stuck in 1st gear

the m43 i just bought is stuck in 1st gear
i cannot move the lever period
which means i cant unload it from the trailer
is there a trick i dont know?
it has a casting number that says c97247
any help would be a godsend!
ps
MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Billy: Merry Christmas. I'm not familiar wth your trans. Can you get transfer case in neutral, hold clutch pedal in? and then have someone tow you off the trailer?

Is it like the old Jeeps with a shifter, and one stick for Hi/Lo range and the other for 2wd/4wd? Like Kenny said, you might get the transfer case into neutral and roll it off. Not familiar with military vehicles, but does it have some kind of lock that would hold the shifter in one gear?

it feels like the clutch works
i took out the fill plug and the oil on the plug itself looked milky
that tells me water
tomorrow i will take the top off the case for a look-see.
i havent gotten a positive id on this so i dont know what i have to buy a FSM for it
the casting number on the side says
C97247 and under that
STD
the fill and drain holes are on the passenger side one directly above the other
i am almost certain it is a
NW (new process) 435

that could be just condinsation on the plug from sitting ... you should be able to clutch it and it will roll off , if not the clutch done got rusted to the fly wheel. but you should be able to get her in neutral anyway unless its in a bind ... jack up one wheel and move it , then try getting it out of gear . different size tires will bind up your gears ,if its in 4X4 .. thats why it wont turn over ,,, you did say the motor was free right? , I dont know for sure ... Just me thowing out some ideas





this M37 belongs to my son , he just repainted it and a lot other stuff to it .

Did I read that you got the engine to fire???
How did you do that if the tranny is stuck.
If it's got water in it then it's possibly froze in gear. Put heat to it with a space heater and see if it thaws out.

I hold the clutch in and it will almost start
But it floods badly

If there is in fact water in the trans and it is frozen, You said you drove through 6 degree temps, That could be the problem right there. While I was working in a car dealership in the 80s we had a really cold winter and some of the cars had extra thick trans oil and some had 70 wt motor oil. We had to bring the in and let them warm up a lot just so we could change the oil. Try draining the tranny, if nothing comes out in may be frozen.

billy said:

I hold the clutch in and it will almost start
But it floods badly

Click to expand...

With the clutch in, will it roll? if not it's stuck in two gears.
If it's stuck in two gears, you'll have to unbolt the shifter plate and pull the shift lever out the top of the tranny and move the sliders in the tranny to get it into neutral.

pretty unhappy right now
there is no way to fill the bone dry np435
and i cant take the top off because its stuck in first gear
there is a big metal plate in the way of the fill plug that is part of the 318 conversion.
i dont have a torch to cut a hole in the plate to get to the fill hole.
and i have to return the trailer monday.
i havent bothered fooling with the carb to get it running
why bother if the tranny is locked up?
i am going to disconnect the trailer and jack up the front and hopefully roll it off

to me the obvious

would be to remove drive shafts from both ends.

did you pull the drain plug? if so try sticking a screw driver in the drain hole. if it won't go in warm up trans with a hand held propane, map gas torch, hair dryer, 500 watt work light, ect. and thaw out the ice and oil in it and let it drain.

exador said:

would be to remove drive shafts from both ends.

Click to expand...

it seems to roll ok
i dont want to get it off the trailer in case (very likely) i get POed and simply drop it off at a tranny shop.
it is 9f and windy and i dont have a garage
any money i may have saved will get thrown at a transmission shop. so much for tires/heater /etc

Now come on Billy you posted pics of yourself target shooting in that kind of weather. Put on your big boy pants and crawl under that Dodge and fix that trans. I'll be patiently waiting on my couch for your update[P[P

How did you load it if it was stuck in gear?[S Did you drive it onto the trailer, or winch it on? Was the tranny OK when you loaded it? If it is water in it, it probably froze on the way home. The suggestion to thaw it with a propane torch is a good one, just don't set anything afire. One of those daisy head propane heaters that fit on a 25 lb bottle will work good, too, if you have room to get it under there.

Bamamav said:

How did you load it if it was stuck in gear?[S Did you drive it onto the trailer, or winch it on? Was the tranny OK when you loaded it? If it is water in it, it probably froze on the way home. The suggestion to thaw it with a propane torch is a good one, just don't set anything afire. One of those daisy head propane heaters that fit on a 25 lb bottle will work good, too, if you have room to get it under there.

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shifted fine loading
stuck on arrival
heat did nothing
disconnect d-shaft to unload at tranny shop

bruno said:

Now come on Billy you posted pics of yourself target shooting in that kind of weather. Put on your big boy pants and crawl under that Dodge and fix that trans. I'll be patiently waiting on my couch for your update[P[P

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lounging behind the trigger sipping cocoa is one thing
laying on ice with froze tools is another

that trans is separate from the transfer case , right ? . maybe it wont be to bad to get fixed.. run by and get a new carb . and put her on at the trans place and drive it home .

Yankee Transplant said:

that trans is separate from the transfer case , right ? . maybe it wont be to bad to get fixed.. run by and get a new carb . and put her on at the trans place and drive it home .

Click to expand...

new carb on the way![cl

We have had some good luck with my boys m37 ... no major repairs needed , as far as the 318 conversion ,, we will just do the 3/4 or 1 ton front and rear out of a chevy or dodge then the modern engine and trans , The axles are the week-est point on the Ms so with the 318 better be nice with it , or the long rear axle will go first ,, his went out going into 2nd gear at the red light . They are around $120 for a New old stock axle , which is still made from the cast steel . They are in the process of making a stronger (long) axle for the Ms . it will be less than $200 when it comes out . Hope you have good luck with it .. [P[P