This is on an 81 chevy 4X4 truck.
Got about 10 inches of snow last nite so I decided to run out to the ranch this morning and check things out. Truck ran fine, in 4 wheel most of the way. Came back to the house for a couple of hours and went to run see the girl friend or awhile and the damn thing is stuck in 2nd gear. Dicked around with it for awhile, rolled it, put it in 4 wheel to get it going etc but it won't come out. Any ideas on how to fix the problem in the middle of a snow storm??
Thanks

what tranny?

Probably a frozen linkage.

Got no idea on what tranny it has in it, 4 speed manual is all I can tell ya. I'm going to go up and take a look at it this morning and see what I can tell and then I'll post the info.
A frozen linkage from the ice would be a nice thing to find.
Thanks

4 speed manual transmission. Uses 4th gear as "overdrive" Got 4 different opinions on what to use as gear oil. 80-90 weight, dexron ATF, GMC syncromesh and one shop says drain it and see what is in it

what kind of truck? is it an s10 or a fullsize? does the trans have the "L" for low 1st?

Full size truck. No "low" 1st gear. According to the Haynes manual it is an 89 mm 4 speed with 4th gear considered over drive.
THe gear shift lever goes right into the transmission, no external linkage. Pulled it out and the hole is only about an inch and a half in size so ya can't tell much by looking.

With an 81 Chevy, it should be a SM465 4 speed. Usually very bulletproof. 4th gear is not an overdrive, it is a 1:1 ratio, with 1st and Rev gear being non synchronized.
As we all know, it is hard to shift manual transmissions when it is very cold.
Make sure you have oil in your trans, otherwise, you might have a siezed gear/shaft or maybe selector fork is broken?
Whos to say? Anyway, you might have to tear it open to figure out whats wrong.