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am i being too obsessive?
Topic Started: Mar 30 2012, 01:06 AM (2,226 Views)
HelterSkelter
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#1 Pizza Driver

when you push the shift knob to the left from the neutral position there is not a lot of resistance but enough to it will pop right back to center. when you push it to the right there is significantly more resistance, like several times more.

is this normal? is there any way to make them the same?
Edited by HelterSkelter, Mar 30 2012, 01:18 PM.
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Yup. Totally obsessive. :ermm:

But, no one is more obsessive than I am. :lol

Check this out. A couple of hardware store bronze bushings. The ID fits the pin. The OD would not fit into the end of the shift lever. I took it to a maching shop, and they made them fit. They added a grease fitting. The end of the grease fitting had to be whacked off because it was rubbing on the pin. Or, the middle of the pin could be grooved to avoid having to whack off the grease fitting. The grease fitting ball fell out when the end was removed. Or, skip the grease fitting.

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HelterSkelter
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#1 Pizza Driver

i don't understand.....
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HelterSkelter
Mar 30 2012, 01:35 AM
i don't understand.....
There are nylon bushings in the end of the shift lever. They wear out, or melt, or both. To see them, you have to get under the car. What you're looking at is a picture of the business end of a shift lever located under the car. The cheap-o nylon OEM bushings were replaced with bronze bushings. Bushing wear is what gives you sloppy shifter. My shifter is so sloppy . . . This is the fix. For me, the fix involves a can of worms . . . carpet and seat replacement, while I'm at it, interior installation, etc. It's going to take a week's worth of "while I'm in there's" to get that sloppy shifter fixed.

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HelterSkelter
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#1 Pizza Driver

so that's the little end that pokes out underneath the car? all i need to do is replace those bushings and the shifter will resist the same amount in both directions.
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HelterSkelter
Mar 30 2012, 01:46 AM
so that's the little end that pokes out underneath the car? all i need to do is replace those bushings and the shifter will resist the same amount in both directions.
Essentially, yes. I PM'd Coche Blanco the same picture earlier today. He took one look and said something about he didn't have that kind of time to get that complicated. He used Alabama Engineering Techniques (can I say that?) to cure the problem.

Maybe Mr. CB will chime in with more than 2 words. He might even post some pictures of his bushing fix.
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HelterSkelter
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so i'm guessing it's not as easy and crawling under the car and disconnecting the end and replacing the bushings? :{
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Woodie
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HelterSkelter
Mar 30 2012, 01:06 AM
when you push the shift knob to the right from the neutral position there is not a lot of resistance but enough to it will pop right back to center. when you push it to the left there is significantly more resistance, like several times more.

is this normal? is there any way to make them the same?
That's exactly backwards. There should be slight resistance pulling it toward the left for first and second. There should be more pushing it toward fifth and reverse. Sounds as if someone installed the detent springs backwards.
Edited by Woodie, Mar 30 2012, 05:58 AM.
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sphenicie


Nice fix Glenn! :thumb
.
I'm going to have to pull the gearbox out of barney, (5th gear whine), i think i will do this at all three points, "while i have it appart"! great tip!
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Coche Blanco
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Woodie
Mar 30 2012, 05:57 AM
HelterSkelter
Mar 30 2012, 01:06 AM
when you push the shift knob to the right from the neutral position there is not a lot of resistance but enough to it will pop right back to center. when you push it to the left there is significantly more resistance, like several times more.

is this normal? is there any way to make them the same?
That's exactly backwards. There should be slight resistance pulling it toward the left for first and second. There should be more pushing it toward fifth and reverse. Sounds as if someone installed the detent springs backwards.
Mine was the same way as Helter's, the right side nylon bushing was totally eaten up/gone.
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t3ragtop
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Turbo3 and Twincam Tweaker

there's a similar set of bushings on both ends of the shifter rod. also, there's a big rubber bushing on the pivot for the shifter that's mounted to the floor under the console.

the big rubber bushing at the bottom of the shifter has a lot of open area in it so that the bushing sort of "floats" which reduces vibration that is transmitted from the engine to the shifter.

i remove the mount from the floor, tear it down, and fill the voids with 60 - 80 shore polyurethane, when i'm going over that assembly to clean and refurbish it. i generally replace the shifter itself with a new aluminum aftermarket shifter for a honda civic or relocate the pivot ball on the stock shifter to obtain a shorter throw at the top which makes your actual motion much more precise.

once i get everything tightened up, the shifter feels better and it "snicks" into gear like a gaited shifter from a real sports car instead of feeling like you're stirring oatmeal. :D

glenn, that's a great idea to install a grease zerk into the bushing tube. i like the bronze bushings, too. i generally used ball bearings to replace the bushings which completely removed any slack in the shifter mechanism. the only thing with that procedure is that it's pretty expensive and time consuming. it makes the car shift like silk, though.
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t3ragtop
Mar 30 2012, 08:54 AM
glenn, that's a great idea to install a grease zerk into the bushing tube. i like the bronze bushings, too. i generally used ball bearings to replace the bushings which completely removed any slack in the shifter mechanism. the only thing with that procedure is that it's pretty expensive and time consuming. it makes the car shift like silk, though.
Oooooooohhhhh! T3! :wub: Now we're talking! Ball bearings. I'm on that like white on rice.

The bronze bushing mod is in the back of the car, and for sale at GeoPalooza. $50 :deal

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t3ragtop
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Turbo3 and Twincam Tweaker

i adopted that from the short throw shifter kit. it came with ball bearings, a honda thing i guess.
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HelterSkelter
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#1 Pizza Driver

Woodie
Mar 30 2012, 05:57 AM
HelterSkelter
Mar 30 2012, 01:06 AM
when you push the shift knob to the right from the neutral position there is not a lot of resistance but enough to it will pop right back to center. when you push it to the left there is significantly more resistance, like several times more.

is this normal? is there any way to make them the same?
That's exactly backwards. There should be slight resistance pulling it toward the left for first and second. There should be more pushing it toward fifth and reverse. Sounds as if someone installed the detent springs backwards.


no i had it backwards. edited first post.
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95-3banger
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Well, in that case it sounds normal. :)
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