Leak around gear stick

[Ronniejebel6]

I have an oil leak from under the gear stick shield. The parts manual shows an “o” ring sliding onto the gear stick from the bottom. It doesn’t show how far up on the stick it goes. At first I thought it was there to deflect any gear oil from riding up the stick but now I’m not sure if its purpose. There’s a deflector fully welded onto the stick where it goes under the cover so the only way I see oil can get out is if it gets by the deflector under the cover. I see no instructions in the shop manual that would address this problem. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[Jim Becker]

That o-ring was not part of the original design. When it got added, they must have found some junior draftsman and told him to add it to the drawing. I can't see any way it could go on the bottom of the lever. Note that he put it in a totally different wrong place in the curved lever part of the drawing. The only place it makes sense is immediately on top of #5, the gear shift lever shield. In that position, it will keep water that runs down the shift lever from getting inside. There is no seal to keep oil from getting out through the ball/socket assembly.

If oil is getting out of yours, it is probably from the oil level being too high in the transmission. There may be water in there raising the level. Crack the drain plug open enough to see what comes out. If it is oil, that is okay. If it is water, drain it at least until it changes to oil. It would probably be better to do a complete change. There is a level plug on the left side (LOW) of the transmission. Oil should only be filled up to that plug.

[Ronniejebel6]

Thank you for your speedy reply. I felt the same way you do about the o-ring. I tried it where you suggested because, like you, it seemed to be more sensible. It chewed it up. The oil level is correct and I changed the oil to be safe. I’ve used various Farmalls and I’ve noticed some oil escaping from the bottom of part 5 on other models but I never noticed those leaking to this extent. I had to check a wider knowledge base to see if I could get a fresh idea. I’ll keep it in the shed as always and wipe it clean. Again, thank you. I appreciate your advice.

[Jim Becker]

I'm surprised the o-ring got chewed up in that location. There shouldn't be much movement among those parts. One of our members suggested using a slightly heavier o-ring than the parts catalog lists: 1/2x11/16x3/32 rather than 1/2x5/8x1/16. You might try one of them. Also, inspect the shield and spring retainer for any burrs. One more thing you might check, the lever itself. The lever is made up of 2 pieces, the round lever and the spherical swivel. Sometimes the 2 pieces come apart from each other. If yours is starting to come loose, it allows some pivoting of the lever inside the swivel. Any movement there turns into movement between the parts surrounding the o-ring which could contribute to the o-ring failing. It may also allow the shield to move out of its properly seated position against the housing, which would contribute to your oil leak.