Shifter wierdness

[TulsaSpider]

Ok, so all the sudden my shifter thinks there's another gear to the left of 1st between 1st and second the thing almost will hit my steering wheel!! Oh and now it's hard to find 1st it's so sloppy I guess.. this is all very new, within the last few days. I have never played with a 5 speed shifter. What is the first thing to check??

[So Cal Mark]

not just the first, but virtually the only thing to check is the shifter pivot parts on the bottom of the shift housing. You'll have to get underneath and remove the triangular cover on the bottom of the shifter. It could be loose or broken pivot parts or lower shift lever

[TulsaSpider]

Well I just got back from the car show and it's even worse so I guess I need to park it. So the first step is to take apart the console and remove the wooden plate. Well I looked at the parts they don't seem too expensive except for the shift lever. What are the chances it's the shift lever I wonder?? If there are any likely culprits I'd like to get the parts shipped ASAP! I see 2 pivot cups listed....
I've never messed with a manual shifter like this is it difficult to replace parts??
Thanks as always!

[So Cal Mark]

no reason to take apart the console, unless you have lots of extra time available. The shifter is all retained from the bottom. It's possible the pivot ball on the shift lever has disintegrated, but it's more common for the pivot cups to fail

[TulsaSpider]

Mark do you mean that crawling under the car is the way to access the shifter parts? That doesn't sound like fun!
I'll order the pivot cups!

[mbouse]

yes, crawl underneath the car... and look at the bottom side of the rear of the tranny. you will see (hopefully) a round stamped steel plate with three ears coming off it. i believe this is held on by three 10mm hex head bolts. Mark says the plate is triangle shaped. Whichever.... take that plate off and you will see the bottom of the shifter assembly.

I bet lunch the nut on the end of the shifter shaft has come loose or fallen off. It is possible that the neoprene ball on the shifter shaft has disintergrated, but not the most likely suspect.

regardless of the cause, the cure WILL involve laying on your back under the car. I'd wait until after inspection to order parts.

while you are down there, please check the condition of your guibo.

send me an email if you wanna copy of the exploda-gram of this assembly .. mbouse at chartermi dot net

[TulsaSpider]

Well I know there is a loose nut behind the wheel! I'll dive into it when I get home! and I'll take a look at Guibo again just to make sure.
Thanks
Clark

[TulsaSpider]

Dang Mike I wish I had gotten this post last night, I might not have panicked and ordered those parts! I pulled off the cover and the nut was barely hanging on the threads. I tightened it up put the cover back and it's better than ever!!

Now I wonder what Bayless's return policy is???
Thanks all! Wohoo!!

[So Cal Mark]

you're probably going to need the lower cup. A worn hole in that cup causes the nut to constantly loosen up

[mbouse]

remember the StarKist advertisement? Sorry, Charlie...

I cannot respond faster than i read the questions. I prefer to figger out what parts i need before i place an order, which sometimes causes delays in parts getting to the workbench... but I don't want that guy in the brown truck making TOO many stops here.

did you remember to spray that plate with CRACKLE PAINT?

Go ahead and install all the new parts, and just keep the old ones that don't look worn as spares. Who knows, you may be able to help out someone else some day down the road.

So, was that plate triangular or round with three "ears" ?? i don't wanna crawl underneath to look.

[So Cal Mark]

are we nitpicking the shape of the shifter cover now? How about a rounded triangle?

[mbouse]

[TulsaSpider]

I would say round with three ears! hehe Say it looks like someone poured gear oil in there for some reason, should I clean that out with some solvent or does it need some lube for some reason??

[mbouse]

that is not a maintenance lubrication item on my check list. cleaner out if you can.

[majicwrench]

OK, I am a newbie here, you guys need to tranlate some Italian for me, what the heck is "Guibo"???
Keith the Clueless