Soft shifter return

[holeinthehead]

Hi All,
The previous owner of my 77 had rigged some return springs on the left-side shifter linkages (one on the front and rear connected to engine mounting bolts) and after a thorough cleaning and adjustment, I know why - the return of the lever after a shift is very sluggish and you have to give it a little assist to get it back to 'center' after you put it in gear. I assume it's a shift return spring somewhere, but thought I'd see if someone had a more specific place to start looking.
Of course I left my manual at the shop, and my curiosity is stronger than my patience.
A

[72degrees]

If you are sure you have eliminated any tightness in the crossover linkage (nothing slightly bent?), it sounds like it could be something awry in the selector mechanism. There are three springs in there, but the most likely culprit is probably the selector spring 22.01.41 rather than the stopper arm spring or operator lever spring. It might also be the selector shaft binding in the case itself I suppose. Unfortunately, if it isn't just the external linkage, you are looking at a case split to sort it.

[holeinthehead]

Oof. Was afraid of that.

I'll have a closer look this weekend, thanks 72.