:mad :mad :mad
I have spent the last 4 hours trying to get my car out of reverse. It feels like its shifting normally but when i let the clutch out with the shifter where it should be in a gear it just dies. If i let the clutch out when the shifters in neutral the car goes in reverse. All the linkage looks right as far as i can tell. Its a Muncie M20. :mad :mad :mad


[Modified by Jester69Stingray, 9:55 PM 3/1/2002]

 

Had the same thing happen to me a few month ago. Not exactly shure how it was fixed but it was just a matter of moving the linkage rod under the car forward while someone holds the shifter in neutral. Hope it works for you.

 

jester,
Put it in neutral and climb under the car, find the shortest rod on the shifter and move the lever at the trans. It sounds like your stuck in reverse, while your there make sure the other two levers are in the "middle", when you get at it you`ll figure out what the "middle" is. ....redvetracr

 

There are 3 shifter arms on the transmission.....the reverse arm is the rear most one. It is only two position. In reverse, or out of reverse.

AC

 

I had the same thing happen turned out to be a bolt holding the shifter to a plate attached to the trans had come loose allowing the shifter base to move all over. The threads in the shifter plate were stripped. I had to put in a longer bolt with a lock nut on the end..It ain't going nowhere now !

 

Thanks to everyone who responded esp. redvetracr and Shark79 my tranny is now out of reverse. The shifter is also now bolted in place like it was supposed to be from the begining and I can actually tell where the gears are now. But all my problems are not solved every time i put the car in reverse it gets stuck there again. I was looking in the assembly manual and i noticed the the cable ( i dont remember what i was called) that attached above the plate thing on the reverse linkage was not there at all. Could this be causing my problem? I have been driving the car for about half a year now I assume without the cable and I have never had any problems before. :confused: :mad


[Modified by Jester69Stingray, 9:44 PM 3/3/2002]

 

The cable is just the interlock that was intended to only let your car start if it's in reverse. Sounds to me like your shifter is getting sloppy and not working correctly. Mine used to get stuck in a gear too, so I bought a Hurst unit, which is mounted directly to the transmission, no more problems. You can also rebuild the original shifter if you want to keep it stock.

AC

 

I agree with AC, time for a new shifter. If you want to keep the original, if that is what is in there, you can get a replacement, but it will cost you more than say a Hurst. Also, check the shift tabs on the tranny (note how they came off). You can take them off, probably with a 9/16" wrench. Check them for any signs of wear. If they are okay, you need to look at the bushings to make sure they are still good. The bushings fit over the shift rods, between the rods and shift arms. Usually, they wear out and fall apart. Possibly, you can remove your shifter, disassemble, clean and grease it. There is an alignment hole in the shifter body, used to get the shifter and rods aligned with the transmission shift tabs, with all three shift tabs in the "neutral" position on the transmission. You should know where the neutral position is by now for all the tabs and shifter. Once in neutral, you can place a small piece of round stock about 1/8" or less all the way through the alignment hole. You can then re-adjust the rods to go into the holes on the shift tabs of the transmission. When the shifter starts to lock in reverse, it's because of wear to the shifter mechanism, usually the bushings, but the shifter can start wearing as well.


[Modified by GWHITE75, 7:40 AM 3/4/2002]