1984 GSL-SE stuck in gear
 

Had a lovely morning commute in the 7 today when it decided to get completely stuck in 3rd gear. I can let it idle with the clutch in, so im assuming the clutch is fine. would it be the clutch fork? shift linkage?
Anybody had this issue? and if so howd you fix it?
Thank in advance for your help today!

Best case scenario = shift cable,

Worst case scenario = busted tranny

If its physically jammed in gear, and you"re unable to move the shifter, then IT MAY BE A BROKEN SYNCRO KEY. Could be a Broken shift fork. You might need to take it to a Tranny specialist.

Cheers man! You don't happen to know if a tranny from an 83gs with a 12A would bolt up do you? I've got one of those in a parts car. Wouldn't mind just swapping them...

It will bolt right up.

5th gear ratio for the SE is 0.711 versus 0.807 for the 12a and Final drive 4.076 vs 3.909. You may not notice the difference.

This is commonly caused by worn selector forks, it causes "over selection" of the gear. I've experienced it several times with the early boxes, you can build the forks back up by braising tags onto them. 😊

as long as it bolts up im not too worried about the gear ratio being slightly shorter. Having the backup tranny means I can pull it out and have it built before I eventually do the build on the engine.
I really appreciate all the help gang!

Try pulling it out of gear without pushing in the clutch AND without letting off the gas.

I had a transmission that would get stuck in third gear. I found out by accident that if I started taking out of 3rd while applying a vary slight amount of gas that it would come out fine.

I drove it that way for six months until I got a replacement.

I tried that while I was driving it as soon as it happened, Figured I might be able to get the synchros to line up but she's acting like a real bitch. I've pulled apart the shifter and it looks like the bearing that sits in the shifter is blown apart. I originally thought that maybe there was a piece stuck in the linkage and that was why it was completely stuck, but I've cleaned that all out and its still stuck.
Going to pull the transmission out tonight, and I'll keep you guys updated when I get a chance! I'm secretly hoping that we can replace this one back in, but that's just out of laziness and not wanting to pull the one out of my parts car. Worst case I man up and do it anyways. Car will be getting an Exeddy "stage 1" clutch, lightweight flywheel, and centering counterweight in the middle of all of this as well, for those of you who enjoy that kind of thing!

Be aware of all the adjoining fasteners and perhaps think about using something such as Copaslip (nothing better for heat) on threads and exhaust (cat-con) gaskets. I only had the pleasure once of removing tranny - - only to inspect and lube as necessary - ie: pilot. Still have orig. clutch (and brake pads) in my 31 yr. old. Only issue came in June, 2012, when I was between Needles and Lumby and clutch stopped working. In spite of replacing fluids every two years, max, slave cyl. still failed. I got back home okay - about 120 miles - with no clutch. Hard to believe I only had to stop once - even all the way thru Vernon. Never hurt tranny. Replaced the two cyls. and back to normal. Tried everything available ove the past 76,000 k's as far as gear lube and settled on 15W-40 engine oil - - but that's likely a whole other thread topic.
Good luck with your repairs and 'mods'. :)

We had this happen at a race a couple of months ago. It was the shift rods sticking in the housing in the area where the detent balls interact with the shift rods. We took the transmission apart on a table in the pits and deburred the rods and housing so everything could slide freely and put it back in the car. We got a standing ovation from the pits when the car went back out on the track, and of course any high finish was down the drain, but we got 3 more hours of track time after the rebuild…

Attachment 621740

Ah that's wicked! Sounds like something I could do myself.
I've pulled the Tranny out of both of the cars, and they look identical. Minus the Final Drive Ratio being slightly shorter on the 83 GS's transmission, the ONLY other thing I can see is an electrical plug down towards the shift linkage on the outside of the transmission on the one from the GSL-SE.
Does anybody happen to know what that is, and how much trouble ill be in if it doesn't get plugged back in? Plan is to put the tranny back in Sunday.

5th gear EFI closed loop signal switch?

That's the only thing that comes to mind that might be additional on an -SE transmission. The EFI uses that signal to move from open map to closed loop feedback off of the O2 sensor to tailor the fuel injection timing and duration on the -SE models (84/85, only). If the switch connector grounds ONLY when 5th gear is engaged, I'd suspect it to be that.

Woo! nice!
So the transmission went in okay, clutch lined up alright.
I did have an issue with the pilot bearing being pressed in, (and completely mangled) which was super easy to get out with the help of the proper tool.
We got everything back together,
All that's left is to install the Slave Cylinder, and bleed her,
and then with any luck ill be heading to Vancouver for Rev Scene tonight.
Maybe I'll see some of you guys there!