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My 4 speed won't shift out of first

4K views 8 replies 5 participants last post by  bmrzyglod 
#1 ·
Hey everyone,
I'm brand new to the forum and relatively new to the "Chevelle" world. This is my first summer with the car, and for the most part its been a lot of fun...

Just tonight I was out for a quick cruise with my wife and son, and after pulling away from a stop sign the car got stuck in first gear... There really wasn't any warning (no bangs, grinds stalls etc). I kinda hesitant to just start yanking on the shifter to see if it will move. Could it be as simple as the linkage?

I believe its a muncie with a hurst shifter...


Any advice would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks, Brian
 
#3 ·
I've had them lock up from 2nd to 3rd because of poor alignment of the rods. the shifter popped out 2nd and into neutral but the tranny was still in 2nd. I needed to get under the car and manually move the transmission selector arms to neutral to match the shifter and I was on my way.
 
#4 ·
Wow that was fast. Thanks for the quick response.

Ya, we were only a mile or two from home, so i figured it would be better for me in long run if I just drove slow...

I should have listed the specifics... Its a '69 396 with a what i believe is a muncie...

No grinding and the clutch feels fine. Something similar happened about a month ago, but i was able to "jiggle" it out of first...
 
#5 ·
I had a problem where it wouldn't go into reverse. Problem was the shifter assembly was loose from the trans housing. Tightened up a few bolts and was good as new. Probably something simple but you'll have to get it on ramps or over a pit to get a good look at it. Get someone to work the shifter while you're under and you should see the problem.
 
#7 ·
Sounds like the shifter. But you need more info on the proper adjustment if its a hurst comp. plus shifter. You can get the info in there site. You also need to check the nylon bushings at the end of each rod.
If its a muncie shifter, you got a whole lot more problems..
The hurst shifter connects right at the left side of tranny.
The muncie shifter connects to the crossmember, 1968 to 72
 
#9 ·
Woohoo!! It works! Turns out that the something got dorked up on the linkage. Once I crawled under there and started manualy moving each of the shift tabs, everything fell back into alignment. Now I just have to figure out how/ why this happens and fix the root cause...

Thank you everybody for for all your help. This forum is SWEET!!
 
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