I've got an 88 TII and after finally getting it running after having it for over a year, I've decided to work on getting the shifter situation fixed.

I already have a new shifter bushing kit:



The shifter is still sloppy though. To be specific, when the shifter is in neutral, it can freely move from side to side. It does not freely move to the 5th/reverse part of the pattern (there is regular tension here) but between the 1/2 and 3/4 axis in neutral, it just kinda flops from side to side. Furthermore, when shifting out of gears 1-4 (not 5th or reverse), the shifter will not spring back to the center position like in other cars I have owned, it just kinda stays along whatever axis it came out of..... Once it is in gear it is ok but in neutral, it is so sloppy, I can't stand it. Makes my shifting not as smooth since I have to manually guide it around instead of having whatever mechanism other cars have that centers the shifter assist me.

What do I do to fix this?

 

Sounds like the return spring has failed. Real hassle to replace it, usually requiring dropping the transmission at least part way so that you can access the extension housing. Some say you can do the replacement without dropping the tranny. Dunno.

 

I have the EXACT same problem, but i havent changed adjusted the bearings/bushings yet.

Does anyone have and advice for us?

 

+1 to what Go48 said. shifter return spring. i put new bushings in my shifter and it does the same thing. i need to replace my spring, but its too much work IMO to drop the tranny to swap it out, but im used to it and it doesnt bother me.

 

Just curious, how does your very bottom bushing look? It mainly contributes to a sloppy shifter while in gear, but has some effect on the shifter while in neutral. Another thing that I have found is that the inner shifter boot helped my sloppy shifter a lot.

However, I would say that the return spring being garbage is the most likely source of the troubles, but I just wanted to give some other possibilities that occurred in my car when I was going to through the same thing.

 

Thanks for the info guys. I'm pretty sure that return spring must be the culprit, as I'm able to move the block the shifter goes into, with my finger, when I pull the shifter out.

jpk3200: my inner shift boot is a bit torn so i can probably replace that to help it somewhat since I dunno if I want to drop the tranny lol....but what bottom bushing are you referring to? The bushing kit I've got in the picture is brand new so its still in perfect condition.

 

Shifter return spring. There's the spring in question that curls around the shift linkage going forward to the forks. When you remove the shifter, you'd see the part of it that pushes against the shifter, if it wasn't broken.

Four bolts holding a plate on the side where the shifter goes, accessible from underneath. Roll pin hoding steel extrusion (where the little shifter ball goes in) to the shaft. Push roll pin out (sounds easier than it is), push shaft forward, extrusion backward, then spring slides out from the back of shaft. Spring hooks into extrusion, then extrusion and spring slide into shaft. When reinstalling shifter, make sure it's in the correct side of the spring wire blocking the hole, so that it forces the shifter to the right.

The force to put it into 5th/reverse is done by a spring, ball and bolt, threaded from the bottom side of that area where the shifter goes into the tranny.

 

i have the same issue

 

The one that the small LOWER ball sits into. You bought the bushings for the large pivot ball area.

If you pull your shifter out, and look down (provided your gear oil in there is not overfilled or murky) you should be able to see the metal housing and an off-white/brown bushing inside it. if all you see is metal, the bushing is gone. If it's busted and broken like mine was, get some tweezers and fish out the pieces.

mmr-direct.com sells a replacement. if you want an oem replacement you have to do basically all the work to replace the return spring.

 

I can't believe that someone finally found a replacement bushing for the control rod lever end. This has to be a common issue with FC's. Having to replace the entire part instead of the bushing was too much of a pain. I am looking forward to seeing how the shifter feels with the new bushing.

 

I also have the exact same problem.

Not to hi-jack this, but would a bad return spring also prevent you from going into gears from time to time? Such as agressive driving and when downshifting without rev matching? Thought I'd ask before making my own thread on my shifting issues.

 

No. The spring is only for centering in neutral.

 

Installed the bushing into the control lever rod end from http://www.mmr-direct.com/. It feels much tighter now, pretty much brand new. The bushing takes up 4mm of movement, so it really translates into quite a bit on the shifter end. I will see how well the material holds up.

 

I'm so lazy that i'm just going to leave mine until i start missing shifts compulsively.

 

broken left to center spring, very common.

 

So common most hand-me-down-beat-*** fc's have that problem.

IIRC, a new spring is $15 from mazdatrix. It's 3:30am and i'm far too into "relaxing" to look it up.