Henry J transmission

[Corsairdeluxe]

My recollection is that the B&W t96 has syncro from 1st to 2nd or from 2nd to 3rd,but not both. I remember having trouble when shifting rapidly from 1st to 2nd that the either the transmission or the shifter would  jam and I would have to go under the hood and pull on the arm to free it up. Anyone else have this ?Was it worn shifter  or transmission?

[Fid]

Sometimes the bolts that fasten the shifter "box" to the column come loose and it wobbles just enough to make it jam. My blue J did this for years.  When I got my green J, it did too and it was on that car that noticed the problem.  I snugged those two bolts (not easy to get at) and they both shift great now.  You have to be careful though as those bolts go into die-cast pot metal and over tightening them might break so just enough to snug it.  Picture taken from inside the fender well over the frame, looking at the steering column.

[MarkH]

My Aero T96 used to jam and be resolved just as you describe, shifter "box" fastened tight and seemingly in proper adjustment. Eventually one of the synchronizer snap rings broke, (a 14 cent part at the time) and the trans locked in 3rd gear, resulting in decades of being parked........ with the new snap ring in the glove box.
 The grandsons & I completely disassembled the trans this summer and all the brass parts were worn, one ring to almost nothing. If your checks don't show anything loose you might want to take the cover plate off the top of your trans for a look. Don't know about a J but on an Aero there's an access plate in the front floor for that.

On a related subject, after buying gear oil for my "new" transmission & OD, I reread the BW overdrive manual and noticed it said to use GL-! rated oil, the modern higher number GL oils apparently have additives that eat up the brass parts in older transmissions. I found the correct lube at NAPA.

[Terry T]

That is a common mistake  to use hypoid gear oil (contains sulphur) in an overdrive transmission.  Borg Warner specifies 90W mineral oil, the modern substitute for whale oil.  You can pay up to $10/quart from some suppliers.

A more reasonable supplier is Tractor Supply that sells the transmission oil/fluid used in many vintage farm tractors, especially those that have the rear axle and transmission with one oil system.
This 90W mineral oil is about $10/gallon at TSC.

[njpatera]

You beat me to that one Terry...was going to say TSC also regarding tractor use:-) Sadly I'm left with only a newer New Holland...No more 9Ns, I still prefer them.