Shifter Questions

[nyc.cabby]

Hey guys, I've just recently acquired a 90 cabby and had to do some work on it.

The car hadn't been turned on for 2-3 years now and when i first drove it the clutch was completely floored in, it wasn't too bad and I drove it about 40 miles to my mechanic. At this time reverse worked and what i thought was 1st 2nd and 3rd worked.

By the time I got to the mechanic, and for some reason reverse didn't work.

The clutch, clutch cable, and some linkage were replaced. My mechanic said that reverse wasn't working before because a linkage came undone(?) but he put it all back together and fixed the clutch, it returned now (and i just got a new return spring, so it goes in right) and there was definitely less play than before.

Now all the gears are working but for some reason for me to get to 1st, i have to push into the tranny the same way i would have to for reverse. Is this normal? I thought only reverse needed to be pushed in to get to it. My mechanic said what I thought was 1st 2nd and 3rd were really 3rd 4th 5th....

any thoughts?

btw, i plan on replacing all the shifter bushings and the relay ball...

[briano1234]

Sounds like your shifter needs to be adjusted a wee bit more and that the reverse lockout (pushing down) is getting tired, and probably needs to be replaced if he didn't replace the linkages then it will happen again.

a breakdown of the shifter.

[CajunSpike]

If you pull the shift lever all the way to the left side(your knee), then go forward, you should be in first gear. IF it doesnt work that way, its possible the mechanic didnt align the selector lever on the shift rod correctly. I just had this problem on a car I fixed. The selector lever fits on a splined shaft that has to be aligned correctly or you can't catch first without going down on the lever.
The fix is to loosen the shift rod clamp bolts on the selector lever, pull the selector lever off the splined shift rod.
Have a friend push the shift lever in the car SLIGHTLY to the passenger seat, then put the selector lever back on splined shift rod and tighten the shift rod clamp.
Test the shift.
If it goes into first, you're good.
If it still doesnt, try again.

If you adjust it too far, you'll catch 3rd instead of first.

Brian posted an excellent pic of how this works..the selector lever is in the pic along with the clamp that holds it to the shift rod.

In a rough idea...the alignments between the selector lever and the shift rod can be like this

\----- like this and you can't get to first without pushing down
|----- correct alignment between the shift rod and selector lever
/----- will catch 3rd instead of first.

[Moljinar]

Put the tranny in neutral. Now loosen the clamp on the splined shaft on the shifter rod.

Go to thru your parents audio cassette collection and find something by Frank Sinatra (just kidding, any cassette will do) .

Take the box and place it between the shift lever Reverse tang (a piece of metal bent at 90 degrees) and the part of the shifter box it hits (unless pressed down when trying to get int o reverse) Rotate the shift rod until the box is tightly pressed between the two and then tighten the clamp onto the shifter rod splines. Once done you're properly adjusted. (I really need to get a pic of this some day)

Now sneak the cassette tape back into the house and put it back next to the Lawrence Welk tapes.

[nyc.cabby]

Wow you guys are so much help, thank you for everything.

I'm gonna get fix take a look at this Saturday and let you know how it goes.

[Rabid Irish]

Can you post a picture of the the tape cassette/shim trick? I am about to align mine and if that's all you need to do then that would help alot

[CajunSpike]

The bentley says there should be a 13mm gap between the bottom hook of the in car shift lever and the lockout metal plate, under the car, right by the bottom of the shift rod, when the car is in neutral. I'm guessing the cassette box is about that width.

[ih8erickempf]

Put the tranny in neutral. Now loosen the clamp on the splined shaft on the shifter rod.

Go to thru your parents audio cassette collection and find something by Frank Sinatra (just kidding, any cassette will do) .

Take the box and place it between the shift lever Reverse tang (a piece of metal bent at 90 degrees) and the part of the shifter box it hits (unless pressed down when trying to get int o reverse) Rotate the shift rod until the box is tightly pressed between the two and then tighten the clamp onto the shifter rod splines. Once done you're properly adjusted. (I really need to get a pic of this some day)

Now sneak the cassette tape back into the house and put it back next to the Lawrence Welk tapes.

I had the same issue and this is exactly what i did to fix it... the cassette is the perfect spacer ... it also doesnt hurt to make sure all your bushings and connecting rods are new but they wont fix the depress to get into first issue, thats all about adjustments..... the other stuff will just restore the "cleanliness" of the shift

[briano1234]

Now sneak the cassette tape back into the house and put it back next to the Lawrence Welk tapes.

But those are still 8-track.

[RVAE34]

I know this is an old thread but this was the best one I could find. I am getting ready to install all new delrin bushings that I got from Mk1svc on eBay. In the car I am restoring for my wife, I have a hard time figuring out 1st and reverse. And when in reverse, it often pops out of gear. Does anyone have a photo of the cassette trick as I am having a hard time understanding that? I am confused where each of the bushings I received go in the diagram above. I got the large one like this. and then 4 white smaller ones. Along with 2 screws. But no instructions. The 4 white ones are all the same diameter but 2 are shorter than the other 2.

[rabbitnothopper]

ya-man...

two of the "long ones" go on the relay shaft bracket in the picture

two of the "shorter ones" go to the selector shaft and the relay shaft
in between the selector shaft and the relay shaft is a long rod


and of course the big one you got goes in the shift rod bearing
you will need to remove it, drill holes, put bearing in, use screws to clamp it shut

[briano1234]

I know this is an old thread but this was the best one I could find. I am getting ready to install all new delrin bushings that I got from Mk1svc on eBay. In the car I am restoring for my wife, I have a hard time figuring out 1st and reverse. And when in reverse, it often pops out of gear. Does anyone have a photo of the cassette trick as I am having a hard time understanding that? I am confused where each of the bushings I received go in the diagram above. I got the large one like this. and then 4 white smaller ones. Along with 2 screws. But no instructions. The 4 white ones are all the same diameter but 2 are shorter than the other 2.

See the 3 page of the FAQ's, response 88

shift linkage adjustment for 020s

put your car in neutral
jack it up (use jackstands)

loosen this bolt


and grab a cassette tape. if you don't know what a cassette tape is, one is included in the photo.


the thick part (head) is the proper size for the adjustment. just pin it in the lockout. Then tighten the bolt at the other end of the shaft that you loosened earlier. Put the car on the ground and drive away!

if you're still unable to find gears, then you've got other problems.

[RVAE34]

Awesome! Thanks!

[sehaare]

See the 3 page of the FAQ's, response 88

I think that picture is wrong, "Think" being the key word here because I've done it that exact way myself.

I now think that the proper way is not to use the cassette but to use the cassette case.

Has anyone actually measured them to see which is closer to 13mm. (I have one cassette and case some where in the garage for this but can't find it now to measure it.)

Steve

[briano1234]

I think if you use the center part that is thickest, it will be close to the case by .020

[tinygiant]

If you pull the shift lever all the way to the left side(your knee), then go forward, you should be in first gear. IF it doesnt work that way, its possible the mechanic didnt align the selector lever on the shift rod correctly. I just had this problem on a car I fixed. The selector lever fits on a splined shaft that has to be aligned correctly or you can't catch first without going down on the lever.
The fix is to loosen the shift rod clamp bolts on the selector lever, pull the selector lever off the splined shift rod.
Have a friend push the shift lever in the car SLIGHTLY to the passenger seat, then put the selector lever back on splined shift rod and tighten the shift rod clamp.
Test the shift.
If it goes into first, you're good.
If it still doesnt, try again.

If you adjust it too far, you'll catch 3rd instead of first.

Brian posted an excellent pic of how this works..the selector lever is in the pic along with the clamp that holds it to the shift rod.

In a rough idea...the alignments between the selector lever and the shift rod can be like this

\----- like this and you can't get to first without pushing down
|----- correct alignment between the shift rod and selector lever
/----- will catch 3rd instead of first.

when doing make this adjustment is the car supposed to be in 1st gear when giving it the slight nudge to the right?


we just did the shift rebuilt kit and i have to push down slightly to find 1st and 2nd gear.. The locations were fine before the rebuilt kit was put in.

[CajunSpike]

I did use 1st when trying to get this right, but the cassette trick above is a better method.

Totally not the right way to do it...but it worked for me.

Find the two bolts that hold the shift lever to the floor of the car. Remove them.

Lift the shift lever just enough to slide a washer under it, directly in line with the bolt holes.
Put a washer in the front and the back.

Bolt down the shift lever as normal.

Test and see if the 'down' problem is fixed.

I found there is a small plastic 'cover' over the bottom of the shift lever.
This breaks off leaving the 'tang' slightly thinner than it was before...just enough to slip
under the reverse lockout.

Raising the shift lever by putting washers under it...aligns it just enough to make the lockout work.

[briano1234]

You have replaced everything, and not you need to get it back to spec.
So you will have to adjust it now that all the linkages have been replaced.
Also mal-adjusted mount as in Engine/Tranny or broken ones can interfere also.

[tinygiant]

i think my mounts are fine. nothing was out of alignment before. im guessing i just need to adjust the spline

[backinthegame]

I think that picture is wrong, "Think" being the key word here because I've done it that exact way myself.

I now think that the proper way is not to use the cassette but to use the cassette case.

Has anyone actually measured them to see which is closer to 13mm. (I have one cassette and case some where in the garage for this but can't find it now to measure it.)

Steve

I think if you use the center part that is thickest, it will be close to the case by .020

It needs to be a slimline cassette case, the kind that came with blank cassettes in the early 90's right when tapes started to die off. I'd use the thick part of the cassette before I'd use the large cassette case, it's about 16mm.

Look at the ones that say TDK CDing compared to the TDK D90.

[s2kvondeutschland]

Guys, anything 1/2 inch will work. It doesn't have to be a cassette case.