Hey guys, recently picked up a 2001 corvette Z06. It has a whole bunch of small typical C5 issues I was able to easily find solutions for on this forum (thanks!) However I have 1 issue I am seriously struggling with, the shifter will not return to center in neutral.

It feels super notchy as you "wiggle" the shifter in neutral. I have poured through forum threads, I've read many threads on notchy shifting and the anti-venom mod, however thats not the issue at hand here. I have only read a handful of threads where people say their shifter also doesnt return to center, but they dont indicate a notchyness.

I have removed the shifter, and shifter lower box. Cleaned, greased, and aligned it per the manual. In the video linked I have actually removed the spring loaded ball "antivenom mod piece". I figured that would be the only thing responsible for a notchy feel in neutral, and potentially keeping a weak center spring from working. Anyone else ever have this issue? Currently I'm planning to get a Hurst shifter since it has centering springs, but was hoping to someone could offer anything else to check before I go down that road.

Video Showing issue. (Post cleaning, alignment, and spring loaded ball removed

 

Wow, never seen that. It seems modified. The only component that self centers is a spring on thefront front cover of trans facing the front of car internal. I changed one a few years ago, But it did not notch like yours, it just did not center all the way because stpring was damaged. And the spring is not available anymore. Had to find a used one. Got mine off ebay and it fixed the problem. But, Springs might be out there new. This was my experience.

 

The "notchyness" varies from car to car; aside from the detent it's a function of the gearbox but rebuilding your shifter box will help by making the movement smoother and more precise. Personally I think the notchyness increases with additional centering force. I make my shifters and boxes with the least amount of friction possible because I think the more force you have trying to bring the stick back to center, the more force you have to fight against as you move the stick through the gears and the more notchy it is. These cars are all pretty notchy from the factory but I'm assuming you have some miles on that gearbox as well. How many miles are on the fluid? I'm not saying that's going to save the day but changing it is not going to hurt.

If you want to upgrade your box I have them in stock at the moment so you can pay a core charge and I can send you one that's ready to go, or you can send yours in and I'll have it back in the mail within a day or two. You also want to replace the bushing on the bottom pivot of the shifter, the factory bushing is garbage, I have a much better one. This is probably not going to help your shifter center any better but it will feel significantly better and it will stay that way for the life of the car.

 

If you don't like notchy, then the hurst is not for you. I hated that damn shifter. I replaced it with a C6 Z06 shifter years ago and it was a pleasure banging through the gears again.

 

Agreed, the least notchy setup for these cars is the stock shifter on my upgraded box then my shifter on my box. Both options are max smooth and least shift effort possible. More influence and more reduction on the stick yields more notchyness, that's my personal opinion. The Hurst does have a pretty short throw tho but it also requires a high amount of effort to move the stick, mostly due to the reduction compared to the stock shifter.

 

so the problem that the c5 has as far as getting it into first gear will be eliminated??

 

Yup, unless you have a problem in the gearbox. 99.999% of the time it's fixed with the upgraded box.

 

The car itself is mostly stock. I was told an LS7 clutch as well as tick adjustable master were recently installed, as well as a torque tube rebuild. I watched several YT videos of T56 rebuild, and I did notice there is another spring and ball setup the contributes/creates the side to side notchyness. I am not sure how/why mine is just so much more severe.

The car has 109k on it, and changing the trans fluid is on my list. It moves through the gears just fine, its just annoying, especially when doing a 2-3 shift, that the stick doesnt want to return to center.

Originally I was looking to do just a rebuilt box and C6 shifter, but I don't think those things will solve the incredibly neutral notchyness or my return to center. I just don't know what else could cause this, and if I should just start planning to pull the torque tube and trans this winter :/

 

That just angles the shifting up down not side to side.

 

I talked with the shop that rebuilt the torque tube, and did the clutch. They said they noticed it when they did the build and recommended atleast a new lower box and shifter to the owner, but they didnt want to do it. They believe that since the trans has 100k miles its likely just a bit worn out. They suggested replace the fluid, and get a fresh low friction shifter in it and hope for the best.