1st Generation Specific (1979-1985) 1979-1985 Discussion including performance modifications and technical support sections

Shifter springs and stuff...

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Old Oct 10, 2002 | 05:17 AM
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Shifter springs and stuff...

Ok guys. When I took my shifter out to take my tranny out, I didnt do it "properly". I didnt notice anything was wrong until I put the shifter back in. Now I only have the spring that pushes the shifter away from 5th and Reverse. Theres no spring to push it to the 3/4 gate. So if I just pull my shifter out of 1st gear, it just sits in the 1/2 gate . How hard is it to fix this problem? Anyone have any diagrams of where the springs are and stuff? I dont really know what to do to fix this...Any help is great as usual. Thanks .

~T.J.
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Old Oct 10, 2002 | 01:56 PM
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can you move the shifter up and down? you might have broke the retaining clip, its pretty easy to break if you dont hold it back.
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Old Oct 10, 2002 | 05:00 PM
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I have this same problem on a transmission I am going to install Saturday. Information on how to get the spring off an bad tranny and onto a good one would be helpful. I know I need to take the cover off the side of the shifter housing area (4 bolts) but there's that rod that seems to have to shift forward in order to get the spring off of it.
Thanks
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Old Oct 10, 2002 | 08:29 PM
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The shifter moves in and out of every gear and works just fine. Ive even driven the car with it. Its just that it doesnt push itself back out to the 3/4 gate...Anyone have an idea?

~T.J.
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Old Oct 10, 2002 | 11:07 PM
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Anyone?

~T.J.
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Old Oct 11, 2002 | 04:47 AM
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i dont know its pretty hard to tell with out seeing exactly what your talking about. ive messed around with multipal trannys and i am pretty familiar with them. it could be you dont have the upper shifter bearing on the shifter itself. all it is is a plstic ring with another thin metal ring on top of the shifter ball to keep it really snug, not having that really makes the whole thing loose and have tons of play..
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Old Oct 11, 2002 | 08:32 AM
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Ok, let me approach this a different way...What makes the shifter go to the middle when its in neutral?

~T.J.
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Old Oct 11, 2002 | 04:49 PM
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Ok, let me approach this a different way...What makes the shifter go to the middle when its in neutral?
A spring, I know exactly what part on your tranny is broken, but I am not able to get it out to replace it. You will most likely have to take your tranny out to fix it.
I have the same problem and I am going to do whatever it takes to get the spring off my bad tranny and onto my good one. I will take pictures with my digicam tomorrow and post. Take care.
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Old Oct 11, 2002 | 04:53 PM
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Theres a U hook part that goes around the ball of the hsifter at the bottom, its a total **** to get back in there...
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Old Oct 11, 2002 | 05:27 PM
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Originally posted by MIKE-P-28
Theres a U hook part that goes around the ball of the hsifter at the bottom, its a total **** to get back in there...
Yeah, if you take your shifter out and look straight down in the tailshaft, you will see where the ball on the end of the shifter goes. There is supposed to be a springloaded hook thing that pushes it over. If its gone or broken, it will do what yours is doing.

I've never replaced one, I just leave it broken and deal with it.
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Old Oct 12, 2002 | 08:17 PM
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You will most likely have to take your tranny out to fix it.
I've never replaced one, I just leave it broken and deal with it.
Theres a U hook part that goes around the ball of the hsifter at the bottom, its a total **** to get back in there...
These are things I dont want to hear people ...

~T.J.
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Old Oct 13, 2002 | 12:31 AM
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These are things I dont want to hear people
Well, it has to happen, the tranny has to come out. I fixed it today. I have pics on my camera that I'll post tomorrow. It's really not difficult to do once the tranny is out. You will need a new spring though, or another tranny with a spring you can pull out of it.
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Old Oct 13, 2002 | 01:10 AM
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Damn it...Looks like Im gonna live with it then...I cant take the damn thing back out AGAIN. Not anytime soon anyway. Id really appreciate those pics though.

~T.J.
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Old Oct 13, 2002 | 08:51 AM
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It can be done with the tranny in, but its a real bitch. When I put the 85 tranny in my 80, I had to go through this, and when I put the 88 T2 tranny/cosmo 13b in I left the shifter on the tranny when I loaded it in the car, I learned from my mistakes... But It can be done, look at all the clutch jobs and such, does everyone leave the shifter connected? When they drop the trans?
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Old Oct 13, 2002 | 12:27 PM
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pictures

Ok, here is a picture of the spring on your shifter that I'm pretty sure is broken on your car.



You can confirm it's broken by taking the shifter out of your car (three 10mm bolts hold it in), and looking down into the shifter hole, if it looks like this then it's broken.


It should look like this...


This picture below shows the cover with 4 bolts that has to come off in order to change the spring.

The picture below shows the whole shifter piece removed from the tranny and it's being held up next to the transmission to show it's location. You don't need to slide it all the way out, but there is no way that I could see to remove the piece shown in the first picture from behind the plate with the 4 screws in the 4th picture, without sliding removing the screws that hold this section in and sliding it back at least a few inches.


The block of metal with the spring on it in the first picture attaches to the bar shown in the last picture via the bolt hole shown on the back of the shaft, and your really cant slide that block off the shaft like you need to, unless you slide that hole shifter housing back a few inches. If it can be replaced without the tranny coming out, I would not be able to help ya there. Looks imposible to me. Does it all make sense?
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Old Oct 13, 2002 | 07:30 PM
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Yeah...I think so. The pics are great. Thanks. Maybe I will take a stab at this in a month of so, or maybe even when I replace my tranny mount...I dont know . Thanks for the help though, awesome job .

~T.J
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Old Oct 15, 2002 | 07:18 AM
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If you don't mind me jumpin' in...

Recently I replaced the clutch in my 1985 S and couldn't figure out how to get that spring hooked on to the shifter above the small ball, so I just plugged it in and bolted it down. It seems to shift fine, but the shifter leans (right I think) when in neutral.

Can somebody explain how to get the spring hooked on correctly before I break something?

Thanks for your help!
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Old Oct 15, 2002 | 06:07 PM
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Well, if you look at the picture with the spring installed in the housing, you would want the bottom ball of your shifter to go to the right of the "U" of the spring , down into the hole.
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Old Oct 15, 2002 | 08:46 PM
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Ahhh...

So the hook on the spring isn't actually supposed to be hooked around the necked down portion of the shift lever above the small ball and below the large ball? (which looks nearly impossible w/o major disassembly)

I think it's probably ok then.

Thanks for your help!
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Old Oct 15, 2002 | 10:34 PM
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Took my shifter out today, the spring is DEFINATLY broken . I reached down in there and found the broken piece though, lol. Gotta wait till later to pull it out again. Oh well, at least I know what to do now .

~T.J.
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Old Oct 20, 2007 | 08:26 PM
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can these pics be fixed?

the problem im having is, i took out those main 3 bolts right? But there is a boot that is blocking me pulling that piece out. Is the boot supposed to be covering that tri-pod plate a little bit?

Last edited by dreamingofRX7; Oct 20, 2007 at 08:51 PM.
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Old Oct 20, 2007 | 08:33 PM
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Nope, the OP had them hosted and they are no longer there. And I havent seen gump in ages sorry.
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Old Oct 20, 2007 | 10:21 PM
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If you're refering to the 3 bolts that hold the shifter down, along with the boot, pull it all out as a unit. May take a good jerk if the spring is still good.
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Old Dec 27, 2007 | 01:25 AM
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Sorry to revive an old thread, but it beats making a new one for the exact same problem. The pics above are no longer hosted, but I've got the same problem, I believe.

My car came without a shifter, but one has been donated by Ray Green (such a nice guy, that Ray). I still have the u-shaped spring in my SE tranny and I need to install the shifter from Ray's 12A car. I can stab the shifter in to the right of the spring and verify that at least my SE tranny shifts, but I have a sinking feeling that I need to stab the shifter through the middle of the U-shape.

Can this be done without removing the tranny? If not, is there any way I can lower the tranny and fenagle it through the cover on the side of the remote shifter?
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Old Dec 27, 2007 | 01:54 AM
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Originally Posted by Crit
Can this be done without removing the tranny? If not, is there any way I can lower the tranny and fenagle it through the cover on the side of the remote shifter?
Can the spirng be replaced without unbolting the tranny? Kinda hard to say since it has to slide out of the remote shifter rod and prior to that, the entire housing has to come out (held by 4 bolts to the tailshaft). then you have to worry about the shifter rod not lining up with the knuckles
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