412LS manual gear linkage qestion

[3nero]

While drive home after a long drive last night, i stopped at a red light and put the car in neutral. When the lights turned green there was no gears to be found. so with the help of some passerby i push the car to the side of the road and climbed underneath. One of the small bolts in the linkage just in front of the gearbox had dropped out and the rod was now free to do it's own thing. I put the bolt back in but now all the gears are hard to select and i also noticed a small hole drilled in the side of the bolt head which had a tiny piece of wire sticking out of it. Is this hole for some sort of safety wire to stop the bolt falling out?
I've searched the gallery and forums for pics of the linkage in good shape but couldn't find any. It's a good thing the big rubber cover caught the bolt or i would be still on the side of the road now.

How do i readjust the linkage so my gears are smooth again?
I also took out the gear stick while i was searching for the problem.

[shawn71]

The hole in the bolt is indeed for a safety wire.

As for the adjustment the Haynes manual is a tad vague but gets you in the ball park to fine tune the selection of gears.

If I remember correctly its a case of put the gear stick in second making sure the gear stick is straight with an 8 degree tilt to the rear (I'll have to find the manual and check the angle).

The thing to remember is to make sure you put the selector plate back the right way around or else you lose the gate for reverse.

[Editor]

The clamping screw locates in a dimple, so you would probably have been OK if you hadn't removed the gears shift lever. Too late now... Try to see where the bolts were touching on the shift lever plate - maybe there are some marks that help relocate it correctly.

[3nero]

I did match up the rust stains when reinstalling the gate plate (is that what it's called?)
I tried readjusting the plate today and things are a bit smoother now but i no longer have to push down on the stick to get reverse, so sometimes instead of second i get a nice grindy reverse

can anyone take a pic of the areas in question, i'd like to see how the safety wire is attached and if my gate plate is the right way.

[shawn71]

Try this thread from when mine went a tad wrong

viewtopic.php?f=26&t=2095&p=8130&hilit=gears#p8130

[3nero]

I read that thread before i posted, but the pic is a bit to blurred to make out how the wires are attached.
I nearly have it back working but reverse is still to easy to find. when i adjust things so that reverse is like normal all the other gears become clunky again. I'm thinking rubex designed this part of my car

[shawn71]

I read that thread before i posted, but the pic is a bit to blurred to make out how the wires are attached.

Sorry about my poor photography skills

The front selector plate can be a pain in the b** to adjust.