2020 Axis 500 - only getting reverse and neutral

[JimG]

Recently, my unit Axis 500 (2020) will only go into reverse and neutral. I am not able to get high or low. The engine itself sounds fine and I do not have other issues on this unit. I change the engine oil but have not yet changed the gear oil.
Before this happened I occasionally encountered issue where going from reverse to high gear, it would grind some and i had to reposition to shift into high gear. I also for last couple weeks heard a squeaking sound. I couldn't tell what it was. Was looking for a grease point I missed.
The unit has around 70 hours and is kept in the garage.

Anyone else encounter this type of scenario? Any suggestions on troubleshooting would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Greg Kilgore]

Have you checked the cable adjustment.

When shifter is in neutral, is the neutral light lit on dash. And is the trans actually in neutral. 

Same question for reverse?

How far does the shifter move when trying to go from neutral to forward.

I'm sure you are pressing the brake when trying to shift into a forward gear.

[Alien10]

My 550 is also difficult to shift but more often into reverse.  I find that hard on the brake sometimes will let it move easier into reverse.  These cable driven shifters are not exactly great that's for sure.  Is the idle set too high?  Might check that if it moves at all when you do get it into gear.  

[JimG]

Thanks Greg, when in reverse, it does light up reverse on the dash. When in neutral it lights up as reverse on dash. When in high, it lights up as neutral. It seems like it might be going farther forward but I am not positive.

Yes, brake is applied when shifting. 

When I shifted to what should be high gear and it lighted up as neutral, and then, when I applied the gas, it was indeed in neutral and did not move. In reverse, the unit moves in reverse as expected.

[JimG]

Thanks Alien10, as yet, I have not checked the idle, by listening, it seems pretty consistent as far as idle but maybe...

[Alien10]

If the N light remains lit when in gear, you need to adjust the cable.  Seems like you are not getting enough on the shift toward forward gears. Sensor still thinks its in neutral.    

[JimG]

Ok, so I have now tried adjusting the cable. I referenced this link for walk thru on how to adjust the cable, in case anyone else may find this useful.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=leiyiv7SWPg

First, I put it in what should be high gear - the dash registered nuetral.

After rotating cable counter clockwise the sensor activated and brought me back to reverse on dash light.

After rotating forward, it again activated the sensor and brought it back to neutral on the dash light.

I kept rotating and it never hit the sensor to bring it to high. I started to feel some resistance and did not want to keep going out of fear I would break something.

Anyone else encounter this, agree I should hold over turning the cable (meaning only as hard as hand turning it) and not use any tools such as a wrench?

I am now thinking it might be the gearshift fan causing the issue and am looking into this. I will post another update as I have more from that investigation.

[Greg Kilgore]

There is an actual service manual for these machines on this site. Can't remember who posted, the name, or download link. But search the manual library and you can find it. Here are some diagrams. 

 

 

 

0

 

 

(The items numbers are off according to the description on 261 and 262)

I didn't view the posted video. If it was me, after following the directions above to adjust the linkage and still was having issues.

I'd completely disconnect the adjustment rod. (Item 5 on page 261.) Then check item 7 and item 9 on page 261 to make sure item 7 is engaged cause it looks like item 7 has a oblong slot that fits around the shift lever 1 assembly circuled in red in red in bottom picture (cover removed). That actually shifts transmission. Item 9 is the nut that holds item 7 in place. Then see if the transmission will shift into a forward gear by moving item 7 by hand instead of the shift handle. If so, then reattach the shift rod and adjust accordingly. 

 

When I shift my 500 into low, I have to apply just a little throttle to make the transition. I probably need to adjust my shift rod as well. 

 

Hope this helps some or at least points you in the right direction to resolve your issue. I'll watch the link and repost if I think of something else. 

 

I'm not a mechanic,  so take the advice as someone that is just trying to help. Remember listen to me at your own risk.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[Greg Kilgore]

From what I could tell from the video. The guy just adjusted the shift rod, gear selector, and the indicator light to be lit for whatever gear the transmission was actually it. And not adjusting the actual transmission for the shifter. If that makes any sense. 

 

In other words he had the transmission shifted into high, then moved the shifter itself into high before loosening the shift rod to adjust the high lamp indicator to be lit. In doing so, he may have actually changed the position of the transmission into low or neutral.  If so, the transmission could have been in low, for example and the shifter and indicator light could have indicated high. Make sense? 

 

I'd still remove the shift rod, then make sure the transmission shift easily into low, high, neutral, and reverse. You may need to rock the machine forward and/or backward just a little. And make sure there is not a lot of slop/slack in between the positions. Then move the transmission into reverse (or low), then move the gear shift handle into reverse (or low), then eyeball and adjust the shift rod to fit into the location. Then adjust the rod length to make sure the correct directional indicator lamp is lit. Then move the selector into the other positions and adjust the rod as needed.

I haven't looked at mine and the diagram doesn't say. But I'd bet the shift indicator selector switch is located somewhere near the shift selector handle. Does any of this makes sense? 

 

I'm not a mechanic,  so take the advice as someone that is just trying to help. Remember listen to me at your own risk.

 

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[Greg Kilgore]

Also to find manuals and so on. At the very top of this site click on the 3 bars on the top right side. In the menu that appears, click on downloads. On the downloads screen, in the selector box there it says "category " select "Hisun".(or what manufacturer) Once the screen changes, select the manual(s) you wish.

[Greg Kilgore]

Anyway I'll quit posting and wait for a reply.

 

Later,

Kilgore. 

[Charles Green]

Sounds like your shift linkage needs adjustment. After removing the console the linkage is on the right hand side slightly behind the shift lever. There are YouTube videos that help show how to properly adjust the linkage. Basically you need two wrenches. 1 to loosen jam nut and 1 to hold linkage from turning.

There is possibly is a damage fan gear. Again there are YouTube videos that help show how to repair and adjust.

[JimG]

Thanks Greg for all the notes. I'm going to give this a try and hopefully finish tomorrow. I also got the service manual. Thanks very much. I will post with an update when I finish, and let you all know how it goes. Fingers crossed.

[Greg Kilgore]

Fingers, toes, and eyes crossed. 😂

[JimG]

Good news! Its fixed! Thanks Greg and others for all the comments. Really appreciate it.

No matter what I tried, I was not able to adjust the shift rod to enable it to cycle thru all the gears.
I removed the shift rod and opened the gear fan case. The issue turned out to be the fan gears being corroded. The pic shows the corrosion but it is hard to see how bad the teeth were.

I was able to get it fixed by replacing the gear fan and then adjusting the shift rod linkage.
This is a walkthru for replacing it. www.youtube.com/watch?v=FABLVRLNHtY

Its now shifting better then it did when I first got it.

[Greg Kilgore]

Glad you figured it out and got it fixed.

Did you make that video? If so, or if not, doesn't matter either way, I have beard envy. 😂

Glad you got it going.

And have a Merry Christmas and a Happy Hangover.

[JimG]

Haha, no, that was a video I found online doing some searches.

[Alien10]

Thanks for posting the solution, that is what really helps others on the forum!!

[JimG]

Guys, I have an update on this topic. Everything was working great since December with the installation of new gear fan fix that was put in.

Recently however, I started encountering issues with the gear shifting no longer being smooth. Then, I was down by the fire pit unloading some branches and it got stuck in reverse gear. I did some searches and opened up the gasket which houses the gear fan to check what was going on. After doing some troubleshooting, I am able to confirm that I can shift manually. I detached the arm and shift linkage rod from the shift lever. To get out of reverse, I applied the break and then was able to manually shift the lever. That was good news because I was a little worried it might be worse. Gears shift without issue manually. The gear fan itself seems to be intact, also good. The linkage rod seems to be fine.

Now for the issue:

I believe that when I completed the work in December to get everything back together, I did not fasten the lower shift lever tight enough. I was worried about over tightening. It seems to have backed out, a little, over the past 6 months. 

Evidence:

1) when I removed the gasket cover as shown in the image below, I reattached the shifting arm (after manually resetting back to neutral gear) and then tried to shift as normal but with the gasket off so I could see how the gear fan was engaging (upper & lower parts). I found that the teeth appeared to be misaligned. It worked for a gear or 2 but then slipped because the teeth (lower and upper) are not matching properly.

2) looking closer, the upper lever is closer to the back part of the gasket housing and then the lower lever (marked as 1 in the image).

After noting this I checked if the lower part could be pushed in, and it has just a little play. It is also not quite hand tight as of now. In December it was.  

Given this, I definitely need to tighten it and I am hoping that will bring the 2 parts back into alignment (upper and lower shift levers). 

My question for you all is, what should the torque be - For the upper shift lever & most importantly, the lower shift lever (1 in the image)?

I checked my manual and also the service manual that I downloaded but have not been able to find what it should be. Do any of you know? 

Any thoughts are welcome even if you do not know for sure. I'm just trying to find the solution. Please chime in if you have any suggestions. Thank you!

[Alien10]

Yeah that lower gear  #1 seems to be out farther than the upper "fan" gear.  From the pic it would appear that #1's attaching bolt is spring loaded to force gear #1 into alignment with the upper fan gear.

Is there any room behind #1 gear to slide back into alignment with the upper fan gear?  If not, check to see if gear #1 will line up with the upper fan gear if you flip it around.  

I'd be a little careful with torque on that nut, it doesn't look very big.  If you can tighten it enough to get the gears aligned, you might try a drop of thread locker on its threads to keep it in place during use. 

Good luck.

[JimG]

Thanks for reply. I was playing around with this. It does seem to snug up a little when tightened down which seems to work. I have driven it for a few hours since doing so and the gears are working without issue. I was also concerned about over tightening. For now, I just snugged it down a bit more then last time. If it occurs again, I will tighten a touch more and then add a drop of thread locker as you suggest. Fingers crossed. Thanks again.