to Drive. Sounds like maybe it didn't actually change.

In your video at 1:19, you turn a corner and then you are “almost flooring it” and it sounds and looks like a shift at 1:27 and then at 1:31 you comment that “there’s direct” drive. The High button is pressed, but it sounds like it is in Drive.

There are three distinct "gears" while in High. Shift from Low to High to Direct Drive. But shouldn't it just be high range torque converter to Direct Drive while in High? So maybe the adjustments are off so that H is actually D.

In your video at 2:24 when you say “that’s full brakes” do I understand that to be you pressing the brake pedal as hard as you can and the pedal has stopped? How far down is the pedal? It also looks like it is not braking smoothly, is that the case?
Do you know when in the last ten years the previous owner did the brake work?

I probably could have pressed harder on the pedal but it felt like it was essentially all the way down. But I was definitely pressing very hard. It's not braking smoothly....some pulling, some vibrations. I don't know when the previous owner did the brakes, but I'm assuming it was towards the beginning of his ownership. I'll look through the documents to find out when.

I think I would change your brake fluid since it probably needs done anyway, and pay special attention to bleeding the system properly. Be sure you use the correct type as 4 and 5.1 are compatible but not 5. I would also remove a front drum and check the wear pattern. If there's not much contact, for all 4 wheels tweak the shoes on a press like Ross showed a couple months ago and/or get the drums turned.

It was definitely replaced with DOT 5, not 5.1. Isn't 5 supposed to be a lifetime thing? Speaking of brake fluid, I really want to find a remote reservoir to fill the master with. The location of the fill plug is a pain.

Quote:
The symptom of working when going from one gear to the next from one direction such as from park to high or drive but missed or incorrect gears when coming from the other direction such as from reverse to a forward gear is a symptom of both the actuator setscrew being loose or the assembly set incorrectly as well as the inner lever being loose on the shaft. The loose inner lever is a well known issue with the 54-6 GS and TU transmissions and once there is a little bit of play the situation only gets worse.

In addition to following the manual on how to adjust the actuator sector setscrew to the shaft, it might be wise to drop the pan beforehand just to check the condition of the setscrew and lever on the inside where the shaft and lever control the manual valve. Even if things look and feel OK now, if there is only the setscrew thru the lever it might also be a good idea to add the roll pin to prevent future difficulty. That mod is discussed in several threads on the forum.

Unfortunately, while it is fairly easy to disconnect linkage and check for play because of a loose lever with a column shift setup, it is not nearly as easy to check for that situation with the electric shift because of the difficulty in manually trying to to move the shaft and actuator from the outside and still be able to feel the detents and how much movement is possible between them. You could try by removing the bolt in the case on the adjust strap end and grabbing the motor to move the actuator up and down while trying to feel the detents as the setscrew adjust instructions detail but checking visually with the pan off is often the surest way.

Kevin,

"The two times it didn't work I was in Park beforehand. The time it did work I was in High and changed to Drive. Sounds like maybe it didn't actually change."
In your previous comment you said "Drive range is funky. Twice it failed to move past low range torque converter to high range. One time it worked fine."
So from Park, pressing Drive resulted in Low and from High, pressing Drive resulted in Drive, correct?
The order of the gears is Park, Neutral, High, Drive, Low, Reverse.
It sounds like going from Park to Drive went too far and got Low.
The worm brake is there to limit the inertia so it doesn't travel too far.
Have you tried Park to Low, Reverse to Low, Reverse to Drive, and Reverse to High?
Electrically, if the actuator passed Drive and got Low, it would reverse direction and go back to Drive.

"There are three distinct "gears" while in High. Shift from Low to High to Direct Drive. But shouldn't it just be high range torque converter to Direct Drive while in High? So maybe the adjustments are off so that H is actually D."

So when you changed from High to Drive at 1:46 in the video, did you hear the actuator do anything?

Yes, High range should use only high gear and direct drive.
That brings back the question, what gear were you in when you selected High and got the " three distinct "gears" while in High"?
If Park to High got three "gears", Drive, and Park to Drive got Low, can you get it into High?

It sounds more and more like the actuator is out of alignment and moving to the far side of the manual valve detent and the spring loaded plungers push it into one gear or the other depending on how far the inertia carries it, but the difference isn't enough to reach the electrical contact to make it go back. Adjusting the worm brake might get consistent results.

On the brakes, you said that the pedal "felt like it was essentially all the way down.", I hope you mean that it would not move any further, not that it was against the floor.

"It's not braking smoothly....some pulling, some vibrations".
Pulling is difference side to side, vibrations mean that something isn't round, and squeezing means that the shoe is vibrating when contacting the drum usually due to the mating surfaces not being as designed such as rusty drums.

"It was definitely replaced with DOT 5, not 5.1. Isn't 5 supposed to be a lifetime thing?"
The longer life of silicone brake fluid is because it is not hygroscopic (doesn't absorb water). Of course the system has to be completely dry when it is introduced or the water will do damage wherever it is located and can still boil and cause problems. It also only protects the inside of the hydraulics from moisture.