Shift lever sluggish

Discussion in 'General Automotive Tech' started by bambusbjoern, May 17, 2017.

  1. OldFox

    OldFox Curmudgeon

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    No! It looks to me like there is a lot of friction due to rust. The cup just contains the spring when it's compressed and shouldn't interfere with the shifting. I would clean everything up with a wire brush and grease it up so it slides freely. It should be lubed anyhow. It needs to be done regardless as maintenance.
     
  2. bambusbjoern

    bambusbjoern Active Member

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    Actually I lubricated everything there, it looks like dirt on the pics, but there was no change.
     
  3. Silvertwinkiehobo

    Silvertwinkiehobo "Everything that breaks starts with 'F.'"

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    But the plastic bushing and washer are installed?
     
  4. bambusbjoern

    bambusbjoern Active Member

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    I have to check that the next time I'm at the car.
     
  5. OldFox

    OldFox Curmudgeon

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    If you are due for a transmission fluid and filter change, or if you have a transmission pan gasket, you can examine the shifting inside the transmission. Once the pan is removed, the pawl and detents are openly visible and you can work the shifter bracket at the transmission while observing its operation. Any wear or roughness should be readily viewable if there is any. Mechanical diagnosis is 95% inspection and observation.
     
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  6. bambusbjoern

    bambusbjoern Active Member

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    I had to change fluid and filter a few weeks ago, so unfortunately i won't open it again the next two or three years.
     
  7. WagonKiller

    WagonKiller Well-Known Member

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    The spring rides/rests upon a plastic curved to fit the cup bushing.(white plastic) rarely these DO wear out (get oblong on the center of the bushing itself) and that could make it look "bent" as it sits in the bracket. However if worn they generally have slop but don't stick. My 79 ford wagon had manual linkage and would always "stick" in park on a grade.
     
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  8. kevdupuis

    kevdupuis Membrane

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    [​IMG]

    You can see where the shift arm has been welded back together, plus the arm and shaft look bent. I would remove the arm assy from the car, straighten and square it and the pivot bushing cup by eye (it doesn't need to be perfect), clean & lube the pivot points and then reinstall.
     
    Last edited: Jun 3, 2017
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  9. bambusbjoern

    bambusbjoern Active Member

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    Indeed, you're right, it looks weird.
    I'll try so.
     
  10. Silvertwinkiehobo

    Silvertwinkiehobo "Everything that breaks starts with 'F.'"

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    I thought the cup looked bent, but not the shaft. Stands to reason, though, if someone dropped the left front wheel into a chuckhole or ditch, or ran over a curb or big rock, that those could end up damaged.
     
  11. bambusbjoern

    bambusbjoern Active Member

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    Ok...time for an update:
    I removed the arm from the car and cleaned it (pics 1 and 2), the bushing is still there. Looks okay, but i dont know how it should be when its new. The arm is 0.433" in diameter and the bushing 0.484". Should it be very tight without any lash?

    And more important:
    That welded...thing...would it be enough to square it (pic 3)?
    Or should it be completely new aligned (pic 4)? But maybe there is a reason why it was made this (awful) way, because the transmission is now a 700R4 and not the original 3speed anymore. Maybe the shift linkage between both is a different one.
     

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  12. Silvertwinkiehobo

    Silvertwinkiehobo "Everything that breaks starts with 'F.'"

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    There should not be a difference between a 3L and a 4L automatic, insofar as the shifter location & linkage, and the TV cable is based on the engine and type of induction (carb, TBI, TPI or standard EFI).
     
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  13. bambusbjoern

    bambusbjoern Active Member

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    Okay, so it also has a new engine, probably that's the reason for that mess...
    It seems to me that the rod to the steering column is too short and the arm was "repositioned" to match that problem.
     
  14. Silvertwinkiehobo

    Silvertwinkiehobo "Everything that breaks starts with 'F.'"

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    Then it may have an incorrect rod for the car? That's the first thing that I thought of; somebody transplanted that engine/trans from another car.
     
  15. bambusbjoern

    bambusbjoern Active Member

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    I would say the rod is original, the rest of the linkage is incorrect for that rod.
    Additionally I identified another reason: the arm was too short, means more force is necessary to shift.
    I removed that crappy self-made-thing and replaced it with a longer arm.
    I'll try today if it fits.
     

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