my retaining clip on shifter broke. so I 'updated' it...
 

I said "**** YOU SHIFTER!" and did this to it.

Basically I got out the power tools, ground down and past the weld bead, got some stainless steel bolts (used my calipers to measure it) and got a 10mmx1.5 bolt and a nice sturdy nut and washer to mimic the old setup.

Smeared the nut in blue loctite and tightened it till I was happy with how it moved. Almost no play and feels great! I tried it without loctite just to see if it would hold in place... no.. it backed off from shift movement. With loctite in place? Stayed and is happy as can be.

I figured the head of the bolt would be a problem with clearance. It was not... It cleared on both sides. Looks ugly... but now I don't have massive shifter play and a ring that broke. It had so much fricking play. Cost me a whopping $3 to do it.

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/d...r/DSC_0089.jpg

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/d...r/DSC_0088.jpg

Nice. Good idea I should have done the same thing a few weeks ago. I ordered the clip and had to wait a few days when what you did would have been more fun, cooler, and better because that's gotta be a tighter feel than with the clip. Although the clip was like 37 cents or something.

good solution to a common problem. i had an extra shift lever i might try this on. my new red car has sloppy shifter syndrome just like my other had. replacing the shift lever with a new only helped, but there was still slack due to the inner bore of the linkage tube being worn out as well. The bolt + loctite and the washer should keep it all nice an tight.

no problems with the bolt clearance when shifting into 5th or rev?

I saw someone on 924board do something similar before. I have to drive the car tomorrow and went "Welllll crap".... and remembered the thread about them using a stainless steel bolt to reinforce it. So I got out the power tools and went after it. Very little play, feels excellent.

None! I tried using a washer on the side by the bolt head, THAT caused clearance issues. I took the washer out, put it up against the shifter with a bolt spacing the linkage, then NO clearance issues. Tight like a glove. If it develops any or changes I will update this thread! :)

(edit) here is a picture of the camera at a standstill and me moving the shifter back and forth, I superimposed the other photo on top of it, this is all the play there is, that's it.

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/d...ifter/play.jpg

Here is pictures of the positioning of the areas you were worried about.

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/d...r/DSC_0093.jpg

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/d...r/DSC_0092.jpg

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/d...r/DSC_0091.jpg

And reverse ;)

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/d...r/DSC_0094.jpg

Well, took it out for a drive.

"ITS LIKE BUTTAH"
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/_X0ZF5-dTD...da_Richman.jpg

I've been thinking about this myself. I've worn through two shifters in about five years, the first one was old, the second one was brand new. So, now I'm on my third shifter (also brand new) and wondered if there was something else I could do that might work a bit better!

I think I'll probably give this a go on the old one I took off.

Chris.

I did the same thing on my last race car after finding this writeup http://www.wbnoble.com/cars/924-944_...ver_repair.htm . It worked well, but I did have some issue with rubbing on the tunnel when I was going to 1st. On the car I'm currently building, I'm going to try the 924 bushing repair found at http://www.dietersmotorsports.com/tech/tech-july-03.htm . I think the latter is likely a better solution as the shift rod will not continue to erode from metal to metal contact. My bushings are due to arrive from Pelican today.

If the shift rod hole is worn, the bushings Lemming suggested is one option that may last a while.

FRWilk has a more permanent solution with a brass insert. I have tried this and if in the future it gets bad, you will have extra brass to replace the first worn piece.

http://www.frwilk.com/the944/shifter.htm

What is still necessary is the repair or replacement of the shift lever.

I have experimented with most of the solutions (4X). The best fix is to pay for a new shift lever.

FYI-924board.org repair...
http://www.924board.org/viewtopic.php?t=18424

John

I bought a new shifter lever, then drilled out the long shaft end and added the plastic 924 bushings.

Tight as a tick on a hound.

I like this bolt method. I don't have the tools to do it at my current home. I was curious did you use a partially thread bolt? Did you put any grease on the bolt to help it last a little longer? Does the loctite make it so you can never replace the bolt again? Is the shifting smooth or a little bit harder to get into gear?

You can always get a loctited bolt out with the application of heat, so that is not a problem. I would not use a fully threaded bolt and yes the bolt should be greased.

I used a partially threaded bolt and greased the poo out of everything.

You might be able to find a flat-head bolt or an allen bolt that gives more clearance (and would allow a washer on both sides).

Ive been doing this for some time now. Best when you weld the bolt into the shifter and grind the head down some to make clearance for first gear.

I'm rockin' the bolt mod too, so far so good. Except I used a lock nut instead of loctite, and I welded the bolt to the shifter.