Are you sure it is all the way into 1st? Sometimes the console or a shift boot that is too taut prevents the lever from fully engaging a gear.
What are you doing on this forum at 12:00 midnight? shouldnt you be studying instead??! I will take care of the Alfa troubles, you worry about school for now. I'm also gonna tell Mommy about this.hey guys, we put in new motor mounts less than three years ago...I wouldnt think they would wear down that quickly...or would they??
The transmission mounts I'm not sure of, gonna have to get that answer from my dad.
It also happens when I try and hold the shift lever in place/push it in 'farther' - - so I don't think thats the issue.
Thanks for all the support!!
OK, console clearance.....hopefully, this will require to undo ONLY the boot brace/rim, right? Hope I dont have to removethe whole console. But if need be, I will.Motor mounts should not be bad after a couple of years. If they were bad it could cause the problem since the motor/tranny would tilt forward and down possibly causing the clearance issue with the shifter in first. Bad transmission mount cause the assembly to tilt the other way and causes problems most often with reverse. Recomendations on checking the boot and console make the most sense now. If you get that all apart and see that you are not hitting something when putting it in first -- well then you are likely getting inside the tranny. I had a couple broken teeth on the reverse gear that was causing my transmission to jump out of reverse. My research on the threads on this topic lead me to understand that most times the problem is with the console clearance so don't jump to transmission internals yet.
I had that occur when the rubber bushing in the shift lever itself down by the clamp point went bad after umpteen years.(FWIW, the leather boot has a hole in it from wear from bumping up against the top of the console when placed into 1st.
I hear you , Tif. You're right, now I remember. I can maybe get that console up more even 1/8 to 1/4 ". May help. Now, to go back out there in 70 deg weather.....LOL! Sorry, didnt mean to rub it in.....I had that occur when the rubber bushing in the shift lever itself down by the clamp point went bad after umpteen years.
Just a potential reason for the wear hole(s), but not really relevant to your popping out issue unless the bush is so bad it's allowing the shift lever to flex enough to where the gear doesn't get completely engaged before you run out of shift lever throw and biff the console.
If the shift post feels a bit 'soft' or 'wobbly' even when engaged in a gear, you may want to investigate that bushing.
As to adjusting the console, there is room for a bit of movement in there even with the seemingly non-adjustable fixtures.
Loosen up the two screws down low on the front along with those two up high on the sides near where they meet the console face directly under the dash face, along with any at the back that connect to cross bracing.
That'll allow for a bit of shucking around with various parts of the console to get a more ideal alignment.
Granted, you aren't going to move anything by inches, but certainly you can get 1/2" here, a 1/4" there, etc.