Second Gear Sometimes Blocked

[vwlover77]

My Westy started behaving strangely on Friday. On a number of occasions, I've been unable to shift into second gear. The shifter feels like it's hitting a solid stop. It doesn't seem to matter which gear I'm coming from. The first time it happened was a 1-2 shift, and it has also happened on 3-2 and 4-2 shifts after turning a corner.

Most of the time, though, it glides right into second with no issues.

I looked at the shift rod under the front floor and the coupler at the rear and everything seems to be OK and tight.

The transmission was rebuilt around 8K miles ago.

Thoughts?

[bus71]

I would lift the mat and make sure the shifter bolts arn't loose. If this is loose, adjust as per Bently. Check that the grub screws are tight on the shift coupler. The screws should engage " divots" in shift rod. Just a little slop can cause shift trouble. Its a good idea to safety wire these. Good luck!

[vwlover77]

I'll check the shift plate bolts. I did check the grub screws when I was under there - all snug.

I did some experimentation yesterday. It seems that if I exert just a little too much pressure to the left on the gearshift when I'm trying to engage second gear, the lever gets caught and blocked by the reverse lock-out. This leads me to believe that something is not quite right with the shifter itself.

I cleaned and lubed it all recently (without disassembling it) and it had been working perfectly up until now.

Suggestions on where to focus?

[RSorak 71Westy]

I'd readjust the shifter....there's a procedure somewhere...