HELP!! Had to drive home in third…

71T Targa · 09-24-2002, 07:13 AM

Yesterday I replaced the shift bushings (both the ball cup and shift rod), put things back together and adjusted the shift coupler slightly. (So that the lower part of the shift lever was vertical) I ran through the gears in my driveway and was amazed at the difference. Put my tools in the garage (first mistake) and went out for a little test drive.

During the drive I had to stop at a light, go to neutral and stop. No big deal… The light turns green and I drop it in to first only to have the shift lever ‘flop’ back. So now I’m at the green light with a shifter that is flopping around and I’m still in neutral…

With a little grinding and a lot of patience, I’m able to get the car in to first and make it to a parking lot up the street. I’m thinking ‘great, I’ll have to take the shifter off again and see what’s what’, and then I realize that my tools are at home, 10 minutes away.

Luckily?? I’ve left the access panel to the shift coupler off and I am able to shift out of first and in to third by moving the coupler. I manage to time the lights, and ‘roll’ a stop sign and make it home.

Pulling the shifter off, I see that the ball cup bushing has popped off of the end of the shift lever. I’ve now found that if I pull a little too much on the shifter while engaging first or fifth, I can pop the ball end of the shifter out of the ball cup bushing. (Doesn’t happened with third??)

Would this tell me that my shift mechanism is failing and allowing the shift lever too much travel? Can the shifter itself be rebuilt? Or maybe there is something else entirely??? I’ve followed the
Technical Article: 911 Shifting Improvements. And all works well as long as I don’t pull too hard.

Thanks in advance...

joehahn · joehahn's Garage

something is not right if you have so much slop that the shifter can raise out of that cup! there is another bushing that holds the linkage in position in the tunnel, did you do that one too? did the screw that holds the ball cup bushing "holder" or tube or cup or whatever you want to call it come out and now it's all loose in there? Mine has one of those wires on it so it can't come loose. Try those first and let us know.

Joe 68 L

Neilk · 09-24-2002, 08:17 AM

Joel,

Did you pop the shift lever into the bushing? I had to place the bushing on the ground and then kind of step on the shifter housing to snap the bushing in place (imagine a pogo stick but with you sitting down). Once it's popped in, it won't come out until it disintegrates.

Make sure the screw is tight as well and that you replaced the other bushing that Joe mentioned.

71T Targa · 09-24-2002, 08:24 AM

The shifter is not rising out of the cup. If that were the case, the bushing would stay with the shifter. It looks like as the shift knob moves back, causing the shift rod to move forward, there is enough movement, at the right angle, that the ball will pop out of the bushing.

Yes, the ‘cup’ at the end of the shift rod is tight and the setscrew is in place.

Where is the second shift rod bushing? I only replaced the one that is just behind the shifter. Is there also one at the rear of the tunnel?

Thanks for your assistance.

71T Targa · 09-24-2002, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Neilk
Joel,

Did you pop the shift lever into the bushing? I had to place the bushing on the ground and then kind of step on the shifter housing to snap the bushing in place (imagine a pogo stick but with you sitting down). Once it's popped in, it won't come out until it disintegrates.

Make sure the screw is tight as well and that you replaced the other bushing that Joe mentioned.

Maybe the ball on the end of my shifter has worn enough that it wont hold the bushing. I did ‘pop’ the bushing on the end, but I didn’t have to sit on it to get it to go.

scottb · 09-24-2002, 08:47 AM

Something doesn't sound right. It's possible the ball at the end of the shift lever has gone bad, but if it had a bushing on the end of it it shouldn't wear so much that a new bushing pops off. Are you sure you're putting the new bushing on correctly? I really had to work to get mine to go. Have you properly positioned the hanging bracket just behind the shifter (which also has a bushing)?

If you really think the little ball at the end of the shift lever is bad, I'd suggest replacing the shift lever. If you're going to go through that hassle, put a short shift kit in while you're doing the work. I don't know if there's a factory kit for your transmission (I don't think there is), but I think there's a Weltmeister kit. It should come with a new lever, as well as all of the other things you'll need. I put a factory kit into my 84, along with new bushings, and the difference was noticeable.

71T Targa · 09-24-2002, 09:57 AM

OK, I think I’ve figured out what was going on here. (It sure is nice to live 5 minutes from work.) There was a 11mm spacer between the shift rod bushing bracket and the shifter assembly. I believe that this was making the distance from the shift assembly to the ‘cup’ to be too great, especially at the extremes. (first and fifth). I removed the 11mm spacer and replaced it with 2 washers (@3mm) and things are much better. I tried just removing the 11mm spacer, but then everything was too tight. Now I’ll want to pull everything apart again, get some measurements, and ensure that 3mm is what I need.

Anyone know why there would have been a spacer there? There was a short shift installed at one time, but I’m using the original now. Was the spacer used there?

jeff1hughes · jeff1hughes's Garage

the spacer was for the short shifter, the original doesn't use any spacer.

john walker's workshop · 09-25-2002, 07:17 AM

from the pivot point, down, the short shifter lever is longer. that's why it got tight when you removed the spacer. get a complete shifter unit from a wrecking yard and go back to stock if you ever want the car to shift nicely.

71T Targa · 09-27-2002, 05:11 AM

Not to beat this to death, but I’ve found out some additional information.

First, my ‘short shifter’ is nothing more then a ‘short’ shifter. I measured the original and the short from the bottom of the bracket to the bottom of the ball cup bushing (bushing in place) and they are both 35mm. Only the length of the shifter arm above the pivot is shorter.

I then measured from the top of the tunnel to the bottom of the shift rod cup, and with the spacer in place it was 42mm. I’ve now removed the spacer and replaced it with washers (for now) to get the desired 35mm from tunnel to bottom of shift rod cup.

So… when I first put things back together, after replacing the bushings, my ball cup bushing was only going in to the shift rod cup 2/3rds of the way. This is what allowed the shifter to POP out of the ball cup bushing.

Moral of the story, (at least for me) is to look very carefully at mod’s the PO may have done… Things may not be as they seem.

Thanks to all for their advice and assistance.