New to this truck, therefore new to this transmission. Wondering what this lever on the shifter tower, right beneath the shift knob is for? It doesn't seem to have any effect when shifting through the gears, my father thought it might be for a 2-speed transmission, but wasn't sure. So, what is this, should it be working in a certain way, how does one know if it isn't working?
It's for shifting into reverse. When you pull up on it, it releases a lockout that allows you to move the gear shift lever farther to the left, and then back/down to shift into reverse. The old 4 speeds used the lockout instead of the spring used later that you have to pull against.
Thank you – My Dad noticed it shifted into reverse "easier" when pulled, but I believe it also still shifts into it when not pulled- would that mean we should look into adjusting some things?
There isn't anything to adjust that I'm aware of, but I could be wrong. Likely just a few worn parts.
It's not really something I'd be too concerned about. The lockout really just makes it easier to hit 1st and 2nd without accidentally sliding into reverse.
You will rarely find yourself shifting from 1st to 2nd while rolling, so hitting reverse by accident under those circumstances isn't really an issue. Most of the time you will find yourself starting out in 2nd, so just making sure you are actually in 2nd and not reverse as you let out the clutch and you'll be good to go.
