How-To: Remove Slop from Shift Linkage

[SoCalHybrid]

The stock shift linkage system consists of 2 morse-style shift "cables", each terminated with a nylon non-movable rod end. Each rod end is dampened by a rubber grommet. The shifter mounting base is also suspended by four rubber isolation grommets. Lastly, the shifter fulcrum ball sits inside a large nylon mounting cage, which is inadaquately supported.

All of these factors contribute to a very sloppy factory shift linkage. Using just a short shifter exacerbates the problem due to the higher loads placed on the shifter base due to the changed shifting ratio.

Below follows a 3 step procedure to completely remove all slop from the factory shift linkage. The end result of these steps will produce an extremely firm shift, with no compliance, and when engaged in gear, zero movement of the shifter handle. Because this is no longer dampened, you will feel the transmission more, it will be louder, but the end result is a fantastic, direct feel.



Tools Needed:
- Dremel with cutting wheel
- Tin snips
- Needle nose pliers
- Phillips and Slotted screwdrivers
- Hammer
- Sockets: 10mm, 11mm deep, 5/16"
- Permanent marker
- 21/64" & 1/4" Drill bits
- Sandpaper, Grinding wheel or Rasp
- Vice
- Hammer



Shopping List:

Lowes:
- Galzanized steel sheet (Roofing section). $1
- 7/32" E-Clips (Qty: 4). $3

- Washers with 3/8" ID and an OD >5/8" (Qty: 8) $2. [preferred]
-or-
- 7/8" OD Fender washers [you will need to drill the ID] (Qty: 8) $2.



[PTK-688ZZ] ProTek R/C 8x16x5mm metal shielded "Speed" 1/8 wheel bearings (10)
Type - 688 Metal Shielded bearings 8mm x 16mm x 5mm (Qty: 10). $10 (You only use 8)


Autozone:
Multipurpose grease. $5


Ebay:
CNC Aluminum Shifter bushings. $22



Battery Removal:
1. Remove negative battery terminal
2. Remove positive terminal
3. Remove intake tube from turbo and air box
4. Disconnect air temp sensor wire from air intake elbow near fender
5. Remove air box. There is a 10mm bolt in front and a 10mm nut by the fuse box
6. Remove the battery mounting hardware on the front of the battery. I believe there are some 10mm and 13mm bolts.
7. Remove the battery mounting hardware near the brake master cylinder.
8. Remove the battery temp sensor wire, then remove the battery wrap.
9. Remove the battery
10. Remove the battery tray. There are two 10mm nuts near the master cylinder and two 10mm bolts towards the front of the car.



Transmission Bushings Removal:
1. Locate the two shifter controls on top of the tranny
2. Remove the shifter cables from the posts by pulling up. You may need to use a screwdriver to help wedge it off.
3. With a fine-tipped needle-nose pliers, stick the ends into the holes around the circumference of the bushing. Squeeze and simultaneously twist and pull to remove both bushings.





Drilling the Fender Washers: (Skip these steps if you bought 3/8" ID washers)
1. Hold the washer in a vice
2. Using a 21/64" Drill bit, drill out the center hole in the fender washer
3. Remove the drill flashing with a grinding wheel, sandpaper or a rasp



Installing the front shifter cables:
1. Place one of the drilled fender washers on the base of each of the two shifter posts.
2. Place two bearings on each post. Note that this is a tight fit. You may need to place an 11mm socket over the bearings and tap them in with a hammer.
3. Push the shifter cable over the bearings. Again, this is a tight fit.



4. Place a fender washer on top of the shifter cable end and secure with an e-clip.



Here is a comparison of stock vs the new setup:





Removing the center console:
1. Remove evrything from your center console.
2. Remove the two phillips screws in the front (One per cupholder)
3. Open the armrest and remove the four phillips screws at the bottom
4. Put the shifter in 4th gear
5. Remove your shifter ball. I have an aftermarket one, but I think the stock just pulls off.
6. Pull up the e-brake as high as you can (Slowly)
7. Lift the rear end of the console up, over the e-brake. Watch the shifter boot while doing this so you don't tear it.



Removing the shifter base bushings:
1. Locate the two shifter controls on the sides of the shifter base
2. Remove the shifter cables from the posts by pulling to the side. You may need to use a screwdriver to help wedge it off.
3. With a fine-tipped needle-nose pliers, stick the ends into the holes around the circumference of the bushing. Squeeze and simultaneously twist and pull to remove both bushings.



Removing the shifter base:
1. Remove the three 5/16" nuts holding the shifter base onto the mounting plate.
2. Pull up on the shifter, rotating as necessary to allow the linkage to pass through the slots/holes in the mounting plate.



Preparing the Mounting flange:
1. Print out the template below. Adjust your printer software such that the post-it pad is exactly 3" x 3" in size.



2. Cut out the template and mock up on your shifter
3. Trace this on the galvanized metal sheeting



4. Using a dremel, carefully cut out the center slot. Take your time, the metal is pretty thin and bends easily.
5. Using a 1/4" Bit, drill out the 3 mounging holes and the new 4th shifter fulcrom housing locater hole.
6. Using tin snips, cut out the template
7. If the mounting flange came out bent, straighten it with a hammer

Stock (Note how Nylon plastic housing is not supported well):



With new flange over it (Note, supported much better):





Greasing the shifter fulcrum ball:
1. Remove the shifter shaft & housing (in one piece). You will need to pull up on the spring and rotate the shifter shaft all at the same time. If this is too hard, or you don't want to spend 20 minutes doing this, skip this and the next step.
2. Pull the shifter shaft out of the housing. The housing is nylon and is split on one side to assist in removing it. Be careful and take your time.
3. Liberally apply grease to the entire ball and housing. If you took the easy way out, just work it in as best you can. Skip the rest of this section.
4. Place the shifter shaft back in the housing, and put the housing/shaft back into the metal housing.



Installing the shifter cable bearings:
1. With the shifter still out of the car, Place one of the drilled fender washers on the base of each of the two shifter posts.
2. Place two bearings on each post. Note that this is a tight fit. You may need to place an 11mm socket over the bearings and tap them in with a hammer. The passenger side shaft in my case was particularly tight.



Reinstallation of the Shifter assembly:
1. Place the new mounting flange over the 3 studs inside the car.
2. place the shifter assembly back, rotating as needed to get the linkage through the slots.
3. Tighten down the 5/16" nuts.



4. Verify full shifter movement. It should be smooth right now.



Finishing the install of the shifter cables:
1. Place the shifter ends over the bearings. Again it is a tight fit. The passenger side was so tight in my case, I had to use channel locks to squeeze it on.
2. Place a fender washer over each side
3. Secure with an e-clip.

Left Side:


Right Side:


4. Row the gears a few times to make sure that nothing binds, and to admire your work, which is almost done.



Installing the mounting base grommets:
I didn't do this yet, so I do not know the size of the nuts

1. Remove the two nuts in front and behind the shifter housing.

Front:


Back:


2. pull the back of the shifter base off the mounting nuts, and pull off the rubber grommets.
3. Place the bottom half of the CNC grommet on the stud
4. Place the shifter base back on the studs
5. Lift the front of the shifter base off the studs
6. Remove the front rubber grommets
7. Place the bottom half of the CNC grommet on the stud
8. Place the shifter bas back on the studs
9. Place the top half of the CNC grommets on all 4 studs, making sure they are unstalled correctly. They should tightly fit in the large holes in the shifter base.
10. Tighten down the nuts



Reinstalling the center console:
1. Place your shifter in 4th, e-brake pulled up all the way
2. Push the front of the console as far forward as possible and slowly lift over the e-brake handle
3. Watch the sides of the console, they will try to jam into the leather sides of your seats.
4. While watching the shift boot (and possibly placing into 3rd gear if needed) lower the console over the shift linkage and through the e-brake slot.
5. Line up the console and install the phillips screw into each of the two cupholders near the front of the car.
6. Install the four phillips screws inside the console
7. Put all your stuff back in the console.



Replacing the Battery:
1. Attach the battery tray. There are two 10mm nuts near the master cylinder and two 10mm bolts towards the front of the car.
2. Install the battery
3. Install the battery wrap, and insert the sensor wire into the temp sensor.
4. Install the battery mounting hardware near the brake master cylinder.
5. Install the mounting hardware on the front of the battery. I believe there are some 10mm and 13mm bolts.
6. Install the air box. There is a 10mm bolt in front and a 10mm nut by the fuse box
7. Reattach the air temp sensor wire from air intake elbow near fender
8. Reattach the intake tube from turbo and air box
9. Reattach the positive terminal
10. Reattach the negative battery terminal



Finishing up:
1. Enjoy a cold beverage of your choice (Coke Zero for me!)
2. Start the car
3. Reprogram all your presets
4. Take the car out for a spin. I don't recommend WOT shifting until you have gotten used to the new feel.

[southpole12]

great job!! im not very mechanically inclined so i could never do this but maybe i can find someone that can! thanks!

[SkittlePower]

very nice writeup, im definitely going to do this. i was going to make some bushings out of lexan, but ill just make em out of aluminum...and do the rest of this. what was the total cost?

[bo0stinQuatro]

im about to do this tomorrow i got all the supplies and everthing i think it cost me a lil under 20 bucks the bearing were kind of hard to find but if you buy them off line it might be cheaper... i also am not goin to do the cnc shifter mounts until they get here...

[SoCalHybrid]

lol yeah the bearings are the key. If yo have kids that have healey's with the wide rollers, you can canobolize them as they have the 688's in them lol. Although you will only get 4, and you need 8, so.....

With all bushings fasteners and all the little bits and pieces, it probably ran me between $25 - 30, not including the cnc mounts, which I have yet to order. If you want to be uber-geeky, bearings come in different ratings. All the skaters here know about it, but it's known as the ABEC rating (Higher = better), so if it's really important to you get atleast ABEC5. As for me, I got the cheapest ones I could since we're talking about a total angular rotation of, what, 45 degrees max?

If you do just the bearings, it's probably just as quick of a job as the boogers, but if you make the plate like I did, then it'll take you a little bit longer. Hardest part is actually cutting the center part out of the plate. The outsides cut like butter in a good set of tin snips.

[SkittlePower]

Quote: Originally Posted by bo0stinQuatro

im about to do this tomorrow i got all the supplies and everthing i think it cost me a lil under 20 bucks the bearing were kind of hard to find but if you buy them off line it might be cheaper... i also am not goin to do the cnc shifter mounts until they get here...

where did you get the bearings? and a part number?

[gump1114]

subscribed!


btw after looking at the link you posted to where we can get the bearings i'm guessing the ones to pick up are the PTK-688ZZ ones? here is the link.

[PTK-688ZZ] ProTek R/C 8x16x5mm metal shielded "Speed" 1/8 wheel bearings (10)

if i'm wrong i'll edit my post.

[NemoFoss]

Or you could buy our bushing kit.. proven for over 13 years now.

[red]

very nice!! thanks for the info!!

[SoCalHybrid]

Yep, those are the right bearings.

Nemo, would you guys be interested in building the plate? Bushings, regardless if delrin, urethane, or even solid aluminum only fixes part of the problem. The 'bucket' that holds the ball moves around too much even when you're in gear. If you take off your shift boot, place it in a gear and wiggle the stick left and right, if you look at the nylon bucket, you can see it moving up and down about a quarter inch. That quarter inch up/down represents about 1" of left/right movement of my gearshift lever. I came up with the plate idea when I saw how bad the factory bracket supports the bucket.

I'd love to see a vendor make some of these plates. I would think you could cnc or waterjet them out of 1/8" or 3/16" aluminum and make a pretty decent profit I think this would even be a little stiffer than the galvanized plate I used since tin-snips wouldn't get along with something that thick.

[SkittlePower]

speaking of that, what about aftermarket shifters? i have the mopar unit, and it has a big plastic block under that bucket, i havent taken it apart to see yet, but im wondering if it has the same issue...?

[VanillaXtract]

This looks interesting. I may try it out after I do everything else on my list.

[SoCalHybrid]

I have a perrin short shifter, which is basically a swap-out of the stock shift lever. I don't want to trash talk any of the vendors' products, but I think if it were my money, I would go with something like the mopar that replaces the entire thing. I had a mopar short shifter on a different srt-4 a few years ago, I seem to have liked it better than the Perrin, but hey it came with the car when I bought it so I didn't replace it

Before going through all the trouble of making the plate, I'd do the quick test I mentioned above to see if the bucket moves up/down when you wiggle your shift lever left/right (When in a gear). If it doesn't move, then don't bother making one. If it does though, then it really helps alot.

One thing I can say though is after putting in all the bearings, you now get a very satisfying "click chunk - click chunk" when going into/out of gears You can also see the entire base sway on the rubber bottom bushings, so when I get done with a few bigger mods I've got coming up, I'm probably going to get the cnc bushings to complete the whole thing.

[NemoFoss]

I've got a few shifters here.. I'll look into the plate thing..

[gump1114]

would doing something like this put more strain on the shift selector? we all know that is already a very weak point.