just wondering if this part in my rod change assembly was to far worn where the gear stick fits in could this cause difficulty in selecting third gear, third is the only one im having difficulty with , the gear stick seems to move around quite a bit in the opening of this part when changing gears and i was thinking this much free play could cause me to miss third when trying to select it , every thing else in the rod change assembly seems to me to be OK .






any help or thoughts/opinions would be really appreciated

In what way is it difficult to select 3rd?

it feels like when i go to select third the stick is travelling to far and missing third but on other occaisions it drops in fine

Is there any noise along with the missed change?

Could also be an idea to assemble the gear shift and attach it to the gearbox with the stabiliser rod (and ideally in the car attached to the body too as this does a lot to help hold the gear shift in place), remove the bottom of the gear shift so you can see inside and get someone to move it through the gears while you look at what's actually happening inside the shifter as it MAY be popping out of it's little housing...

Failing that I'd disconnect the shifter and see if you can shift through the gears by manipulating the gear shift input shaft and make sure it all feels positive... If not you'll have to seperate the gearbox and have a good look at what's actually happening...

Good luck