shifting difficulty

[ZEROPILOT]

The T50 transmission in my AE86 engined Starlet is in pretty good condition.
I've swapped over to REDLINE MT90 transmission fluid and the shifts are smoother than with my old 80/90. But I still have an occasional issue with going into third gear. No grinding or anything. Just that it's sometimes hard to locate third. Not every time. And ONLY third gear.
I sometimes have to try to engage it for several seconds until it goes into 3rd.
Is this a transmission issue or a shifter issue? I've replaced the plastic cup at the end of the shifter shaft. (it was missing) But it did nothing.
Thanks.

[davew7]

It probably wear on the 3rd gear shifter fork. Short of a trans rebuild, you can try adjusting the gear shift lever location. This might help, loosen the four bolts holding the shift lever. There is typical about a mm of clearance in the bolt holes. Try moving the shift lever assembly rearward. That should give you slight more travel for 3rd gear engagement when shifting gears.
After removing and reassembly of my shift lever, the trans did not shift as smoothly as before. Adjusting the lever location solve the problem. Davew7

[ZEROPILOT]

An inspection showed that the bushing that the shifter ball sits on has turned to dust. There in fact WASN'T one in there!
So that is maybe why my shifter doesn't act very well.
BUT on a side note, I found yet another T50 this weekend just an hour away that had been rebuilt with new almost everything (with receipts) and was for sale because the guys engine blew up and he is doing a V8 swap now.
I paid just $200! Bellhousing and all. And it's a GTS type bellhousing, so I can sell one of them and I'll bet make at least $100 back. Not a bad deal?
So I'll replace the bushes in my tranny for now, and rest assured that I have another one on "standby" if I need it.