Transmission tower spring removal
 

Hello barners, a friend has loaned me a tool to remove the shifter spring. This is the one all the vendors sell and Les Andrew describes. Can it be used with the forks in place ?I’m only familiar with the tool made from steel tubing which can be used with the shifter forks in place.

Re: Transmission tower spring removal
 

FWIW, in my experience you don't need the tool to get the spring out, only to get the spring back in. You can get it out by simply dislodging the retainer clip with pliers and a screwdriver (and being super careful). Not sure if that helps your situation.

Re: Transmission tower spring removal
 

You have the case top in a vise with the grip on the shifter lever padded with a towel or corrugated cardboard - and are pushing down on the spring somehow to remove the little c-clip/holder? That is what the tools in their various forms do.

Best done with forks & sliders removed. Don't mix up the parts - know what comes from where so you can put them back EXACTLY as you found them.

Joe K

Re: Transmission tower spring removal
 

One of my colleagues made a tool to remove and replace the tower spring for a seminar we conducted for our local club. The tool clamped onto a bench vice and was easy to use.

During the seminar we rebuilt about 15 towers. We had about 20 extra towers bead blasted and painted, and had a club member weld up all the, extra worn forks, and another club member mill them. The seminar was all about, take your tower apart, select a new one, have the ball on the end of your shift lever welded up and ground down (we had a welder and a grinding jig at the seminar also), and put it all back together. We had an abundance of extra serviceable parts. Our local club is now the best shifting club in the country.

My experience is that you have to remove both shift rails before you can remove\replace the shift lever and spring.

Tom Endy

Re: Transmission tower spring removal
 

Good one.

Re: Transmission tower spring removal
 

I kinda like that one. I have done the "cut the wires method" (which works but is a little crude and who knows when the thin wires might actually break) and made one of the tubular tools with the hole in the side and ball on the operator end (which works too but one has a sense of pushing down with one's head and upper body aligned EXACTLY in line with the projectile and lest that c-clip find its way out the hole.)

Getting out of the line of fire has a lot to recommend. The only downside I see is making sure the fork tool is "low profile" in comparison with the slotted c-disk and one can get the fork tool out from under without upsetting the alignment.

I'd like to see a better pix of the fork tool. The rest is welding and leverage.

Joe K

Re: Transmission tower spring removal
 

The seminar:

See attached articles.

Tom Endy