a523 stuck in reverse after cable popped off

[SL#189]

'86 GLH with a523. My brother was backing the GLH out of the driveway, had trouble getting it out of reverse, when it appeared to come out of reverse, it was actually the cable/bushing popping off the pin at the trans.

We've got the cable/bushing situated again, but the trans is still in reverse, and the shifter will not go to the reverse location (I expected it to be there when we hooked the cable back up). A g00gle search led me to some info about pulling the "gearshift housing assembly" or "shift cover" (the plate that houses the levers the cables attach to on the trans) and realigning things a little then putting it back on. The info, even though it was on Allpar forums, is still a little unclear as to what exactly I need to align (if it's possible to send a link thru PM to see what I'm talking about, I can send the link or do a search for "a523 transmission stuck in reverse" and pick the first link to an Allpar article).

Anyone able to confirm this (assuming you can make sense of what I just tried to write) and possibly offer some clearer advice? This car is vital to keeping my brother employed until he can afford is own car ...

[minigts]

If there is no tension on the shifter, you should be able to reach down there and manually move it. For alignment of the shifter housing on the transmission, there should be a set pin that looks like a needle with a 10mm head on it bolted on the top of the shifter housing. Unthread it, and flip it over once you get ready to set the shifter alightment. Hard to explain, but that is how you set it. The rest is making small adjustments inside at the shifter for it to sit 'centered'.

[SL#189]

That was the trick - I had to pull the cover off (after locking it in neutral) and move the (crossover?) lever the other way (the lever pivots in the middle, this took it out of reverse), making sure the rest of the parts were still aligned, then put the cover back on. I was able to hook the cables back up and shift normally. It does seem odd that the shift cover mechanism was able to jump over that lever and lock it into reverse. Replacement shifter bushings are in from Polybushings (Thanks Johnny!), and all is well again!