# 4 Speed Stuck in Reverse



## Dreli (Sep 12, 2020)

I found a new problem today. Yesterday, when I parked the car, something seemed unusual with the gears, but I did not have a chance to do much about it yesterday. Today, I fired it up just to confirm everything is working correctly. The shifter shifts between the gears, but I cannot get the car to move, even in Neutral. When I fire up the car and I released the Clutch, the engine died and the car did not move. Now, it appears as though the trans is stuck in Reverse since the back-up light is on. I checked the linkage and it all looks like it is all connected correctly. Any suggestions? Could this be a fluid level issue? I have just had the car for a week and the linkage has felt a little 'sloppy' to me, but I am still a novice. There were a couple cases in the past few days where I struggled to get the trans out of gear, usually out of Reverse into First, but I was not overly concerned. In retrospect, it may have been a signal. I just hope this is a fairly easy fix. Any suggestions? I attached a couple pictures in case there is something that stands out to any of you. Thanks, in advance.


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## pontrc (Mar 18, 2020)

May have to have a buddy to help you on this one Dreli, the outer rod is 3rd and 4th going to the lever closest to the bell housing. The next rod is 1st and 2nd going to the other lever, reverse is the inboard rod going to the lever closest to the shifter. May have to have some body on top to run through the gears to see if the levers are reacting to the shifter.


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## Old Man Taylor (May 9, 2011)

Your linkage looks home made. Your shift levers have two holes in them, and 2 out of 3 are in the bottom hole. 3-4 is in the top hole. It should be in the bottom. Your 1-2 rod is not correct. It should have a male end that goes into the hole in the shifter lever. It's got a strange fitting that is bolted to the shift lever.


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## Dukes67 (Jun 19, 2018)

First off I would check to make sure your bolts are tight and have not loosened up on your Hurst shifter cluster on the side of the Transmission (common problem). If they are tight the next step would be to verify the alignment hole is centered on the shifter cluster. This is done by getting the Transmission into neutral and placing a 1/4” drill bit into the centering hole. If it does not go in easily the adjustment rods need to be re-adjusted (loosen up the nuts and re-center) so that it does. If it still fights I would pull the retainer clip from the reverse rod on the shifter cluster and see if the reverse shaft on the trans will shift the gear in and out reverse with a pair of Channel lock pliers. If that shifts free then it has to be the shifter linkage. If it won’t shift out of reverse something is hung up on the reverse gear/shaft in the rear cone of the transmission.


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## Old Man Taylor (May 9, 2011)

Every time I've had that problem it has been due to the linkage.


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## BLK69JUDGE (Jun 10, 2010)

here is what I see
sure looks like original 67 68 linkage rods and ends to me ...
inexpensive chineezeum shifter ,,,,
correct 67 shifter mounting plate ...
always go into first b4 reverse just for a jiffee ,,, it will go in easier
and grind fewer times and less likely to get stuck in 2 gears like you have now...
looks like a pontiac muncie with a drivers side speedo and 5 boss bolt tail shaft
as mentioned above you need to line up all 3 levers and thats nuetral
if you want to call me I can walk you thru adjusting the linkage
I need pictures of the side cover and linkage levers 
and the reverse lever on the trans... please

here is a my really original 67 GTO HURST shifter ,,,, and linkage .... wrong shift ball tho...

scott
2o6 46591six5 730 am -9 pm pacific


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## Dreli (Sep 12, 2020)

pontrc said:


> May have to have a buddy to help you on this one Dreli, the outer rod is 3rd and 4th going to the lever closest to the bell housing. The next rod is 1st and 2nd going to the other lever, reverse is the inboard rod going to the lever closest to the shifter. May have to have some body on top to run through the gears to see if the levers are reacting to the shifter.


Thanks Pontrc. I appreciate the advice.


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## Dreli (Sep 12, 2020)

Old Man Taylor said:


> Your linkage looks home made. Your shift levers have two holes in them, and 2 out of 3 are in the bottom hole. 3-4 is in the top hole. It should be in the bottom. Your 1-2 rod is not correct. It should have a male end that goes into the hole in the shifter lever. It's got a strange fitting that is bolted to the shift lever.


Thanks, Old Man Taylor. I will make the changes and adjust the linkage.


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## Dreli (Sep 12, 2020)

Dukes67 said:


> First off I would check to make sure your bolts are tight and have not loosened up on your Hurst shifter cluster on the side of the Transmission (common problem). If they are tight the next step would be to verify the alignment hole is centered on the shifter cluster. This is done by getting the Transmission into neutral and placing a 1/4” drill bit into the centering hole. If it does not go in easily the adjustment rods need to be re-adjusted (loosen up the nuts and re-center) so that it does. If it still fights I would pull the retainer clip from the reverse rod on the shifter cluster and see if the reverse shaft on the trans will shift the gear in and out reverse with a pair of Channel lock pliers. If that shifts free then it has to be the shifter linkage. If it won’t shift out of reverse something is hung up on the reverse gear/shaft in the rear cone of the transmission.


Dukes67, thanks. I appreciate the detail. I will attempt to make the adjustments tomorrow.


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## Dreli (Sep 12, 2020)

BLK69JUDGE said:


> here is what I see
> sure looks like original 67 68 linkage rods and ends to me ...
> inexpensive chineezeum shifter ,,,,
> correct 67 shifter mounting plate ...
> ...


Scott, I think you are correct. The gal that sold the car inherited the car from her late boyfriend. She wanted to drive the car, but struggled to learn to drive a stick. She had the mechanic change out the shifter that had a shorter 'throw', which she thought would make it easier to drive. I suspect the mechanic simply changed the shorter shifter and left the other original components. I have the original Hurst Shifter which I planned to re-install. I appreciate the recommendations on the shifting habits, as well.

I will make the adjustments as recommended throughout this string and I'll let you know if I have any additional questions.


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## Old Man Taylor (May 9, 2011)

"here is what I see
sure looks like original 67 68 linkage rods and ends to me ... "

Look closely at the picture taken from behind. Note that the left rod and the right rod go throw the opening, are held in by a clip, and the rod center line and the hole center line are the same. Now check the middle rod. The rod center line is below the hole, and the "nut" has some kind of shoulder on it that was installed in the middle hole.


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## Dukes67 (Jun 19, 2018)

After looking closely at that shifter (does not appear to be a Hurst). I would highly recommend replacing that aftermarket shifter with the original Hurst. Those rods and their ends look original for the Hurst and probably don’t mate up properly with that new shifter. The fact that your having it jam up would lead me to believe it’s that shifter setup. I’ve had cars in the past that used aftermarket shifters and always had issues. The original Hurst shifter is a great unit, was intended to be there and is easy to rebuild if needed. While at it I would also replace the bushings on the rod ends with a new metal bushings/clip kit, the plastic ones often wear out. The kit will also come with the correct retainer clips for the rod ends (cotter pins can hang up/jam or interfere with the other rods/cluster). I recommend purchasing these from Paul at 5speeds.com 5Speeds Transmission Home Page. For all things Muncie or Hurst he’s the go to guy for the best parts and service. The chance that the transmission is bound up in reverse or is the cause of your problem is extremely low. The Reverse gear sets in the rear cone of the Muncie (separate from the main gear cluster) and is not likely to get hung up on anything. It’s almost always the shifter linkage/adjustment. Also as previously mentioned always shift into second gear before shifting into reverse gear. The transmission still spins the main shaft slightly even when in neutral or with the clutch engaged. By selecting second gear first this takes the spin out of the shaft and greatly reduces the chance of grinding your unsynchronized reverse gear. Second, if you are filling/replacing your transmission oil it’s imperative that you replace it with oil that is applicable for “transmissions with synchronizers” such as “Joe Gibb’s Driven”. Improper oil will ruin your synchronizers.


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