shifting problem

[alaskan adventurer]

I just bought a 77 weekender westy with 45,000 org mi on it, heres the deal, it sat in Maimi in a warehouse for 25yrs unused, eng taken out and laying on the floor, sounds good uh? well let me say after 100hrs working on it in 105deg heat in fla it runs pretty good, but no 3 or 4 gear, i discovered the front bushing was gone, after replacement i had all gears but 3/4 were way to the right, new bushing was gone in 50mi, replaced it and only have 1/2 gear.with rev or i have 1234 and no rev.. will the rear coupler or the plastic ball in the nosecone cause this? I am starting to think the bus has 145,000 org mi on it.
Thanks for any help Kevin

[midatlanticys]

Hi Kevin, Welcome aboard the IAC!! Those members with *real* knowledge of shift linkages & transmissions will be along shortly I am sure!

I am starting to think the bus has 145,000 org mi on it.

. . . that is quite possible or maybe more! A 45k bus might not have any rust anywhere, especially if it lived in FLA, the shift components would most likely still be factory fresh and the engine would probably not need pulling - - - unless it was abused & beaten for 45k miles! Good Luck!!

[Amskeptic]

no 3 or 4 gear,
front bushing was gone, after replacement all gears but 3/4 were way to the right,

new bushing was gone in 50mi,
replaced it only have 1/2 gea with rev or 1/2 3/4 and no rev.

You clearly have excessive side-to-side slop that prevents the relatively narrow stop plate guides at the front to cover the three discrete gates.

A typical and subtle cause of your conundrum is the stupid cheap pressed coupler cage. It looks fine but is actually slipping at the pressed joint between the cage and the collar. Have someone wiggle the gear shift from side to side in neutral and look carefully for an exact correspondence between the collar (has that little grub screw going through it) and the cage. If it is actually OK, look at the collar up near the front beam, it also has a grub screw that must be correctly centered and tightened on the shift rod, again, have someone wiggle the shifter in neutral from side to side, and look carefully.
Readjust the stop plate after you have successfully resolved this issue.
Colin

[alaskan adventurer]

Thanks Colin, i hope it is the rear coupler as it makes sense, there is to much side to side movement in the stick I have 4 other T2s (only one other bay) and they dont move so much..The problem westy is in Florida and i am back in Alaska, so i cant check it out untill Bug Jam weekend ( Nov 12th) This bus sat in a warehouse in Maimi for 22yrs unused the rubber coupler is not the only rubber thats been destroyed by heat on this thing..