How screwed am I ?

[Livewire84]

I have a 62 super major. The shifter selector goes into a socket looking cup that attaches to a shifting rod.
I assume the rod connect to the forks in the transmission.
I lost all ability to shift the tractor, and it was stuck in 1st low.
I pulled the shifter and found that the bolt that holds the selector cup ( don't know the correct name ) had fallen out.
I had driven the tractor back to the house, which was about 300 yards, with no problems. I made a bolt that fit and snugged perfectly to the shifter cup and rod. That part doesnt concern me. What does concern me is, where did the old one go ? Is it case hardened metal ? By the looks of it, the only place for it to fall, is straight down into the gears or differential. I did not notice any knicks, gouges, or scars on the pinion gear or bull gears. I was not able to see much of the differential through the shifter hole. Tonight I mashed the differential lock, and after about 50 feet heard a slight pop, then another. I stopped, unlocked the differential and went again with no popping.
Am i at risk for breaking the differential or will it grind the bolt up in the differential if it is made from soft enough metal ?
I am not sure what the original one's are made out of.
All i could find was a picture of the shifter cup on ebay.
Thanks for any replies.

[Livewire84]

Here is a picture I was able to find on ebay of the part and bolt I was trying to explain, but am sure I am screwing the correct terminology up pretty bad.

[Timeee]

Dear Livewire84

The question is where did the selector shaft lock bolt (that should be lockwired) fall? If it fell on the meshing between the crown wheel and pinion and the tractor was going forwards, it should have been propelled upwards and probably fell into the bottom of the rear transmission housing. If it fell onto the meshing between the bull shaft and the large reduction gear on the main axle shaft (to the wheel) then it might chip, or break off a few teeth on one or both of those gears as it graunched its way through......and then (in a pretty mashed up state) fall into the bottom of the rear transmission housing.
I have seen bull shafts and large reduction gears with badly chipped teeth go on for years, given reasonable use. The usual culprit for badly chipped gear teeth here is stomping on the differential lock, when the rear wheels (or one wheel) is spinning rapidly, ie in fast motion under a lot of power.

If you want to be sure, the only way is to have the hydraulic cover off, drain the rear transmission oil (make sure you have a large enough container, there could be at least 9 gallons in there) and see what damage it caused and find the offending bolt. It is not such a bad job removing the hydraulic cover, I think I prefer that to dealing with all the oil and rubbish that you may find in your rear transmission housing.

Timee

[Livewire84]

Thanks for the reply. I was going forward when the bolt came out. I did not hear anything, but I was pulling some fairly large tree's out of the woods, where we are getting ready to plant a deer food plot. I drove the tractor home, about 400 yards, and have driven the tractor about 100 yards since I pulled the brakes apart and cleaned them yesterday. To my suprise, everything seems to be working correctly for now.
While I had the brakes apart, I unstuck the differential lock pedal, which was seized, but works now.
I am going to have to guess the bolt is laying in the bottom, or so I hope, since it seems to be smoothly moving forward and backwards, and when I locked the differential, everything locked and unlocked correctly and quietly.
I looked inside the gear selector hole with a flashlight the night it happened, and could not see any marks, gouges, scoring or anything on the gears, but without pulling the top, you are right, there is a lot that can't be seen. It could be laying on top of something, just waiting to fall.
The thing the aggravates me most is, it hasn't even been a month since I have pulled the hydraulic cover off of the tractor 2x in order to try to repair the hydraulics. I finally got them in working order, and now have to pull it again !
Better safe than sorry though !
Thanks for the advice.

[Livewire84]

What do you mean by the bolt should be lockwired ?
If I am going to pull the top, I want to make sure the bolt I made cant do the same thing in the future.

[Timeee]

Dear Livewire84

The square headed bolt that you have "lost" from the end of the gear selector shaft should have a hole drilled through its head. I think you can just make this hole out in the front face of the bolt shown in the photograph shown above. My memory is that this retaining screw/bolt is lockwired through the hole and this is confirmed in the repair manual Section 4; Major, Power Major, Super Major, New Super Major Page 35, Para 1: "enter the selector shaft and socket into position, wire locking the retaining screw".
This is also the case for the same retaining screws used on the other selector shafts elsewhere in the gearbox/transmission.

I feel for your aggrannoyance at the prospect of removing the hydraulic cover yet again for what may just turn out to be a retaining screw lying safely in the bottom of the rear transmission housing, soaking in oil and enjoying a break from its primary function. I would give it a severe talking to before replacing it....with lockwire security!

Good luck

Tim E

[Livewire84]

I like the way you explain the last part !
Makes me feel better already.
Thanks again bud.