My son noticed that the shifter really moves around a lot while cruising in 4th gear. More at least than in the first 3 gears. Just wondering if this is indicative of the transmission actually moving or is it more likely something isolated to the shifter itself?

thanks for any input

 

it could likely be motor mounts, power plant frame or some worn diff mounts. Mine used to move around really badly. I found out my powerplant frame was broken.

 

You can see if the bushing under the shifter needs replacing, just take the 4 bolts off at the base of the shifter to see if there's any damage.

and what kind of movement are you noticing? is it lateral or just front and back?

 

This is the shifter bushing he's referring to on the bottom of the shifter.

I agree check your engine/differential mounts, and ppf. A tranny brace makes a nice difference too. It feels so nice when everything is good and solid.

 

Motor mounts and a Diff Brace will reduce that movement drastically. http://www.banzai-racing.com/products_fd3s.htm

 

Curious on how much play you're experiencing. Mine will "bounce" up and down, but its pretty minimal, and you'd have to be watching it pretty closely.

 

Open the hood, and rev the engine using the throttle under hood. If the engine lifts, you have at least one bad motor mount. The drivers side mount is usually the first to go bad because it was OEM aluminum. If you replace it, go with oem. Don't get any of those crappy aftermarket ones.