Wierd 83 308 1st gear problem..

OK guys..and girls, here's the problem: 1st gear only engages after selecting reverse before moving to 1st position. All linkages appear normal and in good shape. I can feel the detents engaging and the sound of the selector shaft and fork feel firm and normal. If I go directly to 1st all I get is a second neutral.

I dropped the trans pan..found nothing out of the ordinary..all locking screws tight, no metal debris. Tres Bizarre! Any ideas anyone?

 

Thanks for replying,and your input Mateo. I checked all the forks for tightness and alignment...all were OK. What I did find was the fork on the main input shift rod had loosened slightly causing the fork to drop slightly below optimum alignment with the lower shifting bellcrank.

Realigning and tightening input fork cured the problem..

Thanks again..

R