Yesterday all 5 gears worked great. This morning I was only able to shift into gears 1-3 and reverse. It is as though the whole shifter rotated slightly to the right and now cannot reach 4th and 5th. What happened?

not nec. in this order: broken shift bushing loose set screw broken clutch tube

There is a good chance that is what happened, but depending on year, bad bushings can also cause this. Look in your repair manual or do a search here for replacement pic's and instructions and have a look at the bushings. My tail shifter has done something like that from the rear most bushing by the tail piece of the trans.

Thanks for the input guys. I will start with the bushing and work my way back. My car is a 1975 2liter.

I had a similiar problem with my shifting. It was the cone screws on the shift rod. Be careful driving it,, because it WILL get WORSE! I was stuck on the side of the road when the dam screw let go and my shifter became a coffee stirring stick. Good thing I was close enough to home to put the car into 2nd (from under the car) and drive it home in second gear all the way. I now put a dab of blue loc-tite on the screws so they don't come out by themselves.

-Rob

the cone screw at the shift coupler right behind the firewall came lose. once it comes out completely, you won't be able to shift at all ... if you still have the rubber boot over the coupler, it's likely the cone screw will be found in there ...
Andy

Yup, I second the screw as the culprit. There is also one at the tranny where the rod inserts that can do the same thing.

I agree with everyone above.

Rich

you are not supposed to reuse the cone setscrews. they have a build in thread locker that deforms when used the first time, they won't lock correctly if reused ...

however, i have cheated and used a little blob of locktite on them with good results ...
Andy

Heresy!



Ya, I would do that too

It looks like the coupler pin that joins the front and rear shift rods is the culprit. The picture shows exactly what I found when I removed the dust boot. I guess this explains the sloppy shifting lately. My manual does not give any details on this coupler, are the seals/bushings on either end replaceable. One fell out of the dust cover in pieces and the other is not much better. Thanks a million for all of your assistance!

Yup, cheap too. You need to press the pin out from the center, it can be a bit of a bitch, be patient. Search coupler bushings on one of the many parts sites. Let us know if you cant find them.

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?act...hl=&st=250#
If you have a small lathe, you may want to try what I did. All of the bushings that you order will be uniformally near the same size. As the trans console and other areas wear, then stock bushinbgs will give you an increasing amount of slop, even when new.
Tom