Short shifter broken?
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 287
Likes: 0
From: Missouri City TX
Short shifter broken?
I noticed some slop today when changing into 2nd and 4th gear. When I shifted to 6th, the shifter pulled out of its socket. I must push down on the shifter now to get proper engagement. I haven't been able to take the console off to look at the shifter yet. I believe it's broken in the pivot point since the shift rod assembly can be lifted a few inches with very little effort while in neutral.
What caused it? Has anyone experienced this before? If so, is it something that can be fixed without requiring a weld?
What caused it? Has anyone experienced this before? If so, is it something that can be fixed without requiring a weld?
Racer
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 412
Likes: 1
From: Lampasas Texas
Andrew,
I don't think that it is broken but without looking at it there is no way to tell. The shifter is a strong piece of steel. The shifter assembly is held in car with 4 bolts. It is my guess that they have worked loose. The shifter assembly itself has 4 rivets holding it together. Those rivets hold the shifter rod retaining ring to the metal plate that bolts to the car. Those may also be the trouble. If the rivets are broken, drill them out and replace them. If you are not able to use rivets, you could use the same size bolt and nut with some lock-tight (I would use blue so it can be removed if you need to).
I don't think that it is broken but without looking at it there is no way to tell. The shifter is a strong piece of steel. The shifter assembly is held in car with 4 bolts. It is my guess that they have worked loose. The shifter assembly itself has 4 rivets holding it together. Those rivets hold the shifter rod retaining ring to the metal plate that bolts to the car. Those may also be the trouble. If the rivets are broken, drill them out and replace them. If you are not able to use rivets, you could use the same size bolt and nut with some lock-tight (I would use blue so it can be removed if you need to).
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 13,421
Likes: 8
From: Lake Mary Florida
Check this page 2 of this post, scroll down you'll see what I mean from the pictures:
Shifter install
Shifter install
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Racer
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 473
Likes: 0
From: Jeffersonville Indiana
I have a B&M in mine, and this happened to me. We were on a road trip in the vette. We live in Indiana, and we were in TEXAS. We had to break the console down in an autozone parking lot and all of these bolts except for 1 had backed out completely and the last one was about halfway out. It's an easy fix, but it sucks when it happens! Whoever had installed mine though, for whatever reason, used gasket maker on the bolts. I guess they confused it for loctite? It's happened 2x since, even with properly using loctite on the bolts. Last time, we used helicoils... so hopefully, it's fixed for good... it's been ok thus far!
Race Director
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 13,760
Likes: 75
From: Haymarket VA
If you used the 4 stock 6mm bolts to install the shifter - they are too short. The base of the after market shifter is thicker and you don't get enough purchase using the stock length bolts. Don't just retighten the bolts. Replace them with longer ones.
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 3,572
Likes: 9
From: Jackson Tn
St. Jude Donor '06-'07-'08-'09
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 287
Likes: 0
From: Missouri City TX
Andrew,
I don't think that it is broken but without looking at it there is no way to tell. The shifter is a strong piece of steel. The shifter assembly is held in car with 4 bolts. It is my guess that they have worked loose. The shifter assembly itself has 4 rivets holding it together. Those rivets hold the shifter rod retaining ring to the metal plate that bolts to the car. Those may also be the trouble. If the rivets are broken, drill them out and replace them. If you are not able to use rivets, you could use the same size bolt and nut with some lock-tight (I would use blue so it can be removed if you need to).
I don't think that it is broken but without looking at it there is no way to tell. The shifter is a strong piece of steel. The shifter assembly is held in car with 4 bolts. It is my guess that they have worked loose. The shifter assembly itself has 4 rivets holding it together. Those rivets hold the shifter rod retaining ring to the metal plate that bolts to the car. Those may also be the trouble. If the rivets are broken, drill them out and replace them. If you are not able to use rivets, you could use the same size bolt and nut with some lock-tight (I would use blue so it can be removed if you need to).
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 287
Likes: 0
From: Missouri City TX
I noticed that when re tightening the bolts, they just weren't grabbing. I am headed to the hardware store to pick some longer bolts. Thanks for the re-assurance, thought I was having issues.
