North Carolina, 2014

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Craptastic weather today, but hopefully folks will come out to the faire anyway.  And now I have something else to add to my project list:  The pups were in such a hurry to go outside this morning that they knocked me off balance and into the closet door, breaking the glass.  So I'll be going to a glass and mirror shop on Monday!  Big clumsy goofballs...gotta love 'em!

Kev

[Rickf1985]

Big clumsy goofballs, I would guess your definition would be the dogs and Patti's definition would be you as she was cleaning up glass all day. W%

[ClydesdaleKevin]

I'm a big clumsy goofball as well, and the wifey applies it to both me AND the dogs...lol!

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

SLOW day at the faire today!  I let Patti stay home because of the cold and wet weather, and there was a VERY small turnout!  Tomorrow is going to be busy though!  All the folks who wanted to come out today are going to come out tomorrow along with the folks who planned to come out tomorrow.  Oi vey!!!

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Yay!!!  The new B&M Megashifter kit arrived from Summit Racing yesterday afternoon for the K5 Blazer...so guess what one of today's project is going to be?  Its going to be nice being able to shift into the lower gears if I want to...and to actually be able to glance down and see what gear I'm in...lol!  While I'm at it, I'm going to pull the cover off the transfer case shifter and see why its indicator doesn't work, and why it doesn't light up...and fix it if I can (meaning if it doesn't need replacement parts).  Pictures of course will be posted of the project.  Also on order, but what hasn't arrive yet, is a Rough Country Big Bore steering stabilizer.  I went with that one because it doesn't hang down where it can get damaged like the dual unit.  And as luck would have it, its supposed to be an awesome day in the 60s today...great wrenching weather!

I already had a glass shop install a new mirror in the closet door and reinstalled it.  I did that yesterday. 

Also on today's project list is to cut to size the new plywood covers for under the dinette cushions and get those installed.  And plan out and get started on the shelves for inside the washer/dryer cabinet.  And decide exactly where I'm going to relocate the Powermax Boondocker converter.  There really isn't enough room in the washer/dryer cabinet for it and still give it the required airflow.  And no room under the dinette directly over the batteries since its filled with the on demand water tank and plumbing, the inverter, and the solar charge controller array and electronics.  So I was thinking, either in the battery compartment itself since the battery compartment is huge with lots of venting for battery gas (so it shouldn't be too corrosive an environment), or else in the storage compartment right next to the battery compartment.  I'll figure it out!

And then if I have time, I'll tackle some other projects today, depending on how all that goes and how smoothly it goes.

Wednesday through Friday its nothing but catapults!

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

AHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!! Stupid goshdarn B&M website and support!!! I know I have this goshdarn freaking thing installed correctly, but it won't upshift from the low to high! Gate shifts just fine from Park to reverse to neutral to drive...and then switches to ratchet for the lower gears. Ratchets just fine down to low...and gets stuck!!! Won't upshift! Just gets stuck in whatever lower gear you put it in if you want to upshift. Will let you shift down to low...and then STUCK!!! what in the world!!! I've quadrupled checked all my adjustments, and their website sucks moose weenie for support!!! Googled this for the last hour and found nada!

I can manually get under the rig and grab the B&M shift lever plate and move it back into action...but goshdarnit!!! This was ALL FREAKING DAY!!! I'm about to go all Jihad and stuff on B&M!!!

Forgive the language, but I'm PO'd (although taking all the swear words out of this post...its unedited elsewhere) made me laugh and feel better during the edit...lmfao!!!)

I KNOW I have everything set up right! Even without the cable attached to the transmission it won't upshift, although it will downshift all day long!

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....

Kev

[Rickf1985]

Will it shift without going to the ratchet? Which shifter is it? I had that problem with my OLD Hurst shifter and it turned out to be a loose rivet in the gate.

[M & J]

What Rick said. Which shifter is it? Some are dual gate Kevin. Normal for street driving then push it down or sideways and it switches to ratchet for the track.

[TerryH]

What Rick said. Which shifter is it? Some are dual gate Kevin. Normal for street driving then push it down or sideways and it switches to ratchet for the track.

Will it shift without going to the ratchet? Which shifter is it? I had that problem with my OLD Hurst shifter and it turned out to be a loose rivet in the gate.

Had a similar problem racing a K5 years ago at Bend, Oregon. Emergency switch of shifter coupled with a change of driver who wasn't familiar with the particular new dual gate. Apparently common.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

B&M Part number is 80690. I followed the instructions to the letter, the cable swivel is in the front hole, I removed the stop pin for 4 speed applications, and adjusted the cable exactly as per the instructions. The shifter itself is perfectly level, the hole for the cable is 3 inches ahead of it, and the cable routing is one smooth circle with no tight bends or kinks. It shifts just fine in gate mode in Park, Reverse, Neutral, and Drive. And its doing what its supposed to do in drive...the trigger goes down about 3/4 of an inch or so. It even ratchets fine going down from 1 to 2 to 3. But will not ratchet up. I also noticed that when you ratchet it past Drive down to 1, the trigger comes up and stays up. I don't want to force it or break anything...although I've tried to get it to ratchet up with reasonable force to no avail. If I'm stuck in the lower gears, if I grasp the shift lever on the side of the transmission (where the cable swivel is) with a vice grip, it easily moves forward back to neutral, and then I can shift again. By the way...I did try to remove the cable swivel from the lever and try the shifter that way to see if it was something in my transmission binding...but nope! Even with the cable disconnected, it shifts fine in gate mode, ratchets fine down to the lowest gear...and gets stuck and won't ratchet up.

My new big bore Rough Country steering stabilizer arrived today and I installed it in minutes...finally a project that went smoothly!!!

I also got Patti's shelves build in her washer/dryer cabinet, and made new plywood bases under the dinette cushions in the RV.

Summit racing did call me back, but B&M still hasn't, which leads me to believe their customer service sucks.

Kev

[Rickf1985]

I think what you are going to find is with the cover off and looking at the ratcheting pawl that it is not coming back far enough to drop down into the gear to advance the cable. When you adjusted the cable did you try sliding the pin in and out of the shift arm in every gear? It only takes one turn on the small shaft that the pin itself is on to be off for something like that to happen. I am assuming that the shift handle is moving forward but the gear is not advancing, is that correct? If the cable is coming in from the rear, which I think I remember it does then loosen the adjustment on the small rod two turns and try that. You want to try to push the cable back towards the shifter just a hair and see if that makes an improvement.

Rick

[pvoth1111]

I had a B&M shifter in my 62 Nova....I hated it it took real practice and skill to make it shift right.....the car was scary fast and revved quickly.....you have a pic of that thing Kev?

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Nope Rick.  When you ratchet it down to low, the handle itself gets stuck and won't move forward.  I did indeed try the cable adjustment at each gear, and its dead on.  Its the handle itself getting stuck in the lower gears, as it locks up even with the cable disconnected.

Kev

[Rickf1985]

It sounds to me like a defective shifter that is jamming in low for some reason. Hard to diagnose without seeing it in person. I would return it if it was a new purchase and get a different model. You really do not need a ratchet shifter for street use, get one that you can select the ratchet and not one that defaults to ratchet.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Fixed!!!  B&M walked me through it.  There was a large spring not in its proper place that had come dislodged and was jamming up the gears.  It must not have been installed correctly to begin with, because it took me a while and some bloody knuckles to get it back in place...and its not going anywhere now.  Shifts fine up and down now.  SWEET!!!

Kev

[Froggy1936]

Remember that wihout pics Some of us have absolutly no idea what you are talking about ! Frank

[M & J]

Great news Kevin.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Pics will be posted tomorrow evening! I kind of like the way this thing shifts though the forward gears now! Quick and flawless once I figured it out. And the new steering stabilizer made a HUGE difference! What was on there was not only blown, but was the wrong one, and installed with the wrong bolts, so it kept hitting the tie rod on turns, and since the rubber was all worn out, it was clunking. No more clunk, and the new Big Bore nitrous stabilizer from Rough Country came with all new bolts, so its now installed correctly and doesn't contact the tie rod anymore. Not only that, I can take my hand off the wheel now on a flat road, and the truck goes straight! Not bad for big fat tires and a 4 inch lift!

I even fixed the indicator arrow on the transfer case shifter and got its light bulb working. It required some creative filing and drilling and a piece of metal added in place of one of the missing plastic fingers...and a good bit of epoxy...but it works now! I even freshened up the paint with some Testers blaze orange model paint and a fine brush.

Kev

[pvoth1111]

when you racket down to low.(pulling the t handle several times while pulling back)....then banging it forward don't shift it?.....its made for racing with high speed shifts just pushing it forward should advance one gear at a time...its tricky


posted too quickly....glad you got it sorted out.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

The rest of the day yesterday, and all day today, is going to be nothing but building catapults.  Gotta have stock for the weekend!

Kev

[DonD]

Kev rox!

[M & J]

Seems like Kev had a surprise visitor recently....

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Yep!  CircleD popped in yesterday to say hi!  Hopefully I'll get to hang out with him on Sunday evening if he can manage to come visit the faire.  Seems like an awesome guy!  I was just so busy I felt almost rude, and I hope he didn't take it that way.  And thanks CircleD for the gift of the multimeter, which now lives in the K5 toolbox!

All the catapults are built, all the marshmallows and whatnot are bought, and we are ready for another awesome weekend!

Kev

[circleD]

I didn't think you were rude. The way my life is I have to make a schedule and if I get a free moment then utilize it. Hopefully get to see ya Sunday. Stay warm.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

CRAZY busy day today, and the new design with the front trigger was very well received!  I'm going to be VERY busy building a LOT of catapults this coming week!  Hopefully I'll be able to squeeze in a few projects for the RV.  Patti has two more shelves she wants me to build, which is something I need to do while I have a woodshop available.

Kev