Not shifting right

[cureton93thing]

Hey guys. I have a 1974 Volkswagen thing and I believe I am having some transmission issues that I can't quite diagnose. When i purchased the car abut a year and a half ago it would kick out of reverse. So I would have to hold the shifter down to prevent it from kicking out. A few months ago it started to I've me trouble as I would shift into first after backing out. It was almost like the shifter was jammed or caught on something. I could lightly bump it and it would be fine after that. Today it went bad. I was in traffic and i could not get my car to shift into first. Eventually it did but if I tried to shift into second it would grind and scream at me. So i pulled over not to hold everybody up and to mess with it. Whenever I try to go into second gear my car wants to go into reverse. normally i have to pull up on a pin on my shifter to allow me to shift into reverse. Im not sure what the issue is but it is causing my car to not be drivable and that is really unfortunate. Any ideas what it might be?

[mondshine]

It seems like you are describing two separate problems.
Popping out of gear, any gear, provided the transmission is fully engaged in that gear, is a problem internal to the transmission. It will only get worse, and require repair or replacement of the transmission.
If your shifter is not fully engaging each gear, it is because of mis-adjustment of the shifter, or worn parts.
Check the condition of the shift coupling, which is under an oval shaped cover beneath the rear seat bench. Next, remove the shifter and check the condition of the shift rod bushing, which is right behind the shifter. With the shifter removed, you can see where the shift rod goes through this bushing.
Both of these components are commonly replaced on our old cars (especially the shift rod bushing). It's a pain in the neck, but that's how it is.
Here's a link to a thread which includes some useful details (it's a Beetle, but you'll get the idea):
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6461081&highlight=#6461081
Here's a video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Re-JiUdwYMI

You will have to re-adjust your shifter, once it's been removed. There is plenty of information about that available on TheSamba.

Once you know that your gear shift mechanism is all good, if the transmission still pops out of gear, you will have a separate problem to resolve. I have used a late Beetle transmission in my Thing for many years without any problems; just swap your drive flanges for the smaller Beetle size flanges.

Good luck, Mondshine

[citroen]

As Mondshine says you have 2 problems the reverse problem is in the transmission the reverse idler and the 1 first and 2nd operating sleeve will need to be replaced or you can replace it with a used transmission the second problem is in the shifter or the adjustment or the shift coupler in the rear . You did not say if you had a aftermarket shifter or a stock shifter if you have a aftermarket shifter it could be the shifter worn out , if you have a stock shifter it could be the adjust of the shifter.