Hi all, happy new year to you!

Wondering if I could get some advice on this. Just yesterday it began getting very hard to shift my 2wd 85 (w55). There is quite a bit of resistance moving the lever into gear especially 1st and 2nd. It is somewhat intermittent, occasionally goes in just fine. In neutral, if I move the lever all the way to the right it won’t spring back to center on its own.

I don’t see any leaks. Gear oil was changed a few weeks ago (80-90 conventional) and replaced the bushing that sits at the bottom of the lever at the same time. No problems until now.

Any ideas on what might be going on or things to check?

Cheers

 

Any chance it's just because it got cold out? Just a guess as I don't know your location. Or shifter boot or carpet interfering somehow?? You changed the shifter bushing, does your trans also have the plastic cap/tip as well? Good luck and Happy New Year. Post up whatever you find is the cause.

 

I suppose it’s possible but the temperature drop hasn’t been too significant from the early mornings I’ve been driving past few weeks. I live in NM. I’ve been having issues with my speedometer as well just received all the parts to change out cable, drive gear etc. Might try that first and see if it’s interfering with shifting somehow.

 

It may very well be the bushing under the gear shifter. They wear out and crumble away and make shifting hard. Pull the boot and the 4 bolts holding the top plate for the shifter and see if the bushing is crumbling/tearing up. BTW there is a spring under the top plate that makes the shifter center up, try not to lose it and look at it when you get it out. Good luck.

 

Check the clutch pedal bracket for cracks. This is a common problem with age. If you do a search in the 86+ forum, you'll find some threads and pictures about it.

 

I replaced the speedometer drive gear and cable and that seemed to fix it. Must have been interfering somehow.