With the help of a fellow forum member (thanks charlie!) I got my stock shifter modified and put it in (I had a ripper shifter) upon installation I couldn't get the car to go into reverse AT ALL. I took the shifter out and re-installed several times, and I could occasionally get the car to go into reverse with lots of effort, and then other times no effort at all!!!! :( Anyway, I put the ripper back in and the car functions as previously, with no problems going into reverse!!! How could this be?? I can't for the life of me understand why just changing the shifter to a shortened stock one would make a diff? I know several of you are running this mod (incl the guy who did it for me).

Anyway, my car is still apart so if any of you have ANY clues as to how this could be happening with the modified stock shifter and NOT with the ripper regarding reverse gear only, PLEASE let me know. Also, is it even possible for the stock shifter to 'go bad'? HELP

 

Hmmm...

Did you modify the lower portion at all?

I wish I could help, but I haven't run into this problem.

Anyone else?

 

TTT

 

This is not my area of expertise at all but make sure of the following:
-is there a front and rear placement to the stock shifter (I do not recall but worth checking).
-placement , it sounds like shifter placement in conjunction with linkage might also affect this.
-lastly I would check inside the tunnel visually for anything out of the ordinary, try using a mirror on a stick and small flashlight, be really careful not to drop any of these in there otherwise you will be SOL ( you might attach a "safety line" to each of these just incase they drop in)

Hope this helps

 

Tony, give me a call in my office today. You have the number in my e-mail.

Yes Very strange problem indeed.. I did not change the lower portion of the shifter at all. I did it exactly the way I did mine. Here are some thing to look for..

1. I replaced the rivets in the base with small allen head bolts. Make sure the exposed heads on the bottom side are not interfering with the shifter seating all the way down flush...if they are you can just flip them around and try the other side of the bolt on the bottom.. I think the allen head side is smaller than the lock nut..

2. If there was a thicker gasket left on the tunnel from the Ripper...remove it. Anything that raises the shifter will throw off it's geometry..

3. Make sure (it should not matter but just in case) that the shifter is oriented properly. Make sure the pin slot on the shaft is facing towards the rear of the car.

4. Lastly..lubricate the linkage points in the Tunnel. I used a few drops of Mobile One to do this. The linkage shafts were very dry. Afterwards it was much slicker.. You'll plainly see the points I am talking about..

5. When trying reverse do you have the whole console back together? Or did you try it just after you bolted it down? If the problem is after everything is back then you might be binding against the rubber cover that goes over the shifter..

Let us know...