My 4 speed shifter shifts fine between 1st and 2nd, 3 and 4th, and if I am careful, between 2nd and 3rd. If I try to go too fast, it gets stuck, I have to jack up the car and move the lever back into neutral. I eve got it suck going into reverse yesterday. I made a tool and realigned everything and it was much tighter but still gets stuck. So I have read as much as could on the shifters, here is my question: Can I simply rebuild the shifter? I see rebuild kits on Willcox, Ecklers, etc, but I am not sure if they will fix this. There is too much slop side to side and the kits don't seem to address this. Is there a bushing kit? There does not seem to be anything wrong with the rods or lever. Anyone have success rebuilding or do need a new shifter.

 

I have read that the shifter box widens up and you can just put it in a vice and squeeze it together. I would like to know if there are any specific parts that wear out though so I can have them on hand to minimize downtime. Any advice out there? Thanks.

 

The rebuild kit should have two different width spaced levers in it.

Make sure you check all the linkage. Something might be bent.

 

Also, make sure all the clips are in there. If you're missing one of the spring clips on the bell cranks, it will allow side-to-side motion and that in turn, jams it. Try this: With the shifter boot removed or from under the car with somebody shifting it, watch the action carefully and see exactly what's happening. Do the rods go straight back and forth? Or do they deflect sideways?

Paragon Corvette has a really nice shifter rebuild kit and everything was exactly like the factory set up.

 

Is this the kit you are referring to?


It seems overkill to get the whole kit. There is nothing wrong with the **** or reverse handle for instance.

 

The rods do move straight. everything is real tight forward and backward. The slop comes from side to side. I'm not sure if I can explain it, but he lever that moves from the 1-2 linkage to the 3-4 linkage will pop out before is gets all the way to the neutral position. So the transmission will stay in 2nd say, but the lever is stuck in neutral. I can then select reverse but of course reverse and second at the same time does not work. I crawl under the car and manually put the 1-2 lever back in neutral and it all works fine then.

The only kit I saw on Paragon was the linage kit but the linkage appears fine.

 

No, that's not the kit. There are two different rebuild kits. One is for the Muncie M-21 (1968-Early 1974) and the other is for the Borg Warner Super T-10) (Late 1974 and on).


Muncie M-21
https://www.paragoncorvette.com/p-35...it-muncie.aspx


Borg Warner Super T-10

https://www.paragoncorvette.com/p-34...rg-warner.aspx

 

You need to look REALLY close at the linkages. Mine had the same symptoms as yours (moving sideways) and it was because somebody (Bubba) used an incorrect clip on the bellcrank that hooked up to the shifter rod, allowing it to move sideways.

Also, you will need to adjust the linkage and you need to tell us what year Corvette you have, so we know what tranny you have in the car. Finally, do you have the AIM or Assembly Manual for your 'Vette? Do you have the FSM or Factory Service Manual for your car too?

I ask this, because adjusting the four speed transmission in your Corvette is no easy task. You have to have all the bolts on the rods loose enough to allow front to back motion and then have the transmission in neutral [not the shifter, but the actual transmission itself] for each set of inputs (1-2, 3-4 and Reverse).

I have a late 1974, with the Borg Warner Super T-10 and I had to make a 0.644 gauge to set up and lock into place neutral in all three actuators (look at the picture you provided and you'll see a perfect square on the bottom of each, the gauge is pushed in from the side to lock 1-2, then keep pushing in to lock 3-4 and finally, have somebody push the shifter into reverse against the stop and you'll get the reverse neutral too).

Then you adjust the bolts on the rods, one by one to lock the rods, front and back into the neutral position for each set of transmission inputs and you're done. Don't forget to lubricate generously.

Again, this isn't easy. The room that you have to work with, is very, very limited, because all of this, is in the transmission tunnel, alongside the transmission.

 

And I'd get the kit that you're refering to, too. Because you get the two pieces on the bottom and the shaft that goes through the shifter. Mine was totally wiped after nearly 40 years of use. Ditto for the reverse lock out.

 

I agree.

Those two spacer pieces are the important part. One is wide, one is narrow. Only way to know which one to use in my experience is to take apart the shift mechanism and fit it.

That new pin is nice to replace also.

I will say that taking out the shift Mechanism on my 81 is a huge PITA.

I will try and post some pictures later.

 

I have the Muncie M-21. (1970). I have all the manuals and I made a locating gauge with my milling machine to the exact specs it calls for. I was able to get it in place from the bottom but yes a huge pita. I am debating weather or not to pull the tranny to get the whole shifter off to rebuild it.

 

You don't have to pull the transmission out to do this, because the shifter isn't attached to the transmission, but to it's own support. I went the extreme route and actually cut a 12"x4" hole in the side of the transmission tunnel on the driver's side and then fab'd a sheet metal cover to go over it, when I was done. Much, much easier to adjust! Everything is right there!

There are those, who don't want to cut holes in their Corvettes, but back in the day, the body was dropped on top of the chassis, with the engine and trans, already in place. I got tired of playing painful hand origami and spending hours and hours underneath the car, just trying to tighten one %#%$# bolt and barely able to do it. Your call.





My gauge that goes in from the top.

 

I like the cutout. Nice.

I did it the hard way, from the bottom. It is almost impossible to get the little set tool in place.

Even though I have a piece the right size, I could never get it in place with my huge hands. My wife wouldn't let my grand daughter under the car to help.

So, I put her in the drivers seat to hold the shifter in place and after what seemed like a million times of tinkering I finally got it right.

I'm not totally sure about other years, but on my 81, the cross member is bolted in place and can be lowered with the shift mechanism attached.



I am not sure what people are referring to when they say you can just squeeze the U where the shifter sits together. If it has bent apart you probably have some other problem. There is a large through bolt holding it to the upright. If that U is bent, it would have taken an awful lot of force to do it.




You have to make sure to disconnect the linkage and support the transmission with a jack.

That crossmember is not easy to remove. There are two bolts and a large pass through bolt on either end. Over the years, the twisting and turning of the frame has sort of fitted these parts together.

Also, the transmission is bolted to it.

As silly as this may sound, don't forget to remove the shifter ball and reverse handle. It all comes out as one unit.


On the 81, the shift mechanism is bolted to the cross member. I understand this is not the case on all years, and some are welded.

I believe that all the four speed shift mechanisms are the same. Only the linkage varies depending on transmission.