Hi All,

looking for guidance...hopeful to get some get some happy news or advice
1976 914, 2.0L

Completely out of the blue, 2nd gear is lost. I can put clutch in, shift to 2nd, but when let clutch out, motor does not power the tranny. Nada

The was no noise, grind, leaks, etc.

Any clues on what this could mean? My guesses are currently the shift fork to 2nd is somehow bad, or maybe the shifter adjustment up in the cab. (it has a short shifter from PO) Shifter, since my purchase, is tight thru all gears. But I got used to it.

I know not a thing about transmissions. Pretty sure I do not want to start tearing that down.

Any clues as to possibilities for this cause and best way for me to tackle it?

Many thanks.

Check the main shift coupler first, it's behind the firewall where the shift rod exits into the engine bay.

Check the plastic bushings for play and also check the cone setscrew which can back out. There should be no play in the coupler.

If that checks out, check the coupler at the transmission end.


PS:

Will do, have had a chance to look at the coupler at the transmission, attaching pics. I am curious if the plastic bushing is supposed to travel outside of the metal cavity as noted in the pics.

I will head under the car north to check the firewall connection also.
thanks!

(update...cant figure out attaching pics!) Suffice to say, the hard plastic bushing which hold the ball head of the shift rod appears to slide out about 1/8" from the metal housing as I work it thru gears. It appears this is normal, although I cant say for sure.

Click to view attachment

At first glance I would say no, it shouldn’t look like that. However it helps to be as precise as possible about the photos. Not sure what I am looking at. Maybe you will be lucky and dr evil will chime in.

Try moving the lever by hand to engage the gears, if it goes into second definitely the shift linkage.

Do any of the other gears work? If reverse, 2nd and 4th are all MIA then that's a clue that something is up with your shift linkage and/or adjustment. If its just 2nd, then that sounds like it's something inside the transmission unfortunately.

More information will help to isolate the issue and send you in the right direction for troubleshooting.

P.S. I think part of your problem may be that your car is too clean. That part of the linkage, on the side of the transmission, is notorious for collecting all sorts of dust and gunk.