I think that I may have found my problem yesterday with some exploratory surgery within the cabin. I removed the two rubber gear shift boots and under the last one, I found things were amiss. There is a largish rubber cone (which is called a 'ring' in my manual for Bosch Spiders) that goes beneath the gearshift to hold the various metal 'caps' (outer, intermediate, fixed cap) in place on the 'inner lever' (the gear shift slides on to it). Well, this rubber cone had a split in it and came off the 'inner lever'; it was lying to one side under the inner gear shift boot.
Thus the underlying three 'caps' and the 'ratchet gear' that reside underneath the gearshift became loose due to the lack of pressure from the missing rubber cone. The 'ratchet gear' has a spring-loaded gear for reverse gear engagement - it presents a slight resistance to shifting in that direction. The ratchet gear was at an angle to the 'inner lever' (when it should have been perpendicular). I believe that the fact that the ratchet gear was not correctly position in the rear cover prevented me from fully engaging reverse gear and causing it to pop out. Now, where to find a new rubber cone ??? It helps if you have the breakdown of the tranny innards - my copy is a copy of an original (from IAP) and sometimes a bit faded. And after years of not having a parts manual for my '73 GTV, I'd like to get one and the best source seems to be a Cardisc (http://www.cardisc.com/alfa_romeo.htm). I found some on Ebay but I'd like to see if anyone on this list has one that is languishing on the shelf and they'd like to sell to me. Thanks, Bruce -- to be removed from alfa, see http://www.digest.net/bin/digest-subs.cgi or email "unsubscribe alfa" to [email protected]
