if you have a sloppy shifter, this could be why.
#61
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We all know that the pin on the shifter lever wears and needs to be replaced periodically. The hole in the shifter rod where the shifter pin fits into it also wears. (steel on steel) If all the other points of failure are fine, my bet is on the rod itself.
#63
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Originally Posted by Dan Shea
this thread should be stickied to the diy section
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#65
Burning Brakes
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I did the brass bushing / drill out the hole in the rod method and it worked great. There's still some play in the white plastic 'thing' at the transaxle end though, so someday I'll have to replace it. Hopefully with a new part from a short shifter kit. Do those come with a replacement for the white plastic thing?
#67
Burning Brakes
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Bumping this old but informative thread to see if someone has pictures of the rear shift linkage that people have been tightening. I have quite a bit of play in gear and out on my shifter, but when I took a look at the shifter connection under the shift boot it looked fine.
#69
Burning Brakes
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So I took another look at the shifter and I can't quite tell where the problem is. The pin looks a bit misshapen, but not nearly as badly so as some of the pictures I've seen.
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There is quite a bit of play though when I put it into gear, these pictures show how much it moves left to right when in first.
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In these pics you can see how much the end of the pin moves.
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![Name: IMG_1554.jpg
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The rod seems fairly circular, when I put a 10mm nut through it there is a little bit of movement and the cup bushing is fairly solid. Is that little bit of tapering enough to cause so much movement? Everything seemed pretty tight at the transmission end.
![Name: IMG_1547.jpg
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There is quite a bit of play though when I put it into gear, these pictures show how much it moves left to right when in first.
![Name: IMG_1551.jpg
Views: 653
Size: 92.9 KB](https://rennlist.com/forums/attachments/924-931-944-951-968-forum/1212018d1501434322-if-you-have-a-sloppy-shifter-this-could-be-why-img_1551.jpg)
![Name: IMG_1552.jpg
Views: 641
Size: 93.9 KB](https://rennlist.com/forums/attachments/924-931-944-951-968-forum/1212019d1501434322-if-you-have-a-sloppy-shifter-this-could-be-why-img_1552.jpg)
In these pics you can see how much the end of the pin moves.
![Name: IMG_1553.jpg
Views: 644
Size: 63.7 KB](https://rennlist.com/forums/attachments/924-931-944-951-968-forum/1212020d1501434322-if-you-have-a-sloppy-shifter-this-could-be-why-img_1553.jpg)
![Name: IMG_1554.jpg
Views: 657
Size: 62.5 KB](https://rennlist.com/forums/attachments/924-931-944-951-968-forum/1212021d1501434322-if-you-have-a-sloppy-shifter-this-could-be-why-img_1554.jpg)
The rod seems fairly circular, when I put a 10mm nut through it there is a little bit of movement and the cup bushing is fairly solid. Is that little bit of tapering enough to cause so much movement? Everything seemed pretty tight at the transmission end.
#71
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Both the pin on the shifter and the tube in the rod wear. I am fortunate to have a shop and that makes life easier. I cut the pin out and welded in a 10mm stud which was drilled for a cotter pin. The stud should be about 1/4" wider than the shaft hole, any wider will interfere with shifter movement and you can have problems getting into 5th and/or reverse. I sweated a brass bushing into the shaft after drilling it first to get the hole round. There is one other adjustment and that is on top and back of the transmission on the linkage. But you have to be REAL CAREFUL because the adjuster bolt will break off without a lot of effort. Soak it in blaster or equivalent for a couple of days. This bolt has rubber washers in it and tensions the side to side movement of the shifter. It took me awhile to get this right and now the shifter works the way it should and it is a dream compared to the piece of crap I started with. My apologies if this repeats other posts as I didn't read the thread all the way through.
#73
Rainman
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i tried finding that stuff but couldnt so what i did was..
- pull shift lever and rod out of car
- grind down the weld on the shifter pin (it is a pin pushed into a hole in the lever, then welded on)
- just used a 7/16 steel rod, cut a length of it to the length of the pin + the width of the lever, drilled out the lever, pressed the rod in and welded it to the rod
- then drilled a hole in the shift rod to barely over 7/16
- tapped a hole in the end of my new shift pin, put a large washer on the end and screwed the washer down to secure the rod to the pin.
shifter is SO TIGHT now it is beautiful, beforehand it would wiggle everywhere even in gear. ill try to find my old pin, it is comical how worn out it is
- pull shift lever and rod out of car
- grind down the weld on the shifter pin (it is a pin pushed into a hole in the lever, then welded on)
- just used a 7/16 steel rod, cut a length of it to the length of the pin + the width of the lever, drilled out the lever, pressed the rod in and welded it to the rod
- then drilled a hole in the shift rod to barely over 7/16
- tapped a hole in the end of my new shift pin, put a large washer on the end and screwed the washer down to secure the rod to the pin.
shifter is SO TIGHT now it is beautiful, beforehand it would wiggle everywhere even in gear. ill try to find my old pin, it is comical how worn out it is
#74
RL Community Team
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I think the 7/16" brass tubeis important because it will act like a bushing, where there was no bushing before. Then the brass will take all the wear and tear, and you can periodically replace it (easily) instead of coping with a slowly deteriorating pin again. Something will always be wearing out no matter what, at least when it's the brass that wears out, you can replace it.
The shifter needs like 1 inch of brass, and they sell the brass tube in 36" lengths, so you'd be good for the life of the car!
The shifter needs like 1 inch of brass, and they sell the brass tube in 36" lengths, so you'd be good for the life of the car!