i removed the plate on the tranny that holds the shift rod and the whole selector rod (the one that goes up into the tranny case) came out

how do i get this thing back in there? it looks like a giant key btw. i don't remember what position the selector was in when it came out.

It will go back in, you just have to wiggle it around a lot. It's easiest to do when the car is in neutral, but you can still do it if it's in a gear. Worst case scenario, just get it in there and then get the car to neutral and redo it.

If the tranny was in neutral the key piece should be pointed towards left side of car.
The whole thing wiggles back & forth thru a 30 degree arc. But you can also push the selector rod in & out.

If tranny wasn't in neutral, do a search for Dr Evil thread on reassembling tranny, there's a picture of how to get the selector arms back to neutral with a screwdriver.

yes, thanks.

i had to move the sliders with a punch to get them into neutral and then all was fine. i got a good deal on this tranny (i have 3 now) but the shift plate was cracked so i had to swap it out. we'll see if the synchros in this one are any better than the one i pulled.