Manual Transmission won't go into gear.

[Powerman5K]

Changed out the clutch on my 80 F100 with 3 on the column this weekend. I have it all back together and the front lever (not sure what it's called) will not move. It is stuck in the up position. Back lever moves up and down fine. When I start it, it is in one of the gears (don't know which). How do I free that first lever and what position should they be in to be in neutral?

[Powerman5K]

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[Gary Lewis]

Your pic is larger than the 1MB max size to post.  So I clicked the Big resizing button.

And I don't know the answer to the question about what position to be in to be in neutral.  But to get it working I would mark where the nuts are on each arm at present, and then loosen them so you can move the levers w/o moving the linkage on the column.  Then find neutral by moving the levers and, with the column lever in neutral, tighten the nuts up.

[Powerman5K]

The front lever will not move at all. I have disconnected the nuts completely and I can't get it to move by hand either. Back will move fine.

[Gary Lewis]

Oh!  That makes a difference.

You said it is in a gear but you don't know which one.  Have you moved the truck since getting it back together?  If not, I wouldn't try for fear that the transmission is in two gears at the same time.

I think I'd pull the driveshaft and have someone push in on the clutch and see if I could turn the output of the transmission by hand.  And if you can try to work the levers to see if you can get both of them operating.

[Powerman5K]

That did it! Thank you so much! You have saved me so much anguish. Joining this forum was the best decision I ever made! Reverse and 1st are shifting tough but I'm working through the linkage to try to loosen it up any binding in it. Thanks again!

[Gary Lewis]

Excellent!  Glad you got it going.