Hot Rods 4 speed muncie shifting problems

Has anyone with a 4 speed m22 Muncie and hurst competition shifter had problems shifting from 1st to 2nd? My tranny and shifter have less than 700 miles on them.
The problem doesn't happen every time. But when drag racing 4 out of 6 runs it stucks in first. When it happens the shifter is stuck in 1st gear position and wont move in any direction. To fix it I have to go under car and use a wench to move the 1-2 shifter arm on trans to neutral. Then it will work again. I have tried several different things.
Here is a list of the things I have tried.
Recalibrating shifter linage to tranny shift arms.
Checking for any part of linkage or tranny shift arms rubbing on trans tunnel or shifter plates rubbing on trans housing.
Backed off shifter limit bolt stops. (builder of the trans said to do that)
I am going to try to put a go pro cam on it and see if I can record it.

 

you may have to pull the side cover and check the shifter detents on the side cover.
had a similar issue on a Saginaw.

 

Sounds like you may be overtraveling the shift slider, which is what you are actually controlling by setting the stop bolts on the shifter.....if so, backing them off was the wrong way to go, it would just make the problem worse.
Overtraveling can make them jam or stick.
Setting procedure for the stop bolt is:
-Shifter fully assembled and all linkage connected and adjusted correctly.
-Place shifter in 3rd gear, turn front stop bolt to just contact shift tower/mechanism, then back bolt out 1 revolution and lock the jamb nut.
-Place shifter in 2nd gear and follow the same procedure to set the rear stop bolt.
Reason for the 1 revolution of slack on the stop bolts is to allow for flex/clearance in the linkages and still ensuring it engages the next gear correctly.

If you still have the problem, it is inside the box and not the shifter....shift detent linkage/side cover or slider/hub/clutch keys/fork assembly.

 

Not the problem, but make sure you use GL-4 rated gear lube.

 

problem is getting worst, does some know of any other manufacture of shifters or is hurst the only game in town?

 

Did you align the gate with the pin inserted, limit bolts loose and shift arms off? I put a Hurst CP in a friends OT Corvette and fine tuned the adjusters and manually engaging gears on side cover. A PITA however a hoist certainly helped. It's never given any trouble since then. Also check that the shift rods aren't fouling on under body or X-member.

 

Not what you want to hear but I'd look at the side cover or 1-2 synchronizer.

 

Is this a new shifter ? If you have to move the side plate lever from 1st gear position to neutral position then the shifter is not engaging the 1-2 internal shifter arm / plate . If that's the case , either the shifter is extremely with or the 1-2 ,/ reverse shifter separator plate is in the wrong spot ...

 

I had the same issue with the m-20/ Hurst shifter in my 36, it would hang up when shifting hard only SOMETIMES and I would sternly coax the shifter around towards reverse to get it out of first. I readjusted the stops and I'm pretty sure that solved it for me.

 

You need to get rid of the stupid plastic bushings that the shift likage uses in the the shift arms on the trans and the shifter. Replace them with a Hurst Pit Pack part number 3327302, solid bushings, I have done this with every Hurst shifter I have used since the first one 20 years ago. The plastic get sloppy fast and causes exactly what you are talking about, even faster if you are drag racing it. This will tighten it up the way you wanted it to be in the first place. Here is a link to them at Amazon.



https://www.amazon.com/Hurst-3327302-Steel-Bushing-Pack/dp/B000BWALCO

 

I thought the stops were for 3rd & 4th gear only. Who built the transmission? I've heard some not-so-great things about aftermarket Muncies. I agree on the parts-pack bushings and I still have broken those. Install with hi-pressure lithium grease. My shifter I use now, bought in 1978 for a 1965 Chevy, still works great. I have had it apart to clean and grease. I set it up with a 1/4" rod, arms off the transmission and made sure the levers went on without any stress. I've had to tweak a rod now and then in a vise so it flopped on freely.

 

I had that problem on my 5-W coupe years ago.
Like Jason, I changed the bushings out and never had another problem.

 

Sounds really familiar, I tore down the shifter, cleaned and lubed, put the solid bushings in and fixed it, for a while. Then it began to do it again. The fix for me was pretty simple, I spray wd40 on the shifter assembly a couple times a year, even know it looks well lubricated, the wd makes it work everytime. maybe its a band aid, but I don't mind cause the shifter boots not that tight and I can spray it without removing anything. The car only gets driven a few times a year, setting does not help.

 

I'm in agreement with the shifter stops, you can't let it over travel or you will make the problem worse.
Shifter bushings are also crap(plastic) and the sintered bronze/metal ones are not much better they tend to shatter. You need proper hardened steel ones.
Have you checked out any of Paul Cangialosi's videos?

He covers just about everything on Muncie issues.
One I learned was you really need to make sure the interlock works smoothly, if the balls or springs get hung up or don't slide smoothly this can cause a hangup when shifting, and if you try and force it you may bend other thing.
Which then leads to a sprialing PITA hole of back tracking and having to fix the ass cart in front of the donkey, before getting everything setup correctly again.

 

First , WOW , they've really gone to thinner metal for the shifters .! Second , he never did completely disassemble the shifter .........

 

WOW, stuff we learned 40 years ago now comes back.....
If you can move the shifter forward and back while in 1st gear then you need to adjust the travel bolts on the front and back of the shifter. Yes, check your detent arms, most guys will overhaul the trans and not check the spring or if the detent arms are worn....The other thing to check is the end play of the main shaft....I cannot tell you how many Muncies and Saginaw trannys I repaired AFTER someone "overhauled" them....

 

In the above video, no.
He does have a video where he does break down an older gummed up shifter and cleans it up.


Paul has a bunch of videos, good stuff if you are trying to diagnose a shifting problem.

 

I've watched some of his videos over the years. He knows his stuff and has been doing this for decades.

 

Old and gummed up ,now we're in my wheelhouse !!

 

Both of my brand new, newer generation Hurst Comp plus shifters have a lot of slop forward/back, I tried that trick with the stops with little effect, he is right "ya gotta love Hurst".
They sure aren't built the way they used to be!

 

Syncro

 

Eric , if you're still reading , as I understand what you're saying is ; when you try to shift to 2nd the shifter stops in neutral or second position, while the trans stays in 1st . Is that the case ?

 

It could be a bent shift fork on 1-2 .

An aggressive shift will cause it to jam, whereas a gentle shift will allow it to go through.

 

I would take the side cover off and look at the shift forks, also everything in the side cover, the detents etc. I broke the stud on one of my shift lever assemblies, changed over to an internal-thread one, got the whole side plate assembly from Auto Gear. This should eliminate any neutral-gate problems, which seems to be your issue.

 

After watching that video, I realize I've been living under a rock, those little shift lever conversion shims are pretty cool. The Muncie for my 67 Nova is a 1969 box with a 64-67 sidecover that has studs, I found an original shifter years ago but also have a new Hurst for the 64-67 application.
When is the last time you saw one of these?

 

I have a few old Hurst Competition Plus shifters, used to find 'em complete or without shift rods/levers, $5 in boxes of other parts at Turlock swap.
...the NEW Hursts are indeed made from thinner metal, look like 'souped-up Ansen Pos-a-shifts' with Hurst hang-ons!

 

Exactly like the one in my 65 Impala , love still got one in a box somewhere ...we hard surface welded all the wear points on mine and hand filed it until it worked smooth , shifted as well as any Hurst ..( that was in '68)...you could adjust that linkage more precisley than a Hurst also ...

 

I took my '65 Chevy apart in 1984, put the shifter back in the OG box. I cracked it open in 2014 to use... the shift knob... gone, 1/4" adjuster rod... gone... BUT I had 2 complete shifter bodies and handles. Riddle me that...

 

Hope the OP doesn't mind a little trivia here.

That's what most people outside the Nova world usually say.
The Nova shifter was an animal all to itself, the main body and the levers are the same but what makes it different are the shorter rods and the handle which has specific bends in it.
No other GM car used this handle, this in combination with the spacers and a tailhousing with the extra forward shifter bosses and speedometer cable connection on the passenger side allowed the handle to come through the console correctly.
They are being reproduced but originals are very hard to find.

 

Is it possible that the 1-2 lever is being pulled over center when in first making the shift rod in a close to straight line with the lever?