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Hi Doug,

It's pretty difficult to diagnose something like you describe from long distance, but there are only three places to look: 1. the transmission itself; 2. the mechanical linkage to the transmission shift arm; or 3. the shifter itself.

You said you had a tech adjust the linkage at the engine. If that cured the problem temporarily and now it is back, then I would think that's the place to start again. There are numerous ways that the mechanical linkage attaches to various shift arms and I'm not familiar with your specific Alpha 1 drive. It either attaches to different holes in the shifter arm, or with a set of adjusting nuts that when moved in combination will adjust the linkage. From your description, it sounds like you have the latter. Assuming that to be the case, then there should be a set, or lock nut, behind the adjusting nuts that will keep the setting. So, if the adjustment the tech did solved the problem for a while, then most likely the set nut has loosened and allowed the linkage to slip.

One simple test you can run is to disconnect the linkage and manually shift the transmission (while tied to the dock) using the shift lever. If it moves easily from forward to neutral to reverse, then the problem is either the set point for the linkage, or in the shifter itself. Assuming the transmission moves smoothly with manual shifting, then reconnect and adjust the linkage. If it now shifts smoothly, you've isolated your problem to the linkage adjustment. If you can't get it to shift smoothly with the linkage adjustment, then it is the shifter itself.

First thing I would do, depending on the amount of time that passed after the tech made the adjustment, is call him back and ask him to adjust it again for free. You can also DIY by trial and error - - but remember, it doesn't take a lot of adjustment, maybe an 1/8th of an inch or so, to significantly change the mechanical advantage.

Happy shifting,

Captain Michael Clayton