915 shifter loose in neutral/5-R plane

[Otter74]

I suspect this is a really easy solución, but I could use some help thinking this through.

Shifter is a factory short shifter with a Seine GateShift. All bushings from shifter to coupler have been replaced.

When I was on a rally in the Hocking Hills in June - first long drive in a while, after I did a bunch of maintenance - I noticed that I had a ton of play in the shifter. First thing I did was check the set screw on the coupler, which had come loose before. It was indeed loose again, so I readjusted the coupler and tightened the set screw. Better, but still super loose. Sort of ny default I thought, without really thinking it through, that adjusting the spring on the Seine would fix this, but it didn’t, which made sense once I stopped to think. The Seine is working normally - return force going from neutral into the 1-2 gate is normal. It’s neutral to 5-R that is loosey-goosey. This is, of course, what there is a factory return spring for. With the lever in the 3-4 plane, I get nearly all the way to the 5-R plane before the shift lever contacts the U-shaped plate that acts on the factory return springs.

What’s going on? I haven’t touched the shift tower in years since I put the short shifter & Seine assembly in, but this is recent. Obviously it’s driveable, but now it’s sort of the inverse of a factory shifter, where there is centering against 1-2 but not against 5-R. I’m trying to avoid removing the shift tower until I understand this and only if I need to.

[ErrorMargin]

Check the shift rod and shifter to shift rod bushings.

[Otter74]

Found it! Could have fixed it without taking the tower out, but that’s what it took for me to finally see it. As easy as I was expecting.

[Funracer]

I don’t see it. What is wrong?

[Otter74]

The set screw with the nose in it that holds the front of the shift lever pivot loosened up and backed itself out until it was no longer securing the front of the shift lever pivot (presumably this started when the lock nut backed itself off). It was still being held by the pressed-in pin in the back, which held the lever in well enough to be basically functional. I reinserted the set screw and will put a little blue Loctite on it and tighten down the lock nut and reinstall tomorrow.