I have a 1996 F3 with 29k miles. About a week ago I laid it down on the left side after running off the road. It went down in the dirt/grass not on the pavement. In the process the shifter lever got bent out and around. I straightened it out and rode it on home. I noticed the shift lever felt a little bit lower than it was. I took the lever off the shaft and turned it upward a couple of splines and it seemed like it shifted a bit better. Now with that said here's the main question: It shifts up fine no problems as usual BUT when I down shift from 6th to 5th its fine but after that it sometimes is difficult to get it into the lower gears. What could be the problem, a bent shifter fork (part 1,2 or 3 below) or something else? any ideas?

 

Yes, and yes.

Bear in mind the shifter assembly isn't all visible from the outside. Ther are a few things inside the transmission that you could have bent, as well.

 

I understand that. Being that I was in gear when I went down I was wondering which one on the drawing could be the problem. Could I just keep riding it with this difficult shifting or should I go ahead and pull the engine and go into the transmission to see what is wrong. I hate to pull the engine and even more so hate to split the cases.

 

It might be possible that your lever is still bent at a weird angle (this can be hard to tell without comparing it to a stock one), and you just adjusted the shifter rod to a point where you have to **** your foot at an angle or with a force that you werent previously used to. Barring that, it's most likely something internal, as 5th gear is fine, but the rest feel hosed.

 

Weird thing I noticed while riding, If i shift all way through to 6th and then down shift back to first, its difficult. BUT if I shift up a gear then back down a gear through each gear, it shifts like normal. Just weird.

 

Im with jonnyx, I think you have an alignment issue with your linkage. Your shift rod is probably bent as well. Its not unheard of to damage internal parts, but is much more likely that your linkage is just bent and or out of proper adjustment. There is only a very small window where the linkage can be adjusted. the further you get out of that window, the harder it will be to shift. and it is possible to have it shift good one way, but not the other.

I would replace the lever and the linkage before I tore into the engine. that is more than likely the issue.