gears!! need help :(

[matthewr]

i have just recent;y taken my truck to the shop for a tune up as it was being stupid with me, i got it back started it up ran it, and worked fine, then i quickly realized it didnt sound like it was changing gear when i opened it up, it still had the same distinctive tone as the first gear, so i took it back to the shop, and he said the second gear changes as soon as you open the throttle? is this true, i dont think it is, surely you would hear it change gear? if not how can i adjust thegear timing? thanks

 

[Metalhead Matt]

The manual should explain it. There will be a set screw in the tranny that adjusts the shift point. No more than 1/8th turn adjustments between test drives and make certain that you know you are adjusting the right screw.

 

[ohsnap]

What your LHS said is possible.
If it's shifting into 2nd right off the bat, you might miss the change.
Does it seem to reach the right top end speed or does it seem like it's staying in first and your top end speed is down even though your engine is revving through the roof?

Have you recently changed the size of your spur gear or clutch bell?
Doing this can alter the shift point because this works off of the RPM's of the transmissions input shaft.
Centrifugal force is what pops the lever engaging 2nd gear (and third if you have a 3-speed).
Going smaller on the spur gear or larger on the clutch bell means you need to alter the shift point to shift later.
Going larger on the spur gear or smaller on the clutch bell means you need to alter the shift point to shift earlier.

 

[matthewr]

thanks for the replys

Have you recently changed the size of your spur gear or clutch bell?
Doing this can alter the shift point because this works off of the RPM's of the transmissions input shaft.
Centrifugal force is what pops the lever engaging 2nd gear (and third if you have a 3-speed).
Going smaller on the spur gear or larger on the clutch bell means you need to alter the shift point to shift later.
Going larger on the spur gear or smaller on the clutch bell means you need to alter the shift point to shift earlier.

yes TGL, i have recently put a 49T steel spur with a 16T hardened vented clutch bell, and i have driven a 21 savage and it was quick, i have a savage x 25 F4.6, and it dosent seem as quick in top end, and yes it does seem to rev alot and does seem like its not changing gear. thanks

 

[ohsnap]

The last time you used it when it was shifting correctly, what was the number of teeth on your:
A. Clutch bell
B. Spur gear

Usually people are going from a 13, 14, or 15T clutch bell / 52T spur gear combo to get to a 16/49 combo.
This would serve to fulfill your LHS's comment about it shifting early. It would be slower off the line because you would be bypassing first but then reach a nice top end speed.

If you backed off from a 17/48 combo (for example), then I could see it not wanting to get out of first.

When I'm hunting for a shift point there's a couple of things that I'll do.
1. Pick the truck up off the ground and gently accelerate to see if I can pick out the shift point. Sometimes you feel it, sometimes you don't.
2. If that doesn't work I'll go ahead and take a guess as to whether it's shifting early or not at all and then alter the shift point accordingly in 1/16th / 1/18th turn increments. Run the truck and warm it up - make a change - test it and see what happens.
Keep track of how much you've changed the setting as you may have to backtrack to the original setting. After a full turn I'm guessing that I needed to go the other direction and it's nice to know where you started so you can go back to it...

Also realize that other issues may impact whether it shifts or not.
For example, the end of the lever that pops out to engage 2nd gear takes a beating.
Sometimes it gets enlarged to the point that it's stuck and won't flip out and engage 2nd. When that happens, you've got to open up

Unfortunately there's really no one universal answer as to why your Savage is or is not shifting and there's just a list of usual suspects.
Sometimes ya just gotta play it out or crack the transmission open.

I had a case where my original Savage wasn't shifting and I figured out it was stuck in second. Found out that the screw shaft (grub/pin) that holds the clutch in place had backed itself out to the point where it was engaging 2nd right off the line...
This was before HPI started putting a second grub screw on top of that screw shaft.
As I said, there's no one answer. Sometimes you just have to play detective.