MG Car Repair: 77 mg midget, mg midget, shift lever

Question
QUESTION: 77 midget will not shift into reverse. All other gears work fine. When you lift the shifter up and to passenger side and forward it goes into 3rd gear. Any idea what may be causing the problem? The car had been sitting for a while before I purchased it. Could it be that the system needs bleeding? Thanks.

ANSWER: Hi Joe,
Are you lifting and then move to the right before you push forward? Move all the way to the right in neutral then lift but do not push forward, go further to the right, then go forward. Lifting should allow you to extend the neutral further to the right.
If the other gears are ok, bleeding the clutch will not help.
Howard

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Howard, Thanks for the prompt reply. Im moving lever all the way to the right and lifting. After that the lever does not go any further to the right. Any ideas? Thanks.


Answer
Joe, you might try removing the shift tower cover and the shift lever to see if there is a problem with the lock out. (part that requires the lever to be lifted to go into the reverse section) The lock-out is a plate inserted into the left side of the shift tower and held in by one screw. That plate may be loose or bent. As I remember you can test reverse by removing that plate but when you do it is possible to accidently shift into reverse when moving to shift into third so if you remove the plate for a test, be sure to replace it before you drive the car.

If you can't get into the reverse section you should be able to see what is preventing it there. If not, you will have to remove the engine and trans to be able to disassemble the trans.

Howard