At 04:48 PM 8/5/2007 -0600, Denis in New Jersey wrote:
>"Trans will not shift into third, no grind, nothing, like it isn't there. Will a hammer work?"

No.

>"How hard can I push gear shift?"

Until you bend the hand lever, and it still won't go into gear. If it doesn't go with finger tip pressure only, it never will go with any amount of force.

I have seen this few times. The common cause is carbon build-up on the steel brake cone on the side of the gear. This causes the baulk ring to stick to the cone so tightly that you need a screwdriver to pry it loose. The cure is R&R of engine and gearbox and disassembly of the gearbox for access to the brake cone, then clean the carbon off of the brake cone with emery paper and oil.