Outer Limits 4x4 Board

the other day i was drivin around a fire trail. I ended up in the back of a burned out car. I didn't hit it with much force. As i went for reverse, i couldn't select it. the box was in neutral, as was the stick. i couldn't select any gears. the lever wouldn't move left or right either.

I got someone out to give me a tow, and as he was towing me back up the trail, the shifter freed up and i was able to select any gear. i drove home the 25 minute drive without any problems.

anyone know what the hell happened?

edit - the box made no noises before it stoped shifting, nor did it make any when it freed up.

id check your engine and gearbox mounts

its possible the gearbox moved enough in the hit that you couldnt move the shifter properly.

Its not uncommon for an old gbox to not want to jump in reverse or any gear when the car has a bit of a hit or is stuck on wierd angles, but the fact you couldnt move the stick at all indicates something more sinister.

I have had this problem before!!

In the 60 series, when the boxes get a little old, the springs on the shift rail loose a bit of tension. Therefore, it is possible to have one of the rail selectors slide forward and partially engage a gear without actaully selecting it. This can happen by hitting things with the car, and the inertia of the rail keeps travelling forward and will partially select a gear.

Usually, it will select reverse gear. It will engage it past the reverse switch, but not entirely in the gear, so you may hear a slight grinding/messhing noise. When this happens, it will lock you out of all the other gears and wont actually allow the shifter to get from the neutral position to the reverse position.

To fix this problem on a trail, you need to pull the slsector boots out, then remove the reverse switch on top of the gearbox. (sometimes easier said than done). Using a screwdriver, or the like, try and push the reverse selector rail back into the neutral position. Then it will work fine again.

If the gearbox has returned to normal, then dont worry about it. It will have been caused by hittting that burnt out car with some force, whilst probably in neutral, causing the reverse shift rail to slide forward!

Thanks Carts. that makes sense, and I recall hearing a slight grinding as I was being towed back.