About 3 months ago I completed an engine rebuild on my 1975 1.8L. While the engine was out I replaced all the bushings along the shifter bar. Everything went well, and the shifting was very crisp. (I've had this car for 4 years, so I am well accustomed with how it should shift and where the gears are.)

A week ago I removed the shifter knob, to replace it with an aftermarket one. It came out fairly easy, without much pulling. However, after that I started noticing that the shifting started to move to the left: getting into 1st gear started being difficult, then going from 2nd to 3rd was strange (further to the left than I used to find it), and today finally it started being impossible to put it in reverse. Nevertheless, the available gears were still crisp.

I thought that the shifting adjustment bolt slipped, so I tried to adjust the shifter. I managed to adjust it so that I have all 6 gears again, but unfortunately now the shifting is extremely sloppy. When I am in gear I can still move the shifter 1-2 inches to each side. Also it is almost impossible to feel when you are in gear and when you're not.

I went under the car today, and did not see anything unusual, all the bushings are in their place. But the shifter bar can be moved around quite a bit, even when the transmission is in gear.

Any ideas what could have happened? The only idea I have now is that maybe the shifter itself has failed (I read that some welding points can crack in it). Honestly, my first thought was that something got damaged inside the transmission itself, but I can't quite imagine what may have been damaged. (And furthermore, it does not grind, and goes into all gears properly, and drives just fine.)

Any suggestions will be highly appreciated. Thanks, Andrei.

Did you check the firewall bushing and the "joint" bushings (where the two shift rod parts join)?

I'd bet it's the bushing at the base of the shifter.

We've also seen the ball of the shifter base fail.

Check the cone screw at the coupler right after the firewall. If it backed out, your shifting will be sloppy.

I'd also pull the shift lever assembly apart to see if the two springs are still intact

Sounds like Andy's BTDT. LOL. Just happened to me.
Shifting goes real sloppy. Then the screw falls out and your in the last gear you shifted into. Lucky for me it was 2nd.

Yepp, more than once ...

What I did check is that all the bushings under the car were in good order, including the firewall one (which is fine) and inside the T-coupler between the two shifter bars. I will check again today the two cone screws.

I did not know that there is a bushing inside the shifter lever assembly. Is there one on a 1975? Or a ball? I was under the impression that these were only on MY 72 and earlier.

I'll take out the shifter lever assembly later on today, for now I need to still be able to move the car in order to put my other car in the garage. (Boxster with a failed transmission linkage... when it rains it pours.)

Thanks for anything you can contribute.

There are 2 bushings IN the shifter assem. Both styles. For a side shift, the lever to front bar is a direct connection. The tail shift system uses the ball cup bushing at that connection point.

Another possible source is the weld at the rear of the shift rod where tube meets shaft. This weld can break. The rod stays pretty much in position but can rotate somewhat. I had this happen to me.

Agreed. Happened to me and created random chaos until it actual fell apart. Luckily I was sitting in the parking lot and not yet moving.

Don't forget the cone screw at the rear rod/trans.

Yep, this happened to me and I just got done swapping shifter rods last weekend. Shifting slowly deteriorated over a couple weeks time. Finally couldn't hit R and 1st.

Click to view attachment

Problem solved! It was the cone screw at the transmission end!

But now I am puzzled: rhodyguy -- where are the bushings inside the the shifter assembly? Do you mean inside the cover where the shifter bar connects to the transmission? (I know about these.) Or inside the shift lever assembly? From looking at thr parts manual I could not see any replaceable bushings there.

Thanks.

Yep the one at the fire wall. A new one for me and just installed on my car. Drop me your address and I'll throw you out a sample


The key is YOU MUST TAKE THE ROD OUT

'Shift lever guide bushing' #901-424-132-00 OEM. Pelican has a FEW. It's highlighted in red in the parts diagram above the spring. I didn't note the lower one's # but you can see it. You have to pull the shifter and remove the springs and detent plate to get to the bushings. If you go this route it's a good time examine the detent plate AND the contact point on the lever. The wear can be severe.

You should replace both cone screws with new ones. There is a plastic ball pressed in the sides of the screw. This acts to prevent the screw from loosening up and doing what happened to you. simply tightening it will only work temporarily. Avoid loctite. This will only cause grief later.

Someone around here (914rubber? Tangerine Racing?) sells set-screws with jam nuts. There are also cone set-screws drilled for safety wire. Those might be something to look into as well.

--DD

JWest offers the tapered end screw with the jam nut. like $6 a set?