# 68 3-speed stuck in gear



## nellis003 (Sep 9, 2020)

Hi All,

I just joined the forum, and am posting my first question about the '68 GTO I just bought from my Uncle. She's been sitting for several years, and when we went to take her out of storage I couldn't get the shifter to come out of gear. The clutch worked and she rolls just fine, but that shifter won't budge. 3-speed on the floor. 

Any suggestions for what I can do to get it unstuck? I just got the car this weekend and haven't had a chance to work on her yet, but I thought I'd check here in case it's a common issue. 

Thanks,
Nick


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## BLK69JUDGE (Jun 10, 2010)

Hello and welcome
is the shifter a round chrome rod with HURST on a flat spot on the sides ?
so
it rolls with the clutch depressed and with clutch out it wont 
sounds like its stuck in 2 gears .... 
it worked fine when it was parked ?
sounds like some one got in it while it was parked and did the nono by shifting it with out it running
stuckin R and 2nd or 1st n 3rd

time for a jack and jack stands and good wheel chocks,,,, does the e brake work ?

my 68 -9 ponchos are manuals also ,,, DONT reef on it 

time to get it up in the air a bit so you can get to the shifter from underneath

Scott


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## nellis003 (Sep 9, 2020)

BLK69JUDGE said:


> is the shifter a round chrome rod with HURST on a flat spot on the sides ?


Hi Scott - pics attached, but yes, it's a round chrome rod. It does look like there's a flat spot on the sides but I can't make the writing out from the pics. I won't be with the car again until Sunday, so I'm sorry I can't give a better answer yet.

She was driven into storage about 5-6 years ago, so yes, trans was working when parked. Rolls just fine when you hit the clutch. 

I was trying to shift into neutral to pull her out of the parking spot, so that's on me. Sounds like you think this is a linkage issue? I'm hoping it's that rather than something with the forks. Feels like it's stuck in 2nd to me. 

I haven't tried the e-brake. I'm just assuming it'll seize if I try it. I want to drain the gas out anyway, so I'll probably have her up on all 4 stands soon. 

What's it mean to "reef" on the manual? 

Thanks for the input!

Nick


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## BLK69JUDGE (Jun 10, 2010)

reef = yank pull hard force

give me a ring sunday ?? if you want 2o6 4six5 9165 olympia washington left coast

the shifter box under the floor gets dirty ,,grimmy ,,, grunge and sand ,, grease gets old and ugly

I think what happened is second pulled reverse also on the way to nuetral ,
NEVER shift it without the engine running just playin around..into nuetral yes
gear to gear NO
it looks like its on the right side of the hole going thru the floor 2nd 3rd side issue

we ALWAYS need to shift in an H pattern gear to gear no cutting accross nuetral 
gotta pullem out of gear straight front to back ,,,,

very easy fix IF its what I think the issue is once you get safe access under the car ,,,,

thats the factory HURST shifter mmm nice !! and ball too

aftermarket ac cool ,,, cool gauges too.... tach position ,,, well dad was a good driver ,,,

Scott

I will post a couple pictures later of what we need to do/check and look for


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## nellis003 (Sep 9, 2020)

Well, I finally got some time to work on the girl today. Changed out the coil, drained the old gas and out some new gas in, and she fired right up.

Still don’t have room to get her up on jack stands, so I got an arm far enough underneath to nudge the rear gear selector on the trans back, and she popped out of second. Got back in the car and was able to run the gears through reverse and first, but as soon as she goes into second the gearshift gets stuck again (this is all without the engine running). I have to get underneath to nudgeit out of second every time.
Any thoughts on what’s causing this? I have records that show the engine was rebuilt 20 years ago and only 2000 miles have been put on since. But there are no mentions of transmission service anywhere in the records.
Thanks,
Nick


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## BLK69JUDGE (Jun 10, 2010)

"Any thoughts on what’s causing this? " 

repeat post #4

I guess I farted into the wind


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## nellis003 (Sep 9, 2020)

Scott,

In post #4, you say that the shifter box gets dirty and gummed up, and can cause this problem, but since I was able to get the shifter out of 2nd by moving the lever on the trans itself, I figured it's a different problem. That's why I'm asking. 

As for not shifting it while the engine isn't running, I've never had a car that you couldn't run through the gears with the engine off. I've started a bunch of manual transmission cars with dead batteries by rolling them and popping the clutch with the car in 2nd, from the 30's all the way up to present day. So it just seems strange to me that this one in particular has this issue, so I'd like to know if there's a way to resolve it. 

Didn't meant to make it sound like I wasn't listening to what you were saying, I'd just like to know more. 

Nick


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## PontiacJim (Dec 29, 2012)

nellis003 said:


> Scott,
> 
> In post #4, you say that the shifter box gets dirty and gummed up, and can cause this problem, but since I was able to get the shifter out of 2nd by moving the lever on the trans itself, I figured it's a different problem. That's why I'm asking.
> 
> ...


BLK69JUDGE was just pointing out what he said in his post #4 and you went and did what he said not to do. I have a '68 Lemans that had the HD 3-speed Dearborn (Ford) transmission and never had issues. I've have other 3-speed Pontiacs, and never had an issue. However, I always shifted in the "H" pattern because it just didn't work trying to slide 1st up into 2nd on an angled shift - it would jam and not go, but never locked up and that is what I believe post #4 was partially about.

I too have had many different year cars and transmission and had no problem rowing through gears with engine off - other than a '65 Impala with 3-on-the-tree that would lock the column shift fingers up at the base of the steering column if I tried to angle shift it. But again, I would follow the shifting pattern "H" and no problems encountered.

My guess, as pointed out, the shifter has a lot of miles, and dirt, grime, crap can get down into the main shifter body and muck things up. There is also a means to adjust the shifter so all quadrants are lined up in neutral. Your shop manual will have this procedure and walk you through it with their diagrams. It is a simple hole in the side of the main shifter body and you use an alignment pin - a nail, hex wrench, punch, etc., that fits snuggly into the hole with the shift rods disconnected from the trans shift levers. Put the shifter in neutral to do this. This aligns the shifter. Then you adjust all your linkage rods to the trans shift levers in neutral.

There may or may not be bushings on the ends of the rods which do wear out and make the shifter rods sloppy and can add to your problems. The bushings can be nylon or steel, and I use the steel. I am thinking my 3-speed shifter did have the bushings and I replaced them when I had the trans out. Here is what your want to look for:






Hurst 3327302 Steel shifter bushing clip kit


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Bottom line here is to pull the shifter and clean it up with brake clean. Then check for obvious wear on the shifting arms. They could be worn oblong and are no longer tight. New bushing may or may not cure this. Then reinstall the shifter and align it as above and reconnect your shift arms as above.

If that still gives you problems, then it may be time to send the shifter out for a rebuild or purchase a new one.


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