my 02 s-man 400 is hard to get into low gear and when youfinally get it in it pops out right away, the only way to keep it in is to hold the shifter in gear for a little bit then it will stay. is there an adjustment for the shifter lever rods to the top of the transmission?

 

I think that there is an adjustment for the rod. Check to make sure where the levers go on the trans they aren't stripped as well.

 

You may try changing the oil in the shifter and make sure there is no broken parts inside it.

 

Disconnect the rod the operates reverse at the shifter, Pull or push the rod by hand to get it in reverse, if it works good than you know the rod ends just need to be adjusted.

 

I have also seen where the bushings on the shifter are worn where the rods go into the transmission. Either replace the bushings or adjust the rods.

 

To adjust shif-linkage
Loosen 4 stop nuts on both shift rods
Turn shiftrod (one way or the other)until it snugs up
Mark a spot on the rod,
Now turn the rod the other way and count the # of rotations.
Lets just say it's 4,,, split the 4 rotations in half.
Now turn the rod 2 full turns useing the mark you put on the rod and tighten the nut's .
do the same for both rods