Muncie 4 speed neutral positions

[JGraft]

Does anyone have photos they can share of where the neutral positions should be for reverse relative to the tail housing and the forward gears from a side cover perspective? I presume when all of these are in the neutral position the output shaft should be able to be rotated independent of the input shaft - correct? If this is not able to be performed then I presume there is some sort of transmission assembly problem - correct?

[buenymayor]

The front 2 levers (1-2 and 3-4) should be in their center detent for neutral. I don't remember if the reverse lever should be forward or backward but is easy enough to try. If the transmission is out of the car, I can see the output shaft turning while turning the input shaft just from internal friction of parts and the gear oil. You may have to hold the output shaft while spinning the input shaft.

[JGraft]

Assuming the 1+3,2+4 threaded shafts with 2 flat areas through the side cover are perpendicular to the housing as well as the reverse are perpendicular to the housing as well should be neutral correct? In the transmission I have the front and rear shafts rotate together - internal gearing seems to be completely engaged.

[Dave69x33]

Here are a few pics of the Muncie shifter levers when in neutral and reverse. When in neutral, the 1 - 2 and 3 - 4 side cover shift levers will be positioned straight up, and the reverse lever will be approximately vertical.  In neutral, the shifter gate levers will be pointing approximately straight down, and all in line so that a neutral alignment pin can be inserted thru the shifter housing and a slot in all (3) gate levers.  When shifted into reverse, the reverse gate level will point towards the rear as shown in the 3rd pic below.   

[Dave69x33]

BTW, this pic was taken b4 the reverse lockout lever was installed.

[JGraft]

Thankyou for the response and photos, the transmission I have with the forward and reverse levers positioned as shown in the photos is not allowing the input/output shafts to rotate independently - they remain engaged for some reason. The transmission is a new (never installed) M22W I ordered. Sounds like it's time to remove the side cover to see what is going on. Anyone have any ideas what might be wrong with it or what to look for?

[JGraft]

Update - Rotated 1/2 shift post to second gear position (not easily) with 3/4 and reverse in neutral positions and removed the cover, for some reason the 1/2 (part that slides on the main assembly with synchronizers that interfaces with the shift fork) is very difficult to move forward or backward (perhaps because it is new?). A little concerned how this difficulty will translate into the shifter brackets and linkage.

[Dave69x33]

There appears to be an issue. It should not be that difficult to move the shift levers. The levers will be somewhat stiff due to overcoming the spring tension on the shift comb that attaches to the inside of the side cover.  The shift comb toggles between the 1-2 and 3-4 shift forks to hold the transmission in gear until you move the shifter to engage a different gear.  You will gain some leverage when you use the shifter, but I can move my 1-2 and 3-4 shift levers by hand with some effort. I recommend you check out Paul Cangialosi at 5speeds.com.  He has a great series of how-to videos on YouTube, written books, and knows Muncie and other manual transmissions very well. From his website, you can email him your question.

[Kelley W King]

If it is NEW have you installed the lube? Rotate the mainshaft to spred the lube and get it inside the sliders. Also new sliders are often a little stiff to shift until the wear in.

[JGraft]

Thankyou all, I have not added gear oil due to the side cover being removed, I will add a little gear oil to the shift fork interfaces to see if that makes a difference, thinking will also add light grease to the cover arm detents to see if that helps. Thankyou for the reference to Paul C. @ 5Speeds I was thinking of calling him as well.

[JGraft]

A little off topic however I believe the following photos of synchronizer hub damage ultimately are the reason behind 1&2 shifting issues. This is a new transmission (never installed) from a shop up north (can't say) that was received with visible impact marks on the shipping box adjacent to the tail spline.

Question is the damage seen enough to cause the shift issues noted?