Hey guys,

I dismantled this TH400 I just got, and there was a finishing nail holding the shift lever. Is this common practice? I saw it on a Youtube video of a rebuild as well. What's the proper way to redo this? Is it a part I can buy from somewhere, or is the nail an accepted solution for this?

Thanks,

Dante

 

Most normal people would use the proper size of COTTER PIN in those typical locations.

 

Nails have been a backyard repair choice for decades, you might want to check your front hubs too.

 

Eric, you are showing your age a little. Nails were very common in the front wheel bearing castle nuts. I wonder if that is still as common today. Somehow I doubt it.

 

I'm in the process of restoring a model A. Most all steering, suspension, brake, etc fasteners have castle nuts. I've found almost half had nails in them instead of cotter pins.

 

Be sure to use the right kind of nail.
Some of the finishing nails have too small of a head or are too hard.

do you have a link to this u-tube video showing the thing?

 

My '85 parisienne's 200c had a small common nail there.

 

It's been a while since i had one apart,but i believe that's factory installed.

 

mine was. The shaft was knurled to hold it in.

 

The pin on the manual shifting mechanism looks just like a finishing nail and may very well be one from the factory.

 

Skip to 12:50 for the gory details.

I've read in another forum that a cotter pin was too soft for this application and might degrade earlier than expected on a heavily used transmission. Not sure how much truth there is to it since this is my first TH400... I do have a whole box of nails in the garage, but could easily look up for a cotter pin.

 

rofl