ironhead with only 1st and N started by out popping out of 3rd

1979 sportster. After the problem with it only hitting on the front cylender The bikes running great now. the problem was in the cam timing. now that thats over with. I took her out for a spin and it started popping out of 3rd but now it only has 1st and N and wont shift up any more than that. so I guess I will need to pull the trans now. I need to replace the shift shaft anyways becouse its stripped out but rigged with a bolt to hold it in place.I have a manual but just have never been in to one of these yet. is there any thing I need to watch for. or any suggestions

Sorry to hear about the tranny problems. My experience with my '70 XLCH showed a lot of wear and tear to the shifter forks and gear dogs as well. These items are pretty soft compared to the gear teeth themselves. As the forks wear they don't engage the gear dogs completely and shortly the dogs get rounded corners and they start to pop out of gear. This increases the wear on the forks and it just gets worse. Sporty trannies are pretty easy to work on. Just check everything for full engagement and alignment like the book says and it should be great. Drop us a line and let us know how it works out.

Enjoy,
Softtail

I pulled the trans down and found the doggs on the 3rd gear was wore and also the shift arms were wore bad on the pins and also wore some on the arms wher the gears ride. the shift shaft was damaged also. so I will be replacing the arms and also the 3rd gear . If you know any other things I need to look out for just let me know.

ironhead with only 1st and N started by out popping out of 3rd

Stangitmo,
I would look at both of the mating gears also, and manually run the gear train in neutral through several revolutions to see if there is any obvious shaft damage. It will be difficult to see as the shafts are only supported on one end, but you are looking for bent shafts or excess gear play.

The mating gears receivers will also be rounded out and these may look serviceable. Do not trust them. They will fail and you will be pulling it out again.

Check the open bearings for metal particles. Forks are soft and wear out. Depending on the service time on the Tranny oil you could have deposits in the bearings. After you clean them thoroughly, rotate them. "DO NOT USE AIR". Any roughness at all requires replacement. The ball bearings are the easiest to check this way. The needle bearings on the shaft ends are much more difficult to check this way. I pulled all the gears off and ran the plain shafts installed in the trap door and the door installed. You should do this dry, with no oil on the bearings. You are not 'spinning' the shafts, just checking the bearings for deposits and 'brinnelling' (roughness) of the bearings by slowly rotating the shafts.

Word Of Caution-If you remove any bearing from the installed location the bearing MUST be reinstalled in the same direction of rotation. It is probable that the bearings will feel loose and that is ok, you want the smoothness in rotation. New bearings will feel snug untill they run in. You should also check the end play of the shafts when the door is installed.

Sorry for the run on. I am not attempting to explain the obvious to you just wanting to help make this the only time you have to pull it out.

Good Luck and Ride Safe
Softtail.