I think I messed up!

[PNW_Dan]

I believe that I've over-tightened the adjusting collar and now the engine is stuck in the detente for forward. I can't shift into neutral with the shift lever in the cockpit or at the reversing gear housing.
I've loosened the retaining screw for the adjusting collar (and actually removed it), but can't turn the collar.
Is there a way to solve this dilemma?
Thanks so much in advance!

[azazzera]

I can see having adjusted the collar myself that it can be tightened and be very difficult to back off. I assume that being extremely careful it would not be unrealistic to get a long handle screwdriver on the collar to LIGHTLY tap it in reverse. Others should be by to add to the question.

[azazzera]

Or perhaps pushing the shifter handle forward while trying to turn the collar in reverse. That may take off pressure from the collar.

[PNW_Dan]

Thanks Azazzera

I'll give those options a try. I was thinking I would have to take one or two of the fingers off to get some of the tension off.
Thanks again!

[Marty Levenson]

been there

My rebuilt A4 came from Moyer with the adj collar too tight to move. I think I finally got it to loosen with VERY light taps on a screwdriver on the teeth of the collar. Someone else suggested a C clamp. I would suggest tapping on a piece of wood against the collar first. It let go suddenly when it let go.

[azazzera]

The piece of wood is a good idea but you must be cautious of bits of wood flaking off into the case. Again very light taps.

[Administrator]

Please refer to the attachment for our latest rendering of the reversing gear adjusting procedure. Also, it may help your understanding of the process if you consider how you adjust a vise grip pliers. You don't really "tighten" or "loosen" the adjustment knob on the pliers, you "ADJUST" it until the "latching force" is just right for whatever you're trying to grip. In the case of the reversing gear, this means that you adjust the adjusting collar until the latching force is sufficient to prevent the forward clutch from slipping at your highest power setting.

[PNW_Dan]

Issue fixed

Hi all and thanks for the input.
I tried lightly tapping the adjusting collar with a screwdriver, but it wasn't budging.
A friend of mine and I looked at different ways of getting the fingers out of the detente, but everything (shifting yoke included) looked too fragile inside the reversing gear box itself. We decided on an approach of applying leverage (pressure) to the shift lever. After removing the shift cable, I tied a large wrench to the outer most hole in the lever and used the cross shaft as a fulcrum. This wasn't working either until we decided to start the engine. We think it was a combination of heat and lubrication that finally overcame the detente.
Hopefully this might help someone else in the future.
Thanks for everyone's time and suggestions! Much appreciated!