help!! Shifter stuck in 1st and reverse
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 320
Likes: 0
From: austin tx
help!! Shifter stuck in 1st and reverse
My shifter is acting up...it's stuck in reverse and first at the same time...ive gotten under there before and flipped it out of reverse but im having trouble getting it this time. Where is the rod i'm looking for exactly? i found two on the left side of the transmission, is the reverse rod further back?
Pro
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 631
Likes: 0
From: Northern Virginia
there should be three rods on a muncie, the two longer ones being first thru fourth and a shorter one is the reverse rod. all on the drivers side of the car. all the rods should be in the "middle" position where they connect to the transmission when the car is in neutral, exception the reverse which should be leaning towards the front of the car. i hope that helps - Bob
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 1999
Posts: 2,897
Likes: 0
From: Moon Township PA
You didn't post the year of the car, but the typical Chevy shifter uses a "locating lever" to adjust the shift linkage. This procedure is in your GM Service Manual but you take a blank piece of steel, cut it to the dimensions given in your manual. You then insert into the slot below the shift lever (with the shift rods all in neutral) and adjust the rods where they connect to the transmission. You adjust the nuts so that levers move freely. This procedure is in the Service mnaul too.
Gary
Gary
Instructor
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 184
Likes: 0
From: Lima Ohio
Originally Posted by corvtt1969
there should be three rods on a muncie, the two longer ones being first thru fourth and a shorter one is the reverse rod. all on the drivers side of the car. all the rods should be in the "middle" position where they connect to the transmission when the car is in neutral, exception the reverse which should be leaning towards the front of the car. i hope that helps - Bob
The two on the side are 1/2 3/4. Reverse IS farther back.
Pro
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 631
Likes: 0
From: Northern Virginia
if you twist the rods they will shorten or become longer. if you twist them clockwise they will shorten and counter clockwise/ longer think of it as a giant bolt, cause thats kinda what it is. its threaded into the shifter and has enough thread to vary insize by an inch or more. hope things are workin out.i had this same problem before 
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Advanced
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 83
Likes: 0
From: Snellville, GA, USA
My 69 has done the exact thing before. Usually, I can get out by fooling with the shifter. One time, I had jack the car up and use a cresent wrench to move the levers to the neutral position. Not what I wanted to do after going to dinner with my wife.....
Anyway, all of this is caused by a worn or mal-adjusted shifter. Someone mentioned the plate adjuster in the manual, thats exactly what you need to make before attempting to adjust your linkage. Its a pain, but you will probably find out that after making the adjuster, that it slides right in and everything lines up.
I dont believe there are any bushings to replace in the Muncie shifter, I could be wrong. I lucked out at a car show which happened to be a Chevrolet dealership as one of the mechanics told me that he had a brand new shifter that they had ordered and never installed. He gave it to me. Lucky. Anyway, Hurst makes a shifter that will replace yours and even can be bought to look just like the original unit.
Hope that helps. Good luck
Steve
Anyway, all of this is caused by a worn or mal-adjusted shifter. Someone mentioned the plate adjuster in the manual, thats exactly what you need to make before attempting to adjust your linkage. Its a pain, but you will probably find out that after making the adjuster, that it slides right in and everything lines up.
I dont believe there are any bushings to replace in the Muncie shifter, I could be wrong. I lucked out at a car show which happened to be a Chevrolet dealership as one of the mechanics told me that he had a brand new shifter that they had ordered and never installed. He gave it to me. Lucky. Anyway, Hurst makes a shifter that will replace yours and even can be bought to look just like the original unit.
Hope that helps. Good luck
Steve
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 3,052
Likes: 0
From: Vancouver BC, Canada
Originally Posted by mlub
well ive been messing with that reverse rod all day and it wont budge, should i force it or what now?
is the clutch releasing? maybe you have a combination of problems?
sometimes it helps to go fully into 1st, then neutral before grabbing reverse
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 320
Likes: 0
From: austin tx
i dont know if the clutch is releasing. i cant move the stick at all. i did try pushing in the clutch and then getting under the car and pushing the reverse rod but it still wouldnt budge.
Advanced
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 71
Likes: 0
From: Garland Ut
When I first purched my 73 after sitting for 20 years, it was stuck in a gear. The storage shop had a 2x4 wedged between the seat and clutch so they could move it.
Anyway after pushing the linkage around it started working again for a while and then bound up again. This time it took quite a while to get it unstuck.
Then found on the forum information about a rebuild kit for the shifter that Zip sells and how to install it. After working it over it shifts wonderfull now.
Good Luck
Anyway after pushing the linkage around it started working again for a while and then bound up again. This time it took quite a while to get it unstuck.
Then found on the forum information about a rebuild kit for the shifter that Zip sells and how to install it. After working it over it shifts wonderfull now.
Good Luck
Advanced
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 83
Likes: 0
From: Snellville, GA, USA
Mine has always gotten stuck going into reverse, but it was the 1st gear lever that was out of adjustment. Have you gotten the forward gear levers straight up and down? Do that first then mess with the reverse.
To keep that from happening, I have to make sure my shifter goes into neutral. If I try to put it into reverse and there is ANY resistance, I shift to 1st and then back to reverse. It always works.
Steve
To keep that from happening, I have to make sure my shifter goes into neutral. If I try to put it into reverse and there is ANY resistance, I shift to 1st and then back to reverse. It always works.
Steve
Pro
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 545
Likes: 0
From: Waukesha WI
Originally Posted by 19Shark69
Anyway, all of this is caused by a worn or mal-adjusted shifter.
