pic: Concentric Shifting Transmission Concept

[Kevin Sevcik]

Gabe,

That would solve the issue of wear on the end of the springs, but you're left with the more serious issue of the pin binding when it's transmitting torque to the gear. If you want to continue with your lock tumbler analogy, this is similar to how you pick a lock. You use something to turn the cylinder till one of the pins binds, then you force it up till it releases. But you need a decent amount of force to move it, and that's just a little lock with a light amount of torque. This is a tranny with a lot of torque, and only a spring to overcome it. So I think your best bet is to use the torque it's trying to transmit to shift the pin by slanting the side of it or turning it into a ball.