OK, while not uncommon I know, I am having a hell of a time with shifting in Huey. Here's where I am:

- I have a Rennshift shifter
- all the bushings from the firewall back are new and tight
- we just went into the tranny (side shift 901) and rebuilt/replaced all syncros and bushings so it's real tight when in gear.
- yes, all set screws are tight

I have the exact same set up in the race car Papa Smurf, and it shifts like a new car - tight, in and out of gears like it's gated.

But with Huey, when I go into a gear, say 3rd, I can move the stick all over the place with it still in gear. When I go over to 4th, it goes in gear, but the stick "springs back" into center. Car stays in gear, but I have to push the stick way back to the right, then pull back to 5th, at which point it again "centers' back to the middle of the shift pattern. the other car does not do this at all....

So...I was thinking, and thought I read a comment somewhere that triggered some sort of brain receptor this weekend: is there something that the shift rod goes through from the shifter itself, to the firewall opening? I ask because when we rebuilt Huey, there was a fair amount of damage that got fixed by welding pieces back togther. One place was in the center between the seats. Well, the welds weren't great, and there was weld drips that hit the shift rod and limited it's movements. So I cut a big section of the center tunnel between the seats out to clean it up. While in there, I noticed a cross brace of some sort that the shift rod was also hitting, so I removed it.

Was that 'cross brace' that I took out a guide hole that was suppose to have a bushing or something to keep the rod fairly centered? or am I just making this up??

Basically - is there anything between the shifter assembly itself, and the hole in the firewall, or is my problem in the Rennshift assembly?

And,...any suggestions on how to fix this?

thanks!

Hi Bob,

The tail shifter has a bushing in the tunnel just a little behind the shift tower. The side shift doesn't. (I think..) Check the U-joint at the firewall. Sometimes it's hard to see but those have been know to wear out or break. Check the cone screws... Ask me how I know about that one..

Others will have more and likely better info than me.

No bushing on a side shifter.
I replaced the firwall bushing with a bronze bushing I had made special.
I have one more if you want to take a look..

U-joint bushings are really hard to see until they explode..
The shifter console at the rear has a bushing that can fall out into the rubber boot and you cant see it...when that one is gone its hard to find gears..again..replace it with bronze.

Aside from that, and basic checks I would suggest you swap shifters from one car to the other...see if your problem is in the shifter...

Rich

thanks for the suggestions, but I tried all that.... the bushing on the firewall, while plastic/rubber, is real tight. Ujoint is new. I have no rubber boot, and the rear shifter console bushing is already bronze and tight. and Rick....I know alll about the cone screws... one backed out while we were in Newfoundland and the rod fell out of the Ujoint. LUCKILY, the screw didn't fall completely out and I could get under the car and reset it. I put blue loctite on them now...just in case. Plus, I wrap the Ujoint with duct tape - keeps the screw AND the little rod in the ujoint in place.

I'll play with the shifters and see if that's it. It just moves around WAY too much. I might make a video and post it up to see what's going on and get ideas...

keep the suggestions coming.

Silly question...

Is your Rennshifter properly adjusted? If not, it will be hard to shift.

(and replace your cone screws)

Zach

by properly adjusted what do you mean?
But yes, it's installed exactly the same as the race car. It's not hard to shift, the shifter just doesnt' stay where you put it, even though it stays in gear just fine. Like when you put it into 4th, it's like the springs on the right side are way too strong and push the shifter back to dead center.

I've been under the car when it was being shifted - everything is tight and nothing moves incorrectly from firewall to transmission. i.e. they all move in tandem and nothing is 'sloppy'.

right now, Papa Smurf (race car) is a the shop getting a tech inspection for the track, and messing with a couple things, so when he's back, i'll be able to compare/contrast a bit better between the two. I was just wondering if I took out something in the tunnel that was suppose to help guide the shift rod a bit better and keep it in place. Wouldn't be the first time I took something out of the car that I needed

I just replaced all my bushings this weekend because I was having the same problem, slipping to neutral. Bushing did not fix it either. Curious to find out what your (our) problem could be. There definately is not a bushing in the tunnel for a 901.

mine doesn't slip into neutral, just the stick ends up in the 'neutral position' but the transmission is in gear. Like when all the bushings are bad - you find the gear, but the stick shift can move all over the place without it changning gears.

You need to get under the car and look at the linkage while someone moves the shift lever side-to-side (while in gear).


As you examine the linkage you will eventually find a spot that the disconnect is occuring - normally it is a bushing or cone screw, but can also be the roll pin on the shift selector on the trans or a broken spot weld that is hanging up enough to shift fore/aft OK but still rotate.

If you have to put loctite on your cone screws, you need new ones. That goes for the pin in the link. If it's loose, you need to repair the cause of the problem, NOT put tape over it. It should be VERY difficult to remove. The Cap'n

Fair enough point, but most of you run boots over your joint and trans console. I don't so if they fall out at all, I'm screwed.
the ujoint is brand new, so it's more for the cone screw anyway. as a racer, you cover all your bases whether you need to or not. We created our own screws with heads on them that we put safety wire through for the race car. Works perfectly.

and when you're in Newfoundland running through the back roads, you tend to go a bit overboard on making sure NOTHING goes wrong. So no, I don't need the tape, it's just a preventative measure that I feel comfortable with - security blanket stuff.

But either way, that does not fix the problem.

Not hijacking the thread but I would like to ask a question: At the roll pin joint, should there be any play at all or should that connection it be tight as a drum?? I have about 5 degrees of twist.-problem??

No play at the rolled pin. Time to change it.

You mentioned you have a new U-Joint. I have seen bushings that differ. The correct ones have a round hole for the pin. Other have an ovaled hole. Is it possible that you have one of these? The pin should be a press fit in the U-joint ( in the middle) and the gray bushings on the outsides should have a snug fit (no slop)

I may have confused the entire issue. My question was referring to the oval pin at the rear of the linkage (the ball and socket joint) that connects to the tranny, not the U joint at the front of the linkage. Either way there should be no movement from either.

I still vote that you remove the known good shifter and put it into the car with the bad shifter....that is a ten minute swap.

See if the problem stays with the shifter or not.

Rich

Yes, a clutch tube. I am sure ya got that welded back to the side of the tunnel and out of the way, correct? It does come off in older, rusty cars and then interferes with shift adjustments.

I like Mr J West's suggestion. As with any trouble shoot, remove one section and see what happens. If you take rod assembly off the 901, it stays centered in gear w/o "snapping back" at the rear shift console of the 901? Yes...move forward....test the next piece. He helped me through some troubles on my install and now it works great.

Good luck