Re: Transmission locked up
To reiterate: my transmission somehow slipped into two gears at once thus locking up the whole drive train. The shift-lever rod also slipped out of its position, and was lodged against the tower making it totally immovable. Finally, one of the shift-fork shafts/rods had been pushed into the bell housing. Not only were the gears locked up but getting the tower lid off was locked up as well. This was a genuine Chinese puzzle.
When looking at the top of the transmission it appears there is hardly any room to move the tower because of the universal joint housing - there's maybe 1/4" (or less) movement. With a shift-fork shaft/rod pushed into the bell housing, the tower lid appears completely encased but there's a secret to getting it free. Simply put there is enough clearance in the bell housing hole to allow raising the rear of the tower lid so it clears the universal case making it possible to slide it back far enough to come free. The clearances are tight, and lifting the tower too high will bind the shift-fork shaft/rod, and not lifting high enough will bind against the universal joint housing. Once the right angle is achieved, however, the tower lid easily slides back using a screw driver to gently move it back. Easy as pie, and takes just seconds to find the sweet spot and free up the tower lid.
My thanks to larry40 for his two-sentence description of how to get out of this very nasty problem. As to how things got so messed up I have no idea at all.
|