Hello out there......took car out this morning, '73 2.0, drove fine, noticed I was having a few extra grinds when shifting. Later in day could not get over to fourth or fifth. Thought cone screws had loosened but they were tight. Any ideas??
Thank you,
gg

check all the shifter bushings.

I did check them all.....the one that the "ball" pops into does seem loose. The one around the shift rod is fine. Up front the one around the shift rod seems fine. Could the one "somewhat" loose one really affect the shifting that much? I hope so. Thank you very much for your help.
gg

Since it's a '73 check under the shifter itself too to make sure the pinch bolt hasn't worked loose where the shifter attaches to the tunnel shifter rod. If that's worked loose and the shifter shaft has spun, that would muck with the alignment of ALL your shifts and make everything feel a bit out of place.

I tested it for tightness and the bolt was tight. I think I would see evidence if the clamp slipped....like shiny grooves or something. Appreciate the help.
gg

My money is the bushings at the knuckle split finally. Mine did this.

This one.
The reason I say it's this one is that it happened overnight like yours did. The others will wear. It also looked intact.

Thank you Mikey....I just happen to have two of your bushings in hand from some event somewhere. Well, I guess it is time to learn some more about my car. Thank you very much and I will update. Any procedure to follow available so I can educate myself befor e I muscle F__k it? Thank you again.
gg

ball cup bushing also..on trans

The ball cup bushings should never seem loose. They do split sometimes and no longer support the ball properly, which could cause your problem.

I did a thread here somewhere I'll see if i can find it and post a link. I'm taking it was these? You will know when you push the rod out.
Mark

Here's the link -
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...hl=lost+4th+5th

I'll also post up a GB for those suffering from the issues on the side shift trans a complete kit look for the GB
I'll post it up shortly.

Here's what started it for me


Also DickStienKamp did a good write up

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=56765

either a broken missing bushing or the clutch tube broke loose in the tunnel

If yours is the shift knuckle the hardest part can be removing the pin. Soak it in PB overnight.

So I found my problem with regard to my shifting not going into 4th or 5th.....the knuckle bushings aren't worn out....they are missing altogether. Would that cause the problem? Heavy on the sarcasm but at least I know what happened and the cure is on the way. Whew!! So Mark you were 100% correct!! Fixing these and all the others should do the trick. Thank you all for your help. More questions will come up but for now I am relieved to have found the root problem. WoooHooo!!!
gg

When the front coupler bushings go bad, they can disintegrate and go away. Here's what the remains of mine looked like inside the cover/boot:

Click to view attachment

Check the cup bushing at the rear too:

Click to view attachment

Be extra careful removing the cone screws; make sure the Allen wrench is fully seated in the recessed head. You don't want to deal with a stripped out screw....

So my car is fixed!! Installed the 914 Rubber shift bushing kit and now have all five gears whenever I want them. Wasn't easy with a floor jack and the firewall bushing took some heat persuasion....but sure shifts nice now. Thank you Mark and Scott for all of your help and great parts. I highly recommend the shift kit to any 914 owner and I am going to buy a back-up kit just to make sure I can fix this issue again should I ever need a bushing or two. WoooHooo!!! Back on the road. Thank you again 914 Rubber.
gg