Quote:
Originally Posted by Tilt
Care to elaborate on the $2 drill bit fix? Does it fix it fix it, or does it just fix it to where it is tolerable?
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It fixes it so the shifter stays tight as long as you own it.
I've had 6 of them over 40 years. After learning the drill bit trick on the first one I've never had a problem.
The design of the shifter is the problem. It uses a centre thru bolt that goes thru the complete body of the shifter and thru the bracket to mount the shifter. It's supposed to be held tight by a nut and lock washer. Problem is the nut backs off, the shifter gets sloppy and your tranny can get stuck in first and you need to get underneath, kick it in nuetral and line up the shifter again.
The cure is to install the shifter onto the bracket, tighten the shifter up with the nut just enough to allow smooth tight movement of the shifter arms and then drill a 1/8 inch hole thru the nut and the bolt and put a cotter key thru the hole. It'll stay tight forever.
When I've done new ones I drill thru one side of the nut, bolt the shifter to the bracket, snug it all up and then finish drilling thru the bolt and the other side of the nut. I do it in my bench vise.
IIRC the Mr. Gasket #7667A is the one you need. It has an 18 inch tall shifter handle for a truck bench.