shifter slop (with video)
 

the notorious shifter slop is rearing its ugly head.. i first checked the bolt on the shift linkage at the transmission under the rubber boot that threads from the driver's side towards the passenger sideand it was tight. i checked the bolt the threads towards the front of the car from the rear on the top of the trans. it was tight. i then replaced the lower bushing under the shifter and inspected the shifter and it looks brand new and is not hour glassed shaped in the slightest..and i still have this awful slop. i don't know what else to check. here's a video of the slop:

http://i469.photobucket.com/albums/r...h_MOV01742.jpg

I have replaced my lower bushing under the lever and tightened the bolt at the rear also and I have about the same slop as you. I believe that the only thing to fix the slop would be to replace the entire mechanism on top of the transmission with a brand new factory piece or buy an aftermarket shifter. There are many threads on the topic of aftermarket short shifter and it sounds like there are not many great options.

But I think no matter what our shifters will always be ****. With such a long shaft running from the shifter to the transmission on the rear a small amount of play at one end will result in a large amount of play at the other.

And by after market short shifter I mean the mechanism at the transmission not the shift lever in the cabin.

Pull the rod off the shifter pin in the cabin and I bet you will find it is wallowed out (the rod, not the shifter pin). You will likely need to drill it out andsleeve it, or replace the entire rod.

Check out this article:

http://www.dietersmotorsports.com/tech/tech-july-03.htm

how much slop is acceptable in the shifter rod where it meets the shifter? i would think that it would be fairly tight with no slop..

My solution.....drill out the rod, put a 13mm bolt in its place with thin nuts, lock tite and plastic washers at rub points. One day I will replace the plastic washers with teflon ones. So far 1,500 miles, still no slop.

michael

This. Just did mine and it's nice and tight now.

^^^looks like that'll be my solution

Go to Lowe's and get a $.40 nylon spacer and install on shaft of shifter.

The 40 cent spacer isn't always the solution...might have been 10 years ago when the car had less shift-cycles on it but now it is usually the sleeve of the rod; not the shifter itself.

Exactly. I installed the ebay LR style adjustable shifter and it was still sloppy. I then installed a 1/2" od nylon spacer after drilling the shift rod with a 1/2" drill bit. No slop now.

Does anyone know what the OD of the end of the shifter rod is? McMaster sells 10mm ID bushings in bronze that have graphite inserts, but they're all 15mm OD, which might be too large for this application. It seems like what should have been used in the first place.

Also, anyone know how much that rod weighs? Looks pretty heavy-duty to me.

i used a 17mm bot and nut with lock tight mine has been stiff and slop free for 2 years. i cut then drilled then bolt, shift lever. washer. shift rod washer then nut. and adding that washer before the the shift rod made a huge difference and i love it.

and i used 17mm because it filled up the inside diameter of the shift rod.

good luck

^^thank you for the advice!