gearbox problem

[john hall]

while out today enjoying the sun, gearshift went sloppy then lost all gears managed to get third and limp home, sods law all traffic lights in durham turned to red when i approached them. now back in the garage stuck in gear, gearlever moving around but not doing anything.
anyone got any thoughts. 1985 350i

[Danny Hoffman]

If you are lucky it will just be the bushes on the remote linkage

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Triumph-TR7-TR8-LT77-GEARBOX...

Easy to change

[rev-erend]

Probably a fault with the lever mechanism.

My mates got stuck in 3rd and drove it all the way home..

From Le Mans to Surrey

[adam quantrill]

Yep I've just updated the FAQ articles with 3 links about this. They aren't too hard to change.

[Wedg1e]

The gearshift is held in by a cup. The cup itself is retained by one bolt through a tab at the rear of the cup. If the tab snaps off (and they do) the lever pops up under spring tension, disengaging itself from the linkage to the rear of the gearbox.
Quick blob of weld on the tab will fix it, or a new cup.

[grahamw48]

Used to happen a lot on Fords....ended up sitting there like a tt with the detached lever in your hand.

[john hall]

thanks for the help. turned out to be the tab on the cup had broke off and the pinch bolt that holds the yolk onto the end of the selector shaft had come loose and the yolk had dropped off, still going to replace remote bushes with poly bushes and fit new selector bush and ball while on with it

[grahamw48]

Haha....just like on those pesky Fords.

Glad for you it wasn't anything more serious of course.

[simonwedge]

grahamw48 said:

Used to happen a lot on Fords....ended up sitting there like a tt with the detached lever in your hand.

Happened to me on an old Peugeot 305, ended up jamming a screwdriver in the hole and drove it like that.

[grahamw48]

Aye those were the days.

[adam quantrill]

Don't worry about the cup, it's mainly the springs that hold the lever in.

[jonnylayze]

grahamw48 said:

Used to happen a lot on Fords....ended up sitting there like a tt with the detached lever in your hand.

Happened to my brother in his 3000M Turbo half way between Sawbench and Martini Hairpins at Wiscombe Park - red flags etc. ensued - we were watching further down the course and thought he'd put it into the trees....

[john hall]

all done put the yoke back on the selector shaft and pinch bolt back in with locktite so it wont drop out again,gearchange is like new. it was 4th gear it was stuck in, not many cars can pull away in 2nd on slight uphill from traffic lights never mind 4th