When I went to install the shifter in my sourced TII tranny, I noticed there is what can only be described as a "paperclip" shaped piece of metal sitting directly over the spot where the shifter "ball" sits in the shifter housing. I can't install the shifter with it in the way, and can't move it out of the way. It feels like it's under tension. What is this thing?

/I'll try to get a pic tonight.

 

It's the paper clip that holds the shifer **** to the center. Yes, there'll be some tension on it.

 

I believe that's one of the shifter return springs. It pushes the shift lever back to neutral when it's out of gear.... in theory..... I think.

 

Yeah, the more I Think, the more I remember seeing it in mine too. I believe it's the return spring.

 

its supposed to be there and to get your shifter in you put the ball to the left of it and then sharply push the shifter in.

 

keep it! a lot of used trannies i see dont have them, and its a nice thing to have your shifter centered. you just kinda gotta jam the shifter in there and push that thing off to the side, but dont pull it out.

 

Is this an S5 thing? I don't remember ever seeing it on my S4 tranny.

 

No, they're in all the trans, yours might be broken or just covered in sludge

 

And voila!, you have just broken the tension spring.

The spring can be pushed aside (towards the driver's side) with a screwdriver and the shifter dropped in...the spring rests on the left of the shifter and pushes it towards the passenger side. There is another internal (and thus, inaccessible) spring that does the same thing from the other side so the shift lever self-centers.

 

Yeah, I don't think either the trans in my car right now or the one sitting in my garage has one. In fact, I know the one in the garage doesn't. I've NOT seen it myself. I hate not having that return spring; it makes shifting a little difficult sometimes, especially with a crapped-out third gear synchro, and it's nice to have a positive return to neutral. Come to think of it, is there anywhere I can get a replacement besides finding an old junk trans with the spring still intact?

 

my s4 has the same thing in the tranny its a huge pain in the ***!

 

mines broke and it sucks keep it.

 

hahah pwned

 

Heh, thanks for the info. Obviously, I've always had junk trannies up until now.

 

Its pretty easy to see how it works when you take it apart, I honestly don't see how you would think to JAM it beyond the spring for no reason.

I've never had one transmission with a broken one before... I've had some insanely abused trannies as well.

 

Yeah, well, the two transmissions I have now have not been in my possession for the last 19 years, so I can't really vouch for who did what with my return springs during that time.

 

Wait... you didn't buy the car new in 88? j/k. Yeah, there's a lot of unknowns I suppose with these cars....

 

Yeah, I would really love to know what happened to the one missing screw in my top's driver-side-latch-anchor-thing. Argh, it's like WTF made you decide to remove that? Did it fall out, maybe, but where did it go? Why wasn't it immediately reinserted and retorqued? Some people...