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Wed Mar 12, 2003 10:44 am

We cannot seem to get our 78 Westy in to reverse anymore. It always was difficult but now will not go at all. Clutch seems fine and she shifts through all the other gears with no trouble either.

Do I need to adjust my shifter linkage or the shifter plate maybe? If so how do I set it correctly?

Thanks a bunch to everyone. What a great forum.

Paul

Wed Mar 12, 2003 11:53 am

Assuming that your reverse gear was working previously and not making funny noises, the first thing I would check is the shift plate and then the front shift rod bushing. Unbolt the gear shift lever and carefully lift it up. There is a plate under the cover that limits your shifter travel. It moves over time/ gets worn/ gets dirt etc. caked on it. Try cleaning and adjusting it according to whatever maintainance manual you have.

A missing front bushing can make shifting hard/sloppy as the shift rod flops around. The bushing in the front is accessed by dropping the skid plate. The bushing in question is located where the fowards mosr extension of the shift rod moves. The original is usually long gone. Bus Depot etc. sell nylon replacements which will last longer than the originals.

These two adjustments alone will make an amazing difference in how many buses shift!

Good luck

Wed Mar 12, 2003 12:21 pm

Thanks a bunch. We will give it a shot!

Sun Jul 06, 2003 2:13 pm

I hate to reopen an old post but here I go.

Turns out it was the shift coupler. Replaced it and the bushing and she works great. ALMOST.

She shifts into reverse and goes, but the shifter pops back up. The tranny stays in gear but the shifter moves. Will this eventually be a problem? Just kind of annoying, but then again we are glad she goes in reverse again.

Another issue, does anyone else hit their knuckles on the parking brake when shifting into 3rd gear? Is there an adjustment to the shift plate for that?

Thanks.

Sun Jul 06, 2003 3:10 pm

Did you adjust the shift plate under the boot?

I added a shift extension to make shifting easier (especially with the lousy factory seatbelts). You might try that; I think BusBoys still sells them.

Sun Jul 06, 2003 5:49 pm

mine does the same thing in reverse it goes into gear then the shifter pops back up but it stays in reverse and everything works great, just kinda wierd having the shifter popping out.