Cable Shifter enhancements.

[SHO GoDz 89]

I recently had some problems with the cable shifter in my '89. I took it to my shop to get the rod shortened and a better throw angle put on. I discovered an incredibly ghetto setup, that must have been done in a shop when the first (i'm the 3rd owner) owner had the cable setup replaced.

The end of the rod that connects to the forward shift cable, the ball end was held all together by some wire. Looked like fencing wire. I took it all apart and did what I had to do. This is when I realized how bad it was. The reason for the wire, I'm assuming is because the original bushing that was supposed to hold the cable in while you moved in in different directions must have gotten lost.

So I was driving around one night, and just while I was thinking about how it could fall apart, there it goes. The setup falls apart, and I'm stuck with 1st and 2nd gear. Luckily I was in a 25mph zone and only a few blocks away from home.

I took the car to my shop in the morning to fix this problem.

First thing I did was cut off the original ball end on the stick, ground it down flat, and then I took some measurements for the cable loop diameter. It was close to 7/16's if I remember correctly.

So I drew up an upgraded piece to be welded on and make sure the whole setup never comes apart again.

The piece was 1 inch long in total.
3/4's of the piece was 7/16's in diameter, and the last 1/4 inch was 5/16's in diameter. A 1/16's hole was drilled onto the 1/4 inch section to allow a cotters pin to slide through and hold a washer in place. The washer fit in perfectly and the set up was nice and snug once I put it all back together.

The result was a much more reliable setup with noticeably smoother shifts and much less play.


I'll post pics soon of what I did, and if anyone else has any problems with their shifter, or just wants to get a setup that will not fail (at least until the cables do XD), I'll gladly send the dimensions of the workpieces.


This was just a fix for my shifter until I can get the time to put in a rod shift assembly, but I'll surely be fixing the rod shifter once I get it as well (welding the crimps, eliminating shift play, etc).

 

[SHO_DOODmorrris]

LOL mine has the same problem but at the shifter piece behiend the oil pan! the plastic socket pops off the metal ball if you shift hard into 3rd! i was stuck with 3rd and 4th! as of now 2 zipties are my quick fix... i am upgrading to a rod shifter though soon enough so we will see what hapens...

cable shift=the *****
pardon my french


-Mitch

 

[TimboSHO]

looking forward to pictures!

 

[kylix.rd]

The end of the rod that connects to the forward shift cable, the ball end was held all together by some wire. Looked like fencing wire. I took it all apart and did what I had to do. This is when I realized how bad it was. The reason for the wire, I'm assuming is because the original bushing that was supposed to hold the cable in while you moved in in different directions must have gotten lost.

So I was driving around one night, and just while I was thinking about how it could fall apart, there it goes. The setup falls apart, and I'm stuck with 1st and 2nd gear. Luckily I was in a 25mph zone and only a few blocks away from home.

I have the whole cable shifter assembly (sans cables) out of my '89 from a rod-shifter upgrade I did a couple months ago. It is still in good shape if you'd like the parts to "fix" your fix . Pay shipping and it's yours.

kylix.

 

[shobote]

LOL mine has the same problem but at the shifter piece behiend the oil pan! the plastic socket pops off the metal ball if you shift hard into 3rd! i was stuck with 3rd and 4th! as of now 2 zipties are my quick fix... i am upgrading to a rod shifter though soon enough so we will see what hapens...

cable shift=the *****
pardon my french


-Mitch

I would say to stay with the cable shifter and buy the STS short throw shifter for $100. I got one and 10 minute install, shorter quicker throws than the rod, no need to cut into the tunnel or get a new exhaust to route around the rod shifter, and it weights 15 pounds less than the rod. The rods also get in the way under the car where the cable does not.
You can just put a zip tie around the ball socket part that pops of the Trans as well; been driving mine that way for 3 years with zero slop and works fine.

 

[SHO GoDz 89]

I would say to stay with the cable shifter and buy the STS short throw shifter for $100. I got one and 10 minute install, shorter quicker throws than the rod, no need to cut into the tunnel or get a new exhaust to route around the rod shifter, and it weights 15 pounds less than the rod. The rods also get in the way under the car where the cable does not.
You can just put a zip tie around the ball socket part that pops of the Trans as well; been driving mine that way for 3 years with zero slop and works fine.

Good suggestion, but I can pretty much do any of the work myself for free. No use in spending $100 on a short throw shifter when I can make one myself, it isn't that hard to get some pieces CNC'ed and weld them together.

Pics will be in tomorrow, the weather has been real ****** lately and I don't feel like getting my tools out and letting them rust in the rain while I take apart the shift assembly.

 

[green91SHOPlus]

I had some real nasty problems with my cable shift on a mocha 91 I had. I was on my way to work one morning, and the fix I had decided to stop working. What to do? I stop at a local construction site (a new wallgreens) and went to the "office" to ask for some wire. They were generous enough to give me a length, so I spent the next 20 minutes wrapping the cable while parked over a rut in some gravel. No jack... It was a one handed operation, but it got fixed! And stayed true ever since, haha. It was definitely a story as to why I was late by an hour. It truly seems like manufacturers never EVER see that using cheap plastic on something like that is going to eventually fail. The problem is that all of these manufacturers put out knowingly faulty products because they know they're gonna get their money, regardless. Quite a few people are for America so much, that they'll buy crappy products just for the fact that it's American. The manufacturers know that. Without an incentive to produce quality products, why bother? Same thing with design. Am I the only one that believes that most American vehicles produced today are ass-ugly? Pontiac Aztec, '08 Ford Super duty trucks, All '07 and up chevy trucks, the new Jeep Wrangler... I'm sure I could go on if I could think of others.
:blah:

 

[SHO GoDz 89]

I had some real nasty problems with my cable shift on a mocha 91 I had. I was on my way to work one morning, and the fix I had decided to stop working. What to do? I stop at a local construction site (a new wallgreens) and went to the "office" to ask for some wire. They were generous enough to give me a length, so I spent the next 20 minutes wrapping the cable while parked over a rut in some gravel. No jack... It was a one handed operation, but it got fixed! And stayed true ever since, haha. It was definitely a story as to why I was late by an hour. It truly seems like manufacturers never EVER see that using cheap plastic on something like that is going to eventually fail. The problem is that all of these manufacturers put out knowingly faulty products because they know they're gonna get their money, regardless. Quite a few people are for America so much, that they'll buy crappy products just for the fact that it's American. The manufacturers know that. Without an incentive to produce quality products, why bother? Same thing with design. Am I the only one that believes that most American vehicles produced today are ass-ugly? Pontiac Aztec, '08 Ford Super duty trucks, All '07 and up chevy trucks, the new Jeep Wrangler... I'm sure I could go on if I could think of others.
:blah:

Jeep's aren't American...anymore (FYI) :sun:

Anyways, yeah I know what you mean. That plastic ring piece that holds everything together. I'm thinking of making a new piece for it, the only issue is getting it to connect to the cables, which are made of brass I believe.

Brazing should do the trick, but I think I might go with TIG welding for the extra strength, plus TIG is much more controllable than an Oxy/Acetylene torch

I haven't taken a look at the underside of the car yet, where the cables connect to the transmission, but I'm sure once I do I'll get some ideas on how to improve the overall shift feel and make the entire system more reliable.

 

[firstgen89sho]

I have switched over to a rod from a cable on my car, I have had too many times, the cable shifter get water in the cables and freeze solid, so that I cannot move the shifter left or right. untill the heat of the engine and exhaust warm up the cable

 

[SHO GoDz 89]

Finally got around to taking the pictures. I did it while I was making the shaft even shorter, now it is very comfortable to drive and there is much less throw between shifts.



As you can see it was already shortened before, and it definitely wasn't enough. Also you can see how the end of the linkage was changed. Instead of having that ball end it has a piece of roundstock with a washer and cotter pin at the end. It holds together nicely.




I had to cut that piece down the center so it would fit back on. With the bigger linkage end it was impossible to get it back on. Good thing the plastic joint is flexible enough so it won't break



Cut down, ground, and being prepared to be TIG welded.



Quick easy TIG job, took no more than a minute.



As you can see, it is significantly shorter than that "Mack Truck" shifter it originally had. The difference is amazing.



I could have fabricated a completely new shaft, but I didn't have time today and there would be absolutely no point when this way works perfectly fine.

I plan on doing the same thing when I get a rod shift installed (Sorry Jose)



Well that's all for now. You can see how much different the linkage end is on the shaft, that's what I was talking about. It is a real easy piece to make on a lathe. I'm going to be taking a look underneath the car today to see if I can find any other ways of "enhancing" the problematic cable shift.