I have removed the T98 4-speed gear shift hundreds of times, but got a big surprise yesterday. My son and I had put the truck in a storage building a while back for temporary storage as we moved. As an added precaution when we put it there we removed the gear shift as a theft deterrent and took it with us. When stored, we backed the truck into the garage and my son removed the gear shift. Problem is he left the transmission in reverse when he removed the shifter. Yesterday we tried to put the shifter back in and found out that it is impossible to do without removing the top of the transmission. There is a spring loaded pin that closes when the shifter is removed while in reverse. When you shift in reverse you compress this pin to get it into reverse. The pin keeps you from accidentally shifting to reverse when driving. So we got to remove the gas pedal and carpet, remove the transmission cover and top of the transmission so we could hold the spring loaded pin open to allow the shifter to be reinstalled, then we had to reassemble the transmission with the shifter on. Then shift to neutral, remove the shifter again and reassemble everything else and then put the shifter back on. A bunch of work in a storage building with limited tools. Moral: Always shift to neutral before removing the gear shifter.

Good news is the truck fired right up and drove home like it was brand new,

 

Good to know, who would have thought. You may not be rich, but you have experience! LOL

 

I did something similar recently. Transmission was in gear and I was in a hurry to top off trans oil. Took a long time fiddling to find neutral and get lever back in place. Lesson learned. Hopefully lesson remembered.