# Won't stay in gear



## zamboknee (Feb 3, 2015)

So I'll put my Craftsman 536.886260 in Gear 1 (forward) and then after a bit it'll pop into Gear 2.
Why's this happening?
The only thing close to this problem I could find in the manual was 'excessive vibration' and it's not really vibrating excessively.


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

I would say either the slot for 1st is worn out a bit or the handle doesn't have enough spring pressure to stay anymore. You can try grinding the notch a little deeper or bending the shifter tighter.


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## zamboknee (Feb 3, 2015)

Shryp said:


> I would say either the slot for 1st is worn out a bit or the handle doesn't have enough spring pressure to stay anymore. You can try grinding the notch a little deeper or bending the shifter tighter.


Nice. I'll check into the spring replacement maybe. There IS a spring for this shifter right?


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

zamboknee said:


> Nice. I'll check into the spring replacement maybe. There IS a spring for this shifter right?


Some use a spring and some just rely on pressure on the arm.


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## zamboknee (Feb 3, 2015)

Part 800 here is described as 'Lever, Spring shift'
Is this the spring maybe? 
Haven't had a chance to go outside and inspect yet


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## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

Shryp said:


> I would say either the slot for 1st is worn out a bit or the handle doesn't have enough spring pressure to stay anymore. You can try grinding the notch a little deeper or bending the shifter tighter.


+ 1


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## Motor City (Jan 6, 2014)

One other thing to check, is that the friction wheel slides freely on the shaft. If it doesn't slide all the way to the high position, it will want to pop back down a slot. The shafts can get rusty and will cause the wheel to not slide the full range of speeds.


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## Opfoto (Jan 3, 2013)

I had a similar problems awhile back...heres the thread....hope it takes care of the problem for you. I have not had any more "jumping gear" issues! A few comments down there was a video attached that may help too...

http://www.snowblowerforum.com/foru...s/1433-your-snowthrower-jumping-out-gear.html


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

And here's the video from that thread. My Troy (MTD) has the same setup.


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