NUTS! What did I do now?

[47heaven]

I guess when they say to never take your anger out on your car, they mean it.

Was out this last weekend and couldn't get the P15 to go into reverse (I had been having issues with it before, but it would eventually find it's way in). So, I got mad and tried to force/jam it in, and by doing so, I heard a pop and then shifter went into reverse position, but when I let the clutch out, it started to go forward as if it was in a low gear like 3rd. I couldn't get reverse anymore. Here's what I have as a result of my stupidness:

Reverse now works as 3rd gear

1st is now works as 3rd gear

2nd gear is still works as 2nd gear

3rd gear still is 3rd gear.

In order to drive the car, I have to start in 2nd gear and then shift to 3rd. I can still shift into 1st and reverse but they no longer function as those gears, only as 3rd. The shifter is sloppy and lose. The shifting shaft mounting that connects the shaft to the stearing column broke loose from it's weld.

The car was stationary when this happened

There is no grinding sound in the transmission.

The car still does shift into each gear, but it's very sloppy and lose.

A friend and I are going to work on it this Wednesday, but need to have some kind of understanding of what we are looking for, first. Can anyone give some troubleshooting advice on what may have happened, given all the things I've mentioned already? Just need to have some starting point.

Thanks,

Darin

[PhilJohnson]

I don't think there is anything wrong in the transmission however it is possible that you might have messed up the linkage. I've had 3 speeds that have fallen out of adjustment and become hard to shift. A couple of wrenches and a little patience and it's all better. Good luck

[Don Coatney]

On 1-2-2009 I posted the message quoted below.

Your gearshift looks like it is pointing to the floor. It should not do this.

Here is what it should look like.

You replied.

Yeah...it's been like that since I've had it, but have never known exactly what the proper position would be in 1st and 3rd. Right now it's at about 5 o'clock.

Seems to me this is a problem that has been waiting to happen for a long time. I suggest you find someone that knows how to re-bush and adjust your linkage correctly as I believe your shifter linkage bushings are shot.

[Rusty O'Toole]

Usually when you get rammy with the gearshift the selectors jam up and you have to reach under the hood and unjam them.

In your case this did not happen. My guess is you bent something in the linkage or threw it out of position. A close inspection of the linkage under the car should reveal what is out of whack.

Don's suggestion is a good one. Sometimes you even have to build up worn parts with weld and refit them to get a good tight shift.

[47heaven]

All right...fixed the problem. I don 't know the technical names of the parts of the car involved because I couldn't find a proper exploded version of where the problem was, so I'm going to explain it the best I can. What we found out is that there is a link or lever that controls reverse that cradles in between two things on the shifting shaft. When I forced the shift into reverse, the reverse linkage popped out of the cradle. It took a while to figure that out because we really had no good diagram to go by, but finally it made sense. We also adjusted the shifting arm so it now sits at the 4 o'clock position while in 1st or third, as depicted in Don's pic above. Bushings seem to be okay, as the car now shifts very well...almost like new. Thanks again to those of you that gave your input and advice.

[Don Coatney]

Glad you got it repaired.