Manx Club

Was driving home yesterday and lost the ability to shift. Had to Jam it hard into 3rd to get home. Checked clutch cable its working. Car shifts fine when its not running from gear to gear. Soon as I start it I can not shift. Shifter locks up. Any ideas where to start?

What kind of shifter are you using? I had the same problem and it turned out to be the bottom plate underbeath was slipping. I got stuck in 1st & 2nd gear one time I took out the bottom plate on the side of the road and have not had the problem since Gene C #729

EMPI Shifter stock trans

I would check everything from front to back. Check the nylon bushing on the shift rod behind the shifter, the coupler under the inspection plate, the transmission mounts, the transmission nose cone. Go from there.

With what you are saying about now be able to shift with engine running, there maybe a problem with the clutch parts. Such as Throw out Bearing coming of the forks on the crosshaft or one of the forks is broken off. Also pressure plate may have a problem.

Thank you very much guys. I started with the shifter side checking everything. So far it all looks good except I noticed the front bolt for my shifter floor mount will not tighten. The back bolt tightens fine. (Could this cause the issue?) I believe I may have a bigger or internal problem. Clutches release fine once buggy is in gear. I been rolling into 3rd gear to get it around by playing the clutch so I believe it is ok. Going to check the forks next. Thanks again guys!!

Sounds like a pressure plate failure or a throwout bearing came undone. Look for good quality replacement parts, I have had good luck with Borg Warner and KEP parts. Don't forget the input shaft (pilot) bearing when you are in there..

Thanks Fubar, I am replacing everything...lol Looks like the throw out bearing after I took everything apart. I am thinking its a good excuse for a New Transmission!!!! (OH DARNIT!!!!)...lol You all have a suggestion for a good tranny that works well on and off Road. Off road is just flat trail riding. I am in Florida we have no hills..:driving:

The cheapest way to get the best transmission ( in my opinion ) is to buy a bus and remove the transaxle. If you are lucky or do the research you can get the 488 gears. I think 1979 is the last year of the 5 rib 091 trans. Stay away from the newer side shift unless you know somone at Nasa that can make it shift right. The advantage of buying a whole bus is that you can road test the transaxle, you get some bus cv joints, an extra t-4 motor, a bunch of crap to sell on ebay, 1,700 lbs of scrap metal, and the fun of destroying a bus. If you have an irs set up already you can run the bug axles with the bus cv's inboard and the bug cv's outboard. Better yet machine the stub axles to accept the bus cv's. You could also get a set of 2.75 x 2.75 aftermarket trailing arms and run the stock bus legnth axles. If you have a swing axle set up it is more complex to convert to IRS but still cheaper than building a swing trans that can take the same abuse. Reverse is still the weak link with the 091, I stay away from puck clutches and heavy pressure plates. And full throttle turning brake action if you have grabby rear discs and a lot of power will eventually take out the stock spyders. I paid $550 for a 1979 bus and my friends buy the $2,500 Rancho trannys, but they have more money and they still destroy them. Pilot error I think, there is nothing that will not break if you put your mind to it.

[QUOTE="fubar"] Stay away from the newer side shift unless you know somone at Nasa that can make it shift right. [/QUOTE] Check out GotManx's album to see the the shifter he designed for the side shifter type transaxle. He uses a lever arm with multiple holes and a bellcrank to change the(difficult to adjust) side to side rotation of the shift rod into fully adjustable push-pull movement. He's said it works good. I suggested he market them. I also believe the trans has a bigger set of reverse gears than the earlier ones. http://www.meyersmanx.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=541

Thank so much Fubar. I am excited about finding a Bus. Maybe make a fort in the backyard for the kids outa the shell (:D My neighbors love me) . lol I do have the IRS so the switch out sounds relativly easy. If any one knows of a bus for sale in Florida please let me know. I passed a bus 3 days ago on my way to work that was all painted up with peace signs and grafiiti. looked very cool. I need to hunt him down and see if I can trade it for a pop-up camper I need to sell.

I had an EMPI Hurst style shifter and the rivets that hold it together became loose causing shifting problems. I drilled out the rivets and replaced them with screws, washers and nyloc nuts. It has worked well since.