T18 transmission stuck in gear

[jamesrtw]

So...... I have my T18 transmission sitting on my shed floor. I decided to play with it and I put it in gear. Now I can't pop it back into neutral. I'm not sure what gear it is in. Is there a trick on how to get it out of gear, or is my tranny screwy? I don't want to pull too da*n hard on it.

[evan_flatt69]

Hmm. I wish I could help ya.. That's an odd problem it seems like. Surely someone knows

[jamesrtw]

I removed the shifter when I brought it home in the trunk of the car. Maybe I didn't get the shifter installed back in correctly? That is going to be my next thing I look at. I need to find reference of what installed correctly should look like. The T18's have a collar that is threaded that you just tighten back up when you put the gear shifter rod back in. It seemed to tighten down just like when I took it off.

[evan_flatt69]

Yea, if you had the shifter off or apart that would be the first place I'd check.

[fmartin_gila1]

You just missed the neutral pocket when you shoved the lever back in. Take the lever back out, Look down in there and you will see which one of the shift rails is not lined up, you will see two together and one displaced, the displaced one needs to be brought back inline with the other two. Use a big screwdriver or something you can get into the pocket with and pry it until all three are lined up and you will be in neutral. Then install the lever in and ensure that you have it in the proper position by wiggling it sideways as it would be when installed in the vehicle. AND DON'T DO THAT AGAIN LOL!!

Fred

[robroy]

Good morning JamesRtw,

My guess is that Fred's probably on to something. There's a small, square neutral "pocket" that the shifter must be stabbed in to when it's put back in.

Perhaps browsing through my T18 improvement thread would prove entertaining: Making a T18 top end nice and tight: canes and top covers.

Robroy

[jamesrtw]

Use a big screwdriver or something you can get into the pocket with and pry it until all three are lined up and you will be in neutral. Then install the lever in and ensure that you have it in the proper position by wiggling it sideways as it would be when installed in the vehicle. AND DON'T DO THAT AGAIN LOL!!
Fred

Just went out and did what you and RobRoy said. That was the problem. 2 were in line, but the one with the neutral pocket was not lined up. I pried it back inline. Dropped in my shift lever (into the neutral pocket). It's shifting good now. Just need to find the time (and cooler weather) to do my manual trans conversion. Thanks!