Farmall M stuck in Road Gear

What you will see when you get the shifter out are three wide rails 3/8 inch or so wide divided by two thin plates about 1/16 inch thick. There are about 5/8 inch long notches in the rails and the dividers. When all the notches on the dividers and rails line up the transmission is in neutral. What you will find is a pattern where on the left the slot (when viewed facing towards the front of the tractor) will be ahead (towards front of tractor) of the notches in the dividers and the other rails. You need to move this back so that it lines up with the rest. If you can have someone depress the clutch that will help it move easier.

The most classic symptom of a broken spring is if the shifter moves with less effort on one or more rails when compared to others, or you shift out of one gear (like 4th) and you end up in the gear that is opposite it (in this case 5th) instead of neutral. If you have either of these then the spring on that shift rail is definitely suspect.

Personally, I’d look close at the end of the shifter and see how much it is worn. Ideally it should be a rectangle with square corners. If the corners are rounded much it makes it easier for the lever to go sideways before the shift is completed. Building it up might cure the problem and this is the easy inexpensive fix to try first. Pulling the cover isn’t bad but costly due to the price of a new gasket.

Chris