I Had To Get All Amish On My Shift Arm.

,

Got me out some old tools

Okay, okay, for all you Amish reading, I am not disparaging you. In fact its a bit of an homage. I mean part of the fun of our boats is staying in time… wait.. if you’re Amish, should you be reading this? mmmmmm? BUSTED. Anyway, yesterday, I decided to dive in and figure out why my shifter wouldn’t shift all the way forward.

Shift arm

Arm off. Just a flesh wound.

I slowly started removing the shift arm, and then, thought. Mmmm this is the one from the new engine which was in a different boat, and??? So I went to the original H trans that I still have and pulled the shift arm.

Original Stinky Arm on left

NOW. I am not all that smart about these things. I had tried everything else, because all shift arms are the same? Right? WRONG! It’s been years, I have tried adjusting the clutch, the shift rod. And was going to yank the trans. And then BAM

See the angle of the Key hole?

All cleaned up on right

And guess what. NAILED IT. But, one thing held me up. I tried all my newer tools. And nothing fit just right, so I thought. What the hell. and grabbed the old tool bag and guess what. PERFECT fit. And that’s when I went Amish on it. Old Hammer, 1930’s music, and just basked in the time warp I was in. Who knew my transmission could shift me into reverse 90 years

The BFH always helps

Tighten that sucker

Sorry about the dirty bilge

Hold one, we are warping back in time.. Loosing color.. Cant breath. Must not blink..

And boom, we are now in 1937..

Thank god I the iphone 11 Pro was invented in 1937… I could take photos and bug Dave VanNess all at the same time. Wooohooo! Getting ready for Lake Dora.

Timeless Fun! Thanks I had a great Amish time!

16 replies
  1. RH in Indy
    RH in Indy says:

    That’s some good detective work there. Those little things can escape anyone. Don’t you love it when youre actually right about something like that?!

  2. Greg Lewandowski
    Greg Lewandowski says:

    Outstanding root cause analyses and solution implementation. This old engineer is proud of you Matt!

  3. Tuobanur
    Tuobanur says:

    What is it about that satisfaction you get when you figure something out and repair it all on your on? 🤔

  4. Wudzgud
    Wudzgud says:

    What do you call an Amish guy with his arm up to his elbow up the backside of of a horse??

    A mechanic

  5. Mark in Ohio (today in Florida 🌴)
    Mark in Ohio (today in Florida 🌴) says:

    Good job Matt👍 I have been in Holmes county Ohio many times. It is the largest Amish settlement ion the U S. Love the beautiful wooden furniture that they make. I have seen numerous Amish on cell phones and touch screen computers, conducting “business “. Quite something to see. Maybe you do have a follower Matt, didn’t Troy post a picture of an Amish girl once?

  6. Syd
    Syd says:

    Had to do the same thing on my hemi in Black Witch. Had to change out a block drain and it was one of my really old wrenches that was the only thing that would fit in there. I still have the retrievable strife still attached to it in my tool box.

  7. Kelly Wittenauer
    Kelly Wittenauer says:

    Matt,
    My dad hired an Amish company to build two pole barns & his current home, in southern OH. They use rechargeable power tools & cellphones, Charged them on site, along with batteries for their private use (with Dad’s permission). Used AC power tools on site as well. No power or phone lines to their homes. But they had a phone booth, with landline, near the barn for conducting business. Dad would make an appointment to call them! And they don’t install electric in the buildings they put up. Dad had to hire an electrician separately for that. They have an English to transport them & their tools, as they don’t own or drive cars. But they told him they enjoy boating, sometimes renting & driving pontoon boats! It seems they aren’t so much about being “behind the times”, but rather not wanting to be tethered to government & outside society.

  8. Captain Nemo
    Captain Nemo says:

    Some of the best tools I own are the old ones I have inherited from my father an grandfather. They just seem to work better than modern ones sometimes.

  9. Mike VanMiddlesworth
    Mike VanMiddlesworth says:

    Matt, or should I call you Dennis? Are you really only 37? Love the MP references. It takes skill to weave MP, Amish, and mechanics all together. Great job!

  10. floyd r turbo
    floyd r turbo says:

    What goes clip clop bang, clip clop bang?…an Amish drive by shooting.

    Why did you change the shift arm in the first place? You wouldn’t have had the problem had you kept it “original”.

  11. Matt
    Matt says:

    Actually it is the original to stinky. Was on the older transmission. The one I was using was on the used engine that replaced it. I think it’s off a utility

  12. Johnny V./John Vyverberg
    Johnny V./John Vyverberg says:

    Nothing wrong with using a BFH (one of my favorite tools) but I’d would have used a drift on the shift arm rather than hitting it directly with the hammer. I’ve got a well mushroomed hunk of old prop shaft that has seen plenty of use.

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