Since I can no longer reach 1st, 2nd, or Reverse, I have put the front of my bus up on jack stands so I can crawl under and adjust the stop plate. (hoping that sorts it) The Bentley Manual says I have to loosen the plate and put the shifter in 2nd to properly line up said plate. Question: How do I put it in 2nd if the reason I'm doing this is partially because I can't put it in 2nd?
No need for jacking up. Loosen the gear shift (see what I did there?) inside the cab and the stop plate is under it. Once it's loose you should be able to select 2nd. As it's on stands check the rear linkage in front of the gearbox - get someone to move shift from side to side and check the whole joint is moving.
More or less. You may have to mess a bit. I'd check the rest first as unless the gear lever is loose, I doubt it's the shift plate. My money's on the rear thing. It's pretty easy to follow the shift rods underneath - straight down the centre. While you're following them, up near the front, two parts of the shift rod are connected by a pinch bolt with a sq head that sometimes works loose - this could also cause your problem. Gear shift (US) = gear lever (UK).
