This is usually caused by putting the rear guide bushing plate on the
wrong side of the 2 bolt ears that are on the side of the transmission.
Make sure that plate is on the forward side of those 2 ears.

Mark

Rick Cooper wrote:
> Finally got back to my '83 project van.  I'd replaced the tranny a few
> months ago but for unrelated reasons had to leave the project for a few
> months.  Finally, took it for a test drive today.  Initially had problems
> finding gears, but much of that was sorted out by following the Bentley's
> shift linkage adjustment procedure.
>
> However, the biggest and unresolved problem is that it simply will not
> shift into second or fourth gear.  The shift lever simply feels blocked
> from accessing second or fourth and if I apply pressure I get the unhappy
> sound of gears grinding.   I shortened up the shift rod by moving the front
> shift rod further into the splines in the rear shift rod, but that didn't
> seem to help.   Is this symptomatic of a bad pilot bearing (which I didn't
> replace but probably should have) or what?
>
> Thanks, Rick
>