gear selection woes!!

[cakey666]

Hi everyone
I have a 1969 westy LHD 1600cc, I have just tried to take it for a run out but have struggled to engage first and second gears, but able to select third, fourth and reverse....
Anyone got any ideas what's going on??
Thank you
Cakey

 

[geenjay]

could be the sliding plate under gear stick ..or the linkage at the gear box end at the gearbox end theres a shaft with a square looking cage that houses 2 rubber bushes if there worn lose or missing that can throw the selection out i could only get 3/4 it turns out 1 of the rubber bushes had fell out check this first ..if youve had the gear stick off then the slider plate under the gear stick may not be lined up..but id check the other linkages first because the plate can be loads of fun ..unbolt ..adjust.. re-bolt..check..nope.. :evil: etc..etc 30 mins later..re-bolt..check''nope..ahhh for f*@#ks ..sake :evil: :evil: ..i hope this throws a bit of light on it..let me know what you find :mrgreen:

 

[71Westy]

Agreed! I had a similar issue, 3rd-2nd changes being the worst. On mine, the plate was simply loose.

There's a bit of a set process for adjusting the plate - stick it in second, then loosen the plate and push to the right. I'm sure if you search the threads on here you'll see a more detailed version. Tighten it up and fingers crossed. Worked for me

 

[sparkywig]

Put it into 2nd gear, loosen the two bolts holding the base of the gearshift and move the gearstick so that the bottom bit is vertical and the cranked bit is at 30 degrees to the rear of the van. Then move the shift plate as far left as possible without moving the gearstick. Tighten the two bolts. This should help selection of 1st and 2nd.
If the lever doesn't travel straight forward and back in the 1st/2nd plane, try slightly twisting the shiftplate.