Disassembling the Gearshift Lever

[blurple124]

Hey all,

My shift knob is loose. It spins around like a kid on a barstool and looks as worn as the regular sitting next to him, if you know what I mean...lets just say it needs replacing...

Not only does the ball spin, but the straight segment of the shaft spins as well, so there must be a joint inside the boot before it reaches the tranny.

So what is the best way to get to all of this to diagnose it, and who does this thing go together? What kind of fix am I looking at?

Help is appreciated.

[narfire]

Going to have to crawl under the car for this one. If you have the Haynes maint. book there is an exploded view of the shift mechanisim on page 95. Same on page 193 of the Brooklands manual. There is a plate at the rear of the tranny held on by 3 small bolts. Remove that and you have access to the shift assembly. The spring sometimes breaks and then the shift lever will slip down and the lugs on the side of the shift lever will not sit in the link to the trans.
I recently changed the thing on a 72 tranny. Not difficult but a bit different style compared to the later cars.
Chris

[blurple124]

Just to be clear, the problem is not with the transmission and I have no trouble shifting, it is just that I can spin the top half of the shaft on its axis, it remains straight. It seems like I would be able to access the problem if I could safely get the shift boot off and maybe even the wooden cover beneath it. I have a feeling that you are describing a solution to a different problem. Does this still condone removal of plates from the transmission?

[azruss]

been a while since i have messed with this. as i recall there are some snap together plastic parts between the tranny stud and the hollow gear shift tube. if you reach under the tube with a very small flat head screwdriver, you will find 4 plastic fingers (i think there are 4) that lock into the upper plastic piece. if you can get those 4 fingers to release (all have to happen at the same time) then the tube pulls off the tranny stud. you will find the plastic parts will be worn or cracked. there are also 2 rubber washers in there that take up all the slack. If these are replaced, you will be good to go. This is one of those things designed to snap together, but are a bitch to take apart. As mentioned, get a book so you can see what you are messing with so you arent going in their blind. the knob just screws on the tube,so they can be separated if you want to put on a new knob. BTW, this is all under the boot,so that has to be removed as well.

[courtenay]

Sounds like a great time to get a Michigan Shorter Shifter!

[124JOE]

i seen my old mecanic pull like pulling out a fireplug then it poped off

[Wheel]

I recently repaired my shifter. The advice that Azruss has given sounds like the fix you need. This is a link to an example of the parts that hold the chrome tube onto the shifter shaft that goes to the transmission. http://www.autoricambi.us/cgi/commerce. ... ey=TR5-440.

I also used some plumbers telfon tape on the shift knob threads to help keep the shift knob from spinning. I unscrewed the shift knob from the chrome tube and wrapped the teflon tape on the male threads several times and then screwed the knob back on. This seemed to work.

The console wood panel comes out real easy if you need it to. There are two pins at the rear of the wood panel (underneath) that push into plastic inserts. If you lift up at the rear of the wood panel you will see what I mean. After that it should be pretty easy.

My shifter repair started out this simple, but I ended up replacing more in the end. There is more information at this link if you end up going down this path.
http://www.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=5859

[blurple124]

Thank you all so much for the help! I do have a Hayne's manual, so I will have to look at that and see what I'm up against, but it doesn't sound to terrible.

I had seen that thread with your shifter troubles and I recall someone mentioning having a tough time getting that wooden panel off, but hopefully I don't have that issue.

If I am looking for a new knob, can I just go buy any old knob I feel like, or are these metric? Will it not fit? I would like a wooden ball knob, ideally.

[So Cal Mark]

no need to remove the wood or lower shift lever, Russ is correct about the plastic retainer at the bottom of the chrome shaft. Use two piks to pry the retainer down, then the chrome handle pulls off easily. this is a simple repair

[azruss]

the knob thread is a standard metric size. dont remember what it is. I actually turned my own using black walnut and a drill press. pressed the appropriate nut size in the wood, cut the head off a long metric bolt and screwed it in with a locking nut and went to work.

[So Cal Mark]

10x1.25 thread on the knob

[vandor]

The chrome shift lever turns even when the bushings are replaced. Pretty much the onlt way to get it to not turn is to use a short shifter that does not use bushings.