Worn out Rod Shifter

[slickn56]

I have a 1991 Sho with a rod shifter that ive been currently driving during the winter.... I also have a 93 sho with a rod shifter. The 93 has absolutely no play in the movement of the shifter....my 91 on the other hand has lots of play left and right. Anybody know what bushing i need to replace to fix this problem....or will i need to install a new rod shifter to better my problem? I havent missed a gear yet in the 91, but i dont want to chance it either.

Thanks,

 

[NotSoSlowSHO]

Have you been under the car to check the linkage?

It might be as simple as tightening that small bolt that attaches the shift rod to the trans gear selector.

Or maybe a loose stabilizer bar bolt.

...

There is a ball and socket bushing within the 'black box' that may need replacing. But I found that my rod shifter's bushings, with nearly 80k on it, just needed to be cleaned and re-greased. But I had no slop.

 

[masho95]

Like the previous post, check the nut and clevis connect at the tranny end of the rod shifter. A loose nut will give you lots of play. If it's tight you can change out the ball and socket bushings inside the shifter box. Parts available from www.shonutperformance.com
More than likely the nut is just loose. Good luck.

 

[CosmoSHO]

Nick,
I just fixed this problem on my '92 SHO with 188k on it. I hadn't missed any shifts either, but there was a lot of play in the gear shift side to side and I would get a "rattle" during 2500-3500 rpm range.

When you get under the car, you'll see two rods--one is the fixed stabilizer rod and the other is connected to the shift input shaft of the transmission.

As the other posts indicated, make sure your shift input bolt/nut assembly is on tight. If it is and you can rattle the two linkage assembly, you'll need to replace some bushings.

You'll notice the two-swivel assembly just aft of where the rod attaches to the shift input on the tranny is not meant to come apart. I took mine apart and got some new nylon bushings from Lowe's and put it back together with grade 8 bolts, nylock nuts, and threadlocker.

You would not beleive the difference in the feel of the feel of the shifter. Absolutely no play and very precise. I was well-pleased. thumb

PM me and I'll tell you the specifics and see if I can tell you exactly which bushings etc I used to fix this. It only cost a few dollars, but the payoff is tremendous! thumb

VR

Cosmo

 

[sdpatt]

I had a similar problem with the linkage in my car. Read about it and see the picture here and here.