Can't shift into 4th gear., ¿#&@$%! Options

[Air_Cooled_Nut]

Ok, I've been adjusting the shifter in the cabin per the various shop manuals. Currently, I can get every gear except 4th. Even the slightest of changes doesn't seem to work. If I take slightly larger adjustments, my shifting becomes R-1-2-3 or 2-3-4-5. So, yes, 4th is possible and I was able to use 4th for a couple of months prior to this sudden blockage (for lack of a better word). It's as if a rubber bumper was placed in front of the shifter where the 4th gear position should be.

Now, this car is of questionable past and shows signs of neglect. 1-2 gears need to be eased into otherwise they grind. I do have a rebuilt tranny that I kept from my last teener but I really don't want to install it unless I really have to i.e. the failure is in the original tranny. She's still driveable, it would just be nice to have use of 4th gear.

When I dropped the engine/tranny to fix the oil leaks and clean everything, then put it back into the car, I installed new shifter bushings and cone screws, and liberally greased everything. Could it be that I put the engine in slightly askew? Suggestions/help please.

[r_towle]

I would agree with the easy ones first.

Shifter bushing in the bottom of the shifter...ball cup bushing and the ball cup bushing at the end near the tranny.

I would re-check all the bushings.

I would check for proper shape of the shifter rod...

Basically you are not gettingenough radial movement when you are shifting..

It could be hitting something in the tunnel (loose clutch tube)

It could be a loose clutch cable.

Or, and this is what I had to do....
the shifter rod had moved a bit on the shaft...
You need to remove the gear set from the tranny (can be done with the motor in the car) and set the shifter rods back to spec.

Rich