Tranny will not shift to any gear? This could fix it.

[xirdneh]

I accidently discovered that a tranny that is tipped (rear end up) to about 75 degrees can become unshiftable.
In my case the tranny only (minus bell/diff housing) was tipped this way while in nuetral.
something moved in the tranny causing a shifting problem
the shifter would barely move, no way to get into any gear
to fix it remove the 17mm plug on top of the tranny (in front of the 4 bolt cover thats about 3 inches square)
that will give you access to the reverse idler gear
using a screwdriver inserted into the hole, push the gear forward
that will fix it

i wonder how many trannys were tossed because of this?
I had an old tranny someone gave me because it would not shift
i tried this on that tranny too and now it shifts again.

I encountered this problem after installing a tranny in my car
it shifted before i installed it but not after.
while attempting to lift tranny into place my muscles could not handle it and the front tipped way down
i got it fixed while tranny was still in car but had to lower rear of tranny as far as possible to have room to get a wrench in there, had to go at it thru shifter hole in floor

[xirdneh]

About that tilting thing. After further thought ad re-enactment I found out what is realy happening.
When tranny is tilted or handled in such a way that the fifth gear shift fork shaft is pushed back towards the tranny about 1/2 inch, the tranny could get locked up. I say could because it will only lock up if in reverse or neutral. I tried to lock it up when in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th but the fifth gear shift fork shaft will not budge so no lock up.
So this can only happen when tranny is on its own, seperated from bell/diff housing.