[pete315]

my friends 72 GTO 4 speed is stuck in first gear. I thought it was the shifter. got underneath and removed all the rods from the shifter. shifter works fine, not hanging up. I can't move the 2 foward gears lever. looks like it's locked up. before I remove entire box and bring to shop to have it rebuilt, is there a quick check I can do. I never tore open a Muncie before. I was thinking of removing the side cover but I really don't know what I'm looking for. any help/tips will be appreciated. thanks.

[tom s]

is it stuck in rev?Get all the levers in the neutral position,then put the alighnment tool in the shifter tower and then see if all the rods line up on the trans.Tom

[pete315]

it's stuck in first gear. the shifter was working fine. I can't budge the lever on the box. I can move the reverse lever with no problem

[tom s]

did you try a large set of channel locks on the lever?Tom

[pete315]

nope. I tried to pull it by hand and with a screwdriver. I didn't want to force it and break something. when the shifter rods were still hooked up, I was really pulling hard to shift but it was not moving. I can feel it stuck on something, just don't know what.

[SGTGTO]

Check to make sure your pressure plate is not cracked in half... it happened to me! Same problems you are having.

[Billy177]

Try moving the car a little from the current position. Then have someone push the clutch in while you try and move the lever. I have found a simple adjustable wrench works great for this.

[nhra stock GTO]

does the shifter& shifter arms move freely, if so when you shift into another gear 2nd, 3rd or 4th are you in 2 gears at the same time? Car wont move. i have seen this when shifted into 1st gear @ high vehichle speed & the gear & shaft were welded togeather.

there was a roller bearing 1st gear available for road racering so this problem was fixed, but stock muncies are metal to metal gear on shaft. Hope this helps.

My muncie took 71,000 lbs on an industrial press to get the gear off the shaft.

thx bill

[pete315]

ok, today I got under car again. 3/4 gear lever on box can move, reverse lever car move, 1/2 still was stuck. I tapped the end of shifter rod with hammer and lever now moves. I don't know what was holding up the lever, but it's fine now. I attached rods back to shifter, and it shifts properly. I checked the gear oil in box and I was about 1/2 quart low. this car sat for a long time. hopefully it needs a good run thru the gears.

[Z Code 400]

Pete,

The most common cause of this is having the incorrect shifter for the application and/or improper adjustment.

Keep in mind, many stock shifters for the T-10 have no external stops, since the T-10 has internal stops. I have seen these shifters cause this problem in Muncies which have no internal stops.

Second most common cause is allowing the levers to 'over-travel' especially with worn internals.

Be sure to check the basic adjustment on the linkage and lubricant level...Robert