Shift Lever spins

[SAHancock]

Hi everybody -

I've got a 1975 124 spider, 5 speed - pretty much a stock car. The issue is that last night while driving it, I noticed that could turn the shift lever, by hand, in circles. When I it turned, it wasn't as smooth shifting. If I hold it firm (enough to keep from spinning), everything acts normal 1-5 & reverse.

how much of an issue is it and how difficult is it to fix?

thanks for any and all help.

[mbouse]

i'm betting that the nut holding the cups and spring underneath the shift lever has come loose, and may have fallen off.

You're gonna need to crawl underneath the transmission and do some minor surgery.

[rlux4]

Your shift lever is a sleve that fits over a smaller shaft. It has a rubber bushing and some plastic clips in the bottom of it to hold it by friction onto the inner shaft. It isn't a mechanical connection like it would be with a set screw, so it is able to spin even when new. If your rubbr bushing is so worn or hardened from age that it spins easily it is time to buy the kit from one of our vendors to replace the parts. Mbouse, a member here makes a "Michigan Shorter Shifter" that not only make the shifter shorter, but uses a mechanical connection so that you wouldn't have that problem. The other thing that's possible, but not as probable is the cup and nut at the under side of of the shifter shaft. It is on the bottom of the tranny extension. You could have a worn cup, they're plastic, or the nut my be coming loose. Like I say, not as probable, but it did happen to me.
If you have a repair manual you could look at the blow up of the parts I'm talking about.
Good luck,
Ron

I see mbouse (MIke) just posted, I think I'll also up my estimate of probablility and say look at the cup and nut at the bottom of the shifter lever.

[SAHancock]

Thanks for all the help/advice. Looks like I found my next project...

[BartusCompater]

I just bought a new 81' spider and this problem showed up on the second day of driving it. The car has now officially been out of commission longer than it has been on the road since I've owned it.

I was wondering how I should go about re-attaching the nut to the shift lever, because I've just been infuriating myself trying to get it back on.

So farl I took apart the center console, removed the shift lever, got under the car, took out the drive shaft so that I could get slightly better access to the lever's housing, took off the bottom plate, and retreived the loose nut. I have no idea how to secure the nut back on because unless I take the housing out myself there's no way I can arrange all of the tiny pieces around the lever in the right order, with a spring pressing everything apart, and still tighten that nut back on.

Hancock, how did you go about fixing the problem, and/or can other forum members suggest how I should approach the situation?

[So Cal Mark]

before you try to reassemble, inspect the lower cup. If the hole in the cup is not a snug fit on the threaded shift lever, it will keep loosening up. If the hole is enlarged, time to buy a new shift cup.

To re-install, get a helper to sit in the car and hold the shift lever steady with some downward pressure to compress the spring

[BartusCompater]

So far that has been my strategy, but it's been incredibly hard to hold up the nut, the washer, and two coverings all in line while that spring is pressing down-- furthermore tightening that nut while doing so is near impossible.

Should I keep just keep trying this, maybe with a helper other than my mom?

[So Cal Mark]

get a socket and extension, put the nut in the socket, and then put the cup on top, balancing it like an acrobat. Make sure the shifter is being held straight and steady

[BartusCompater]

Tried it again today with a more able assistant and it worked wonderfully.

Not to say I don't appreciate my mother's help.

Glad to be cruisin' in my Spider again.