Hey guys, long time no post - I mashed a header on a manhole cover and parked the car for awhile. Now I've got Doug's in and am in the process of dropping the valve body to get a mild B&M kit in and change the two shaft seals.

I have the selector lever completely loose - I can slide it up and down under the pressure lever. The pressure lever seems to be stuck to the top of the shaft - I have tried wedging and knocking a screwdriver against the underside of it after spraying yada yada, and it doesn't want to come off.

I'm wondering if I can just drop the valve body anyways and knock the lever off of the top of the shaft by bringing the entire VB down. Is there any other trick I can try?

What car and trans?

And did you take the bolt all the way out? Or just loosen it?

Ah sorry I always do this here when I've been gone - small block 727 in a 67 Coronet. The pinch bolt is completely out.

Maybe the edge is peened over some how, and is 'catching' the lever. The edge could be the top of the shaft, or even the edge of the half round 'hole' where the bolt goes thru/past. Just trying to visualize the parts and trying to think at the same time. You have of course pried the slot apart?

Take the bolt out. Spread the slot with a screw driver. It'll come right off.
Doug

just like doug says. couple taps with a screw driver in the slot to spread it, and that's all it takes. i have had some really tough ones over the years, but they will come eventually. i have several screw drivers of varying lengths that have the handles removed just for this [and other] purpose. i hold the shaft with vice grips and tap away. removing the handles allows the "tapper" to transfer the force instead of bouncing off the plastic handle.

I wasn't able to get a screwdriver into the pinch, I'd run the handle into the tunnel... luckily I was able to use the biggest flathead bit I could find and a hex wrench over the end. Even then, it took me 4-5 goes at what I thought was wedging against the pinch slot enough - finally popped it off after another good minute of dedicate wiggling. It's always little stupid things that eat up my hours! Thanks for helping me bark up the right tree.

Good, ya got it. I'm use to trees with all the dogs I've had. lol

i couldn't climb a tree even if someone threw me up into it !

Well, at least you didn't call it the "kickdown" lever.

I like to use two thin screwdrivers from opposite sides, wedging them together slightly by tapping with a small hammer. once inserted squarely they can be wiggled, not twisted. Doing so keeps the pressure on the bracket equal , spreads each side the same amount and keeps the bracket square.

I became versed in the linkage almost right after buying the car - the previous owner had left the return springs off of the linkage so it was shifting hard and late. I felt like I found hidden treasure when I set it up right and got that smooov 1-2 part throttle limo shift for the first time!

The trans on my '76 Ramcharger wasn't shifting properly. Going uphill it wouldn't shift at all. Going downhill it would shift properly. Driving along on the level if I throttled up heavily, and backed off the throttle all the way, it would upshift. I even went to the Dodge dealer to see what it would cost to rebuild the trans. When I got home I checked it all out. Turns out the return spring was broken. Replaced it and all is well.