mozy444

The reduction gears were the first thing I checked after installing the bypass.  Shift motor had no power before the bypass was installed.  Once I had power and it was shifting but not returning to center, I cleaned the reduction gears, greased and reassembled.  Didnt help. I came up with a temporary fix.  I pulled the front cover again.  Removed the large spring from the shift plate.  Over extended the spring to give it more strength then reinstalled. Then I bolted on a shim that causes the shift motor to tilt down slightly which has relieved the pressure on the gears.  Still don't know why if had that much pressure in the gears, but with the spring stronger and the shim in place, it shifts fine now.  Would still rather fix the problem instead of the shim, but at least it's working.

I finally had time to work on this again.  Here is where I'm at.  Shifts great with manual shifter.  Install electric motor and will not return to center.  If I shift it electrically it doesn't return, but I can pull the shift motor and it immediately returns to center.  Basically it will not return to center with the shift motor installed.  I replaced the shift motor with brand new one and same problem.  Now what?

Stretched out #14 spring a little.  Put cover back on and torqued down.  Still shifting great.  Will finish reassembly tomorrow and try the electric shift motor but am sure it will be fine now since the shift shaft returns to center on its own now.

Could it be the clutch adjustment?  The #14 spring doesn't seem "springy" at all.  Or is there something else I should be looking for?

I pulled the front cover off.  Shifts perfectly with the cover off.

Already have plans to pull the cover.  I will followup on this post when I find the problem.

Initially I had no electrical response in the shift system.  Push shift buttons, nothing would happen, no power to the shift motor.  Was getting 5 flashes.  Installed bypass and would shift to either reverse or first easily.  But couldn't shift above 1st.  That's when I found it was not returning to center.  Am getting 3 flashes now, but I'm positive that's only because it won't return to center.  I don't have a foot lever, so never rode it that way.  Have been using a 12mm socket just for troubleshooting purposes.

Yes, I feel more resistance than there should be.  No way I could move it with my toe.  And it tries to return to center on its own, but moves slowly then stops just before the click you hear when it gets to center.  But it won't click to center unless I help it.  Was thinking about pulling the front cover today or tomorrow but was hoping someone knew what causes this before digging in.

Its a 2006 rancher es 350 fe 4x4.  Been sitting outside, unused for about 4 years.  My neighbor gave it to me.  Has low miles and not been abused.  Other than leaving it exposed to the elements for 4 years.  I cleaned it up, looks almost new, went through the carb and is running perfectly.  Other than this shift issue.

Without the electric motor installed and shifting manually, the shift shaft still does not return all the way to center on its own.  And it feels much stiffer to shift manually than it should.

In addition to the bypass harness, I also removed the shift motor, cleaned inside the motor though it tested fine.  I removed the reduction gears and cleaned them all, all gears looked great.  checked that all the small bearings the gears ride on were free.  They were.  New grease on everything and reassembled.  All of that provided no improvement.  Shift shaft still not returning to center on its own.

Angle sensor bypass harness.  Electric shift does work, but I have to use a wrench to help the shift shaft return to the center position before being able to shift to the next gear.  Can't figure out why it won't return all the way to center.  It springs back most of the way, though slowly, then needs a nudge to get to center, at which time you can hear the small click which means I can now switch to the next gear.  Same problem whether downshifting or upshifting.

Did you ever find the solution?  I am having the exact same problem with my 06.  Help!!