18 speed. Shifter has a lot of play while in gear (slop)

Discussion in 'Peterbilt Forum' started by cmrdev, Oct 13, 2017.

  1. cmrdev

    cmrdev Medium Load Member

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    Hello, I have a 2003 peterbilt 379 with 18 speed eaton fuller. Transmission is great and works perfect. The only thing that bugs me is that the shifter is sloppy while in gear. you cannot pull it up and down out fo the shifter tower and you cannot rotate it. The only problem is that you can move it around a lot. because of this, I hit the steering wheel with knob driving to find reverse. Is there a plastic bushing that the thing sits in the transmission or something. Thanks people
     
    ledzeppist Thanks this.
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  3. wore out

    wore out Numbered Classic

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    Yes there is a bushing that goes in the bottom of the gear shift. It slides over the stub sticking out of the top plate
     
    SAR and Justrucking2 Thank this.
  4. Justrucking2

    Justrucking2 Road Train Member

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    Like Wore Out said, bushing up top. You can get a repair kit for it.
     
  5. cmrdev

    cmrdev Medium Load Member

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    Thanks a lot fellas. Have to do a few things to the truck today so I'll go up underneath the cab and check her out. You guys are great
     
  6. RET423

    RET423 Medium Load Member

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    If you have a shorter engine like the C13 there is a linkage rod between the tower your stick comes out of and the tower that drops into the transmission, these get wallowed out and create a lot of side to side slop over time.

    They can be repaired by drilling the pin holes out to a larger size or just replacing the rod.
     
  7. cmrdev

    cmrdev Medium Load Member

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    Thanks for the reply sir. I have c12 motor. I looked under cab and saw the inle isolater. I grabbed the stick from under neath while in gear. It's shot. The stock part going into tower has no movement but above isolator the stick is all sloppy. Is there a specific part number I need for my trans or are all the isolators the same? I might just run down to pete and get one this week but would rather order one online to save me a trip
     
  8. RET423

    RET423 Medium Load Member

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    I always get these parts from a transmission shop, the dealer seems to have a tough time isolating shift linkage parts.

    You may have to buy the whole remote tower as a unit if the slop is internal, I would look for a commercial transmission shop and see what they have on the shelf.
     
  9. Loaderlou

    Loaderlou Medium Load Member

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    They should sell a complete kit which includes gaskets, spring, isolater bushing and maybe the nut and bolt. Not hard to do, just be sure to drain the air before pulling hoses and don't drop anything down inside the trans. Not trying to scare you, just be careful. Hardest part is removing the spring and getting the pin or bolt out of the isolated bushing. Otherwise a piece of cake
     
    fishonron Thanks this.
  10. cmrdev

    cmrdev Medium Load Member

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    I didn't remove the shifter tower. It looked as though most of the slop was coming from the islater and bushings that goes between the stick shifter and the stick coming out of tower. It did tighten it up a tiny bit but now its evident that the rest of the slop is in the tower itself. Should I just have the local truck transmission shop deal with it, or should I just get the parts from him to fix it. I have no idea what I'm in for if I remove the tower. How much is a whole new tower?
     
  11. SAR

    SAR Road Train Member

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    It's just 4 bolts and the shift tower comes off. I would just get a new shift tower and gasket, and change 3 detent springs while your in there. It's not too hard of a job if you have some mechanical skills, like the other poster said just be careful not to drop anything inside the transmission. The shift tower itself is not too expensive I just bought one for my truck was like 180 bucks I think. Good luck
     
    Goodysnap Thanks this.
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