There is a little spring and a small ball in one of the eccentrics that fit into detents in the headstock casting to hold the back gear lever in place. I've found that often the spring and ball are lost or not replaced when someone takes the back gear apart. And sometimes they are just so gummed up with oil that they don't operate the way they are supposed to.
on the older 6" lathes,
there is a spring loaded, conical plunger tip on the directional lever that engages into pre drilled holes in the headstock casting.
the predrilled holes get elongated or damaged and don't hold well
the spring can also break or lose some of it's springiness too
the only adjustments i'm aware of would be to:
drill the damaged conical pin holes in the headstock slightly deeper to regain the angle.
or
replace damaged/worn springs
or
if the conical pin is damaged- replace or reshape the tip with a file or grinder wheel and reassemble.
you should look at the gearing to see if there may be excessive wear, that could be a contributing factor.
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