8 Speed Hi-Low shifter fork repair and design

[r1jakecfd 51]

Hi Everyone,

The Tranny in my 310-8 would not shift from high to low so I decided to "crack" it open. I'm sure many of you could quickly forecast the problem. Yes, the beloved Hi-Lo shifter was in 2 pieces! I had never dealt with this before but after researching it on this site it seems like a pretty common problem.

I have 2 questions:

First, has anyone had any success with a weld repair on this part.

Second, has anyone proactively "beefed up" or extended the welds on this part to decrease the failure rate? It seems like the short weld bead ends at the thinnest part of the sheet metal component. It seems like If you extended the weld bead further around the circumference of the peg then it would reduce stress and solve the failure problem. The only thing that I'm not sure about is if there would be enough clearance with the extra weld bead around the gears?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

John

[can whlvr 994]

it breaks from being forced,if one is to rock the tractor a wee bit when shifting from hi to low or vice versa,and not kick it by mistake getting on or off the tractor they will last forever,i broke one after i lent my tractor to a freind who forced it,dont think welding would work too good but if a guy was a really good welder then you could try it

[TT-(Moderator) 1,173]

It's as though it was intentionally designed to be the sacrificial part ~ instead of something more expensive breaking and ultimately causing more damage and/or immobilizing the tractor. :confusion-shrug:

[Duff 207]

Don and Terry speak with wisdom. Best bet is to just replace it with a new one and move forward (no pun!) carefully!

Duff :thumbs:

[SNYFIX 13]

There was a period of time when they were getting defective shifters from the supplier.

Since they were welded improperly they'd actually wear the forks down.

WH offered a 'secret' warranty for the repair since it usually happened years after

the original warranty expired.

The next problem that some have ran into was the bolt lossening up. Again,

WH offered a 'secret' warranty for the repair since it wasn't torqued correctly

at the transmission factory -- --

[r1jakecfd 51]

Guys thanks for all of your input. I have decided to replace it like you all recommended. My WH is a 1988 and has never had this issue before. It has seen some pretty hard service too. Even though I run a FEL an bottom plow, I think the toughest scenario for this part is snow blowing. I have a 300' driveway and am constantly shifting from high to low range for travel and then snow blowing. Like Don? said, I am good about stopping to shift ranges. I have a sneaking suspicion my stepson is not quite as gentle when he operates it! Thanks for all the advice guys. John

[can whlvr 994]

it seems that newer tractors have this problem a bit more so maybe the forks arnt as good,but if its not abused they seem to last,but it sounds like you got lots of use before problems and like terry said its better to replace the cheaper part then start replacing gears or whole clusters

[kris22 6]

^{i had to fix my fork once, it was worn quite a bit aside from being broken, i was able to weld mine and "re-adjust" the fork to keep the gear from popping out of place and i have put over 25+ hours of drive time into it since the repair and so far so good. i know i should have replaced it but i think sometimes i have too much self confidence}

[CodyP 51]

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