carl
True Classic
I have been chasing a gearbox problem for a few years. Could rarely get reverse and hardly get fifth. I had played with the shifter linkage untold times. Took the car up to my two favorite Fiat repair hobbyists to sort even if it meant a gearbox teardown since things had gotten so bad that neither gear could be found.
A day later they called to say it was fixed. I asked what it was and they said the linkage was not adjusted properly since the lever was not straight up in neutral. I knew for a fact I had adjusted that correctly so was confused.
Turns out I means straight up in neutral front to back, just as the manual says. The guys meant straight up side to side, something we never check since that is not an adjustable issue. Turns out my shift rod was TWISTED. Which would certainly explain why I had to move the lever to the right beyond shifter limits to hunt for those gears. Vice grips "adjusted" the twist and now both gears are easy to find.
Something to ad to your to do list when doing shifter adjustments when you can't get 5th/reverse or even problems getting 1st/second.
A day later they called to say it was fixed. I asked what it was and they said the linkage was not adjusted properly since the lever was not straight up in neutral. I knew for a fact I had adjusted that correctly so was confused.
Turns out I means straight up in neutral front to back, just as the manual says. The guys meant straight up side to side, something we never check since that is not an adjustable issue. Turns out my shift rod was TWISTED. Which would certainly explain why I had to move the lever to the right beyond shifter limits to hunt for those gears. Vice grips "adjusted" the twist and now both gears are easy to find.
Something to ad to your to do list when doing shifter adjustments when you can't get 5th/reverse or even problems getting 1st/second.