Gearshift lever

[H. E. Webb]

I just purchased what I think is an OC3 Celtrac (Data plate is missing).  The gearshift lever is curved and is hard to select gears because it turns in the housing.  I took it out to see if a part was missing that should keep it from turning.  Since then I have obtained a parts list and instruction manual and it appears that there are no parts missing.  It looks like the gearshift lever should be straight.  I plan to straighten the lever.  It looks like it is a cast part and the curve is well formed making me think that it was made that way. Any additional information or help will be appreciated.   You can e-mail me at;   mailto:jddain@earthlink.net">jddain@earthlink.net

Thanks

[walter hudson]

The shifter should be straight. The shift lever is suppose to turn .

[hotratz]

When you took the shift lever out was there a slot cut down the side if it just below where the boot sits? The lever in my OC-46 had a lot of rotation in it too. The slot was worn and the pin that fits in the slot to keep it from turning was pretty much gone. I built up the slot with weld and re-machined it square. Then installed a new pin. There is no rotation now. Walter, is there a difference between the shift levers in an OC-3 and OC-4 ?

[H. E. Webb]

I straightened it and put it back in. It works great.  Tractor now shifts easily.  

I bought a can of spray paint at Tractor Supply to paint the shift lever but it does not match the color on the tractor.  The can said matches Oliver Green.  Are there older and newer Oliver Green colors?  As you can tell I am new to Oliverââ,¬â,,¢s, this is my first Oliver & crawler.  I have done some other TLC items and I need to paint some new hardware items so I need to find the correct color.

Thanks  

Howard