4 speed stuck in 3rd gear

[MO351]

66 fastback with 4 speed manual. It's stuck in 3rd gear. Shifter will not budge. Also the clutch won't engage until the pedal is almost all the way up. What are the problems?

 

[D.Hearne]

Sounds like you've "hung" the shifter in two gears at once. Usually does it in 1st and reverse though. Get under the car and take all three shift rods loose from the shifter then place all three in neutral. Now you need to adjust the shifter rods. There is a hole thru all three shift levers on the shifter, align the three where you can slip a rod the same diameter thru all three, then adust the shift rods to where they will line up with the levers. Your clutch linkage also needs adjusting. This is done with the adjustable linkage rod that presses against the lever that pokes out of the bellhousing. There should be just a tad of freeplay in the lever. If you have all freeplay removed and have a new clutch, pressure plate and flywheel and still can't operate the clutch, then it's time to rebuild the whole clutch linkage from the pedal hanger under the dash ( the pedal hangs on "pot metal" bushings that don't last forever) all the way to the lever in the bellhousing. All these parts have plastic bushings separating each other that need periodic replacement.

 

[MO351]

Thanks. We'll try that out.

 

[DK832]

Mine stuck in 2nd a few times and with a max lowered car its a looong way home to the lift where you can get uder the car. A new Hurst install kit with new linkage and bushings solved the issues. I think a simple swap of bushings is the most common cure. Takes about 15 mins under the car to complete.