BJ8 - Can't find reverse

[RobWarren]

Hi guys, I hope you're all well.

My car has been offf the road for 7 months while a panel beater has been repairing my chassis and panels and generally yanking my chain for too long. Thus, the engine and gearbox have been out of the car.

I picked her up today and the gearbox doesn't feel right at all. 1st to 4th seem fine but are a bit on the "light" side - as if they don't want to engage quite as easily as before and there's a looseness to them that gives you the impression the lever might pop out.

Reverse though, is where the big problem lieth. I simply cannot get it in there. Normally when I push the gearstick to the left, it goes about an inch past the 1st and 2nd gates and then stops, whereupon I bring it down into revese nice and easily.

Now though, for some reason, it doesn't stop at an inch - it goes a couple of inches past the 1st and 2nd gates right to the edge of what feels like a circular cradle. When I try to pull it downwards i.e. towards the back of the car, it moves in a circular fashion.

I can find reverse by messing about in there for ages until I can go into second, come back out and then try to fiddle about until I get it to crunch down into reverse, but this is not good.

Any ideas as to why this might be happening?

Rob

 

[Randy Forbes]

Sounds like the little bushing on the bottom of the lever has come adrift. Not too hard to fix, in fact, I think there was a recent post about the procedure.