Can I Salvage A Bent Rod Shifter?

[Marccus]

First,

Why do people throw away nice cars?

This '94:

- no body damage,

- paint was very nice - no large scratches I could see

- interior was still very nice; no ripped upholstery - it was worn, but still presentable

- engine compartment had clean wiring, battery tray had only a little rust; no stripped threads on fasteners

- heater hoses looked brand new; more apparently so when I cut through them

- radiator coolant was clean and clear (they must have missed this one at Pick-Your-Part, since they are supposed to remove all fluids)

If someone trades in a car to a dealer or just gives it to him, is this where it will end up?

Does Pick Your Part pay money for the car or are they paid to take it away?!


But there was one thing I was bummed to see.

The hollow rod on the rod shifter was almost snapped off right before where it connected to the transnmission; it had split about 180 deg around where it had bent, and was angled about 30 degrees from parallel.

All the mounting hardware and bolting on the shift shaft was unaffected; it all looked fine.

The shift shaft on the transmission and where it entered the transmission also looked fine, although one doesn't know how this happened and whether the transmission was affected.

I didn't have time, but tommorrow I'll see how easy it is to shift it.

It doesn't seem to take much force to bend this hollow rod, however.

Can I straighten this out and weld to keep it straight?

It seems that this shouldn't be a problem for continued use since this part is only stressed by hand pressure and should still function to manipulate the input shift shaft.

Any thoughts?

 

[Ishodu]

I figure that maybe the slide on the shifter box got stuck and maybe bad motor mounts will cause loads of stress on that bar, thats my theory on why lots of people get there boss broken. Take the time to **** the slides. I would think it shouldn't be too hard to fix that rod you speak of.

 

[Storm-Chaser]

Why - because we live in a "throw-away" society where it is often considered quicker/cheaper/faster to simply throw the old away and buy new.

Do some older trade-ins end up going to salvage yards - yes.

Also realize that ever since "donating" a car to charity became a popular tax write-off, some non-profits have been unindated with older vehicles in varying states of condition. Many non-profits now revert to simply running them through auto-auctions, as this is the quickest way to turn the property donations into cash. Thus some of these vehicles end-up in salvage yards as a result.

Then there was that 70,000 miles SHO that Eric VerValin bought the motor and transmission out of, that had been sold to salvage for no aparent reason . . . . until I found a plastic engine dampener cap buried in the primary intake runner for cylinder #3. I bet that one ran well with the intake runner ~90-percent blocked-off. Imagine a tech trying to trouble-shoot that one and explain to the service manager how the vehicle keeps failing the cylinder balance test, yet he can't find anything that's causing the problem . . . .




The high-volume salvage yards buy most their vehicles from insurance, police, and impoundment auctions. They make most of their money from selling the vehicles for salvage scrap; which in-turn ends-up on the slow boat to China to be recycled into the lead-tainted paint on your childrens' toys.


In reference to the rod-shifter.

Maybe the ever-knowledgable car-processors in the (Pick-Your-Part) processing "shack" thought that they're were transmission lines and tried to cut them to "drain" the fluids . . . .

First,

Why do people throw away nice cars?

This '94:

- no body damage,

- paint was very nice - no large scratches I could see

- interior was still very nice; no ripped upholstery - it was worn, but still presentable

- engine compartment had clean wiring, battery tray had only a little rust; no stripped threads on fasteners

- heater hoses looked brand new; more apparently so when I cut through them

- radiator coolant was clean and clear (they must have missed this one at Pick-Your-Part, since they are supposed to remove all fluids)

If someone trades in a car to a dealer or just gives it to him, is this where it will end up?

Does Pick Your Part pay money for the car or are they paid to take it away?!


But there was one thing I was bummed to see.

The hollow rod on the rod shifter was almost snapped off right before where it connected to the transnmission; it had split about 180 deg around where it had bent, and was angled about 30 degrees from parallel.

All the mounting hardware and bolting on the shift shaft was unaffected; it all looked fine.

The shift shaft on the transmission and where it entered the transmission also looked fine, although one doesn't know how this happened and whether the transmission was affected.

I didn't have time, but tommorrow I'll see how easy it is to shift it.

It doesn't seem to take much force to bend this hollow rod, however.

Can I straighten this out and weld to keep it straight?

It seems that this shouldn't be a problem for continued use since this part is only stressed by hand pressure and should still function to manipulate the input shift shaft.

Any thoughts?

 

[93rev2sev]

Probably got bent by the forklift that set it there. The fork slid in over the bar and when he set the car down, the operator dropped the fork to the ground, pulling down on the shift rod. They aren't exactly "careful".

 

[Storm-Chaser]

I thought everyone would get my sarcasm, as unfortunately there's no emoticon for sarcasm or sarcastic replies . . . .

. . . . the and emoticons just don't seem to convey that, visually.

I think anyone that's visited the large-scale salvage yards (even once) knows how those vehicles are handled . . . .

 

[Marccus]

I pulled the rod shifter from a '94.

The ball at the end which connects to the shift shaft was cracked and bent and was difficult to rotate since the delrin-ball assembly had been compressed.

I would have to bend the metal back to see if it would work properly.

One question:

The rod shifter has a support rod which screws into the transmission (?) with a large bolt. It looks pretty beefy.

I assume this can't be used when installing in my '89.

So I guess you don't have to support the assembly when an aftermarket rod shifter was installed in an '89?

Do you still get the same rigidity in feel if you don't support the rod shifter somewhow?

Thanks

 

[Ishodu]

You will need that support rod that mounting point will be on the tranny in your 89 once you remove all the cable linkages.

 

[Storm-Chaser]

Marccus - do a search. One of the recent threads on converting to a rod-shifter included pics of the cable shifter setup at the transmission.

The rod shifter is supported by the attachment points at the transmission, four mounting studs that pass through the floor-pan, and two mounting studs at the back of the shifter assembly. Again, most of this is covered in the conversion thread, including pictures.

I pulled the rod shifter from a '94.

The ball at the end which connects to the shift shaft was cracked and bent and was difficult to rotate since the delrin-ball assembly had been compressed.

I would have to bend the metal back to see if it would work properly.

One question:

The rod shifter has a support rod which screws into the transmission (?) with a large bolt. It looks pretty beefy.

I assume this can't be used when installing in my '89.

So I guess you don't have to support the assembly when an aftermarket rod shifter was installed in an '89?

Do you still get the same rigidity in feel if you don't support the rod shifter somewhow?

Thanks

 

[Marccus]

OK. You guys are very helpful.

I'm sorry :booboo: for not being diligent enough in my searches; I've just been under the gun so much at work and in personal life that I don't have time to breathe.

But from now on, I'll really do a thorough search before I post.

:thankyou:

 

[Storm-Chaser]

Well, it is entirely possible that you did do a search and simply missed the thread, or by using the wrong search word/words didn't have it come-up in your search list.

Anyway, I couldn't remember who posted that thread or what the thread title was and was short on time as well, but wanted to make you aware the post was out there . . . .

Now, we know you weren't doing this at work . . . , right?

 

[Marccus]

Ahhh ... yeah .... right.