maestro gear selecter

[colfee]

a week ago whilst in reverse the selecter bar jumped off the ball joint, i simply pushed the bar back into position and its be alright since, any ideas what caused this mishap, is there trouble on the horizon ????
be grateful for any feedback

[E_T_V]

They sometimes wear allowing them to pop off too easily. It is often worth attaching a loose cable tie from the rods to the car somewhere suitable so that if they drop off they don't get lost (as then you'll be at the roadside without gears!).

[BIGDAVE]

the more they wear the more they pop off.in a emergency you can try pop it back on useing a bit of thin plastic bag material to take up the slack

[Austin-Rover]

Cable ties on these is a good idea - especially if they are quite loose. They can be positioned (with a bit of playing around) to exert enough pressure to keep the joint together whilst still allowing full movement.

The other suggestion of a bit of old carrier bag to line the cup works, too.

New linkages and rods turn up on eBay, but be careful you get the correct one. They are different between 4 and 5 speed gearboxes.