I have just had the transmission and all the bushes replaced about 5000 miles ago and driving along today and it has decided that 4th and 5th arn't there, when i go to shift into 4th i keep selecting 2nd, Does anyone know what could of gone wrong? The gears feel a bit sloppy too . . .


thanks michael

Check bolt #1 on this Pelican Parts diagram.
AKA "M8".

It may have slipped out of adjustment. That'd be my first guess.

Let us know how it goes....


Roger

http://www.pelicanparts.com/914/Parts/Peda...ge_side_big.htm

Also check the cone screws #23 + 26

Are we sure its a side shift?

cone set screw in the back may be loose
or, as stated above your front shift linkage pinch bolt loosened...

if it is a loose bolt somewhere. which it probably is. tightening it alone won't help the problem if you dont re-adjust the lengths of the shift rods put. I wanna say there is a good article in the PelicanParts.com 914 tech section to adjust the lengths properly

good luck and I have been there. I had to stop on the way home to buy a 2nd 13 mm wrench just so i could shift out of 1 3 5

A worn tail bushing, linkage out of adjustment. What year is it?

Make sure bolt #7 on that same diagram is tight and most importantly installed in the correct position. When installed in the wrong direction the threaded end comes in contact with other parts in the center channel. You can see the scars it this is happening. I believe that with a stock shifter that it will still work but if you have a short shift kit you can't get enough leverage to move it into gear. Of course I have never placed that bolt in the wrong way, more than once that is.

Another possibility is that the clutch tube inside the center tunnel has broken loose, and the linkage is hitting it when you try to shift into that 4/5 gate.

--DD

hey, thanks for all the replies, its a 72mdl but has been converted to side shift. Should i take it to the mechanics or should i just do it myself, im no mechanic so bit worried?

Dude...if it is one of the above listed things then do it yourself....check the bolt down in the tunnel behind the shifter lever and the set screws it is not that tough and you should be able to get it with a lil help from the Haynes manual. You own a teener so learn how to fix it! it is monkey simple man.......

ok i tried the adjustment at the bottom of the gear lever and that only seems to lenthen or shorten the shift rod, but i think i need side to side adjustment, where do i find the cone screws?

There is a rubber boot (#29) over the shift rod where it exists the firewall under the car. Pull the boot away from the firewall and you'll see where the rear shift rod (#27) mates with the front shift rod (#30). Tighten the cone screw with a 4 mm allen wrench.

The other cone screw is accessed by removing the black plastic cover (#22). There is a band clamp that holds it in place. Also a 4mm allen wrench. These screws can be replaced if they are worn. Pelican has them here.

but its not just a matter of tightening is it ?? won't i need to make some form of adjustment ?

The cone screws give you no adjustment; they simply give you extra slop if they're not tight.

The side-to-side adjustment is done where the fore-and-aft is; loosen that bolt and rotate the shift rod that is inside the tunnel relative to the clamp. (Or vise-versa.)

--DD

jsut got undercar and the cone screw was so loose i could tighten it with fingers, but now that i have adjusted up front i think that i have put it all out of wack, cause now i don't have to push hard over the the left to get 1st and reverse and i still have no 4th and 5th!!

The bolt behind the stick shift *does* give you left-right adjustment. See here.

just as i was about to give up, I got it! perfect better than it was before


thanks for all the help, saved me some $$

now that you have the linkage adjusted, source new cone screws. they will prob back out again and you will be lying under the car on the side of the road retightening them again.

k

way to go man...easy as pie and you now know a little more about your car!

Josh

Timely thread. I just experienced the same problem earlier this week, sloppy shifting and could not get 4th or 5th gear. Yesterday I had a chance to trouble shoot and discovered a bushing had failed in the coupler just outside the firewall, part #26 in the diagram. This allowed the pin to slip half-way out of the coupler. Fortunately I had another shift rod with coupler in my, uh, spare parts stock. My wife came out and resignedly acknowledged it was good I kept those stockpiled parts.

Steve