Bouncy Shifter When Hitting Bumps

[STPL]

1994 2.3l XLT SuperCab 5spd.
When the transmission is in gear and I hit a decent sized bump on the highway, I see that my shifter flops around more than it normally does. I understand these old trucks can have a lot of play in the shifter, but it feels normal and tight when cruising in gear and shifts smoothly. Is there something that needs to be tightened on the shaft or inside the transmission?

 

[Curious Hound]

If the transmission itself doesn't have a lot of play, the next thing I would check concerning your issue would be engine and transmission mounts. The engine and transmission will normally have some movement since they are on rubber mounts. But if one pi r more of those mounts are broken, there would be more movement. Bad cab mounts would appear to give the same kind of movement also. Because then the cab would move when hitting the bump but the engine and transmission would stay in their normal place.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[STPL]

If the transmission itself doesn't have a lot of play, the next thing I would check concerning your issue would be engine and transmission mounts. The engine and transmission will normally have some movement since they are on rubber mounts. But if one pi r more of those mounts are broken, there would be more movement. Bad cab mounts would appear to give the same kind of movement also. Because then the cab would move when hitting the bump but the engine and transmission would stay in their normal place.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

Oh! Good call! Ill check out all of the rubber mounts on the transmission and cab and see if I can see anything out of the ordinary.

 

[Shran]

Because you have a 2.3... and because I have been through this several times with 2.3's... I would suspect engine mounts before anything else. I believe it was the driver's side one that broke on me on a couple trucks - snap the throttle open while you're watching the engine mount and you'll probably see it separate. It was always a super floppy shifter that clued me in on it too.

Replacing them on a 2wd isn't too bad, the passenger side one on a 4x4 truck is a nightmare though. One of the nuts is just in a really bad spot above the axle beam.

 

[STPL]

Because you have a 2.3... and because I have been through this several times with 2.3's... I would suspect engine mounts before anything else. I believe it was the driver's side one that broke on me on a couple trucks - snap the throttle open while you're watching the engine mount and you'll probably see it separate. It was always a super floppy shifter that clued me in on it too.

Replacing them on a 2wd isn't too bad, the passenger side one on a 4x4 truck is a nightmare though. One of the nuts is just in a really bad spot above the axle beam.

Those are on my list of things to replace along with just about every other piece of rubber under the cab. Thanks for the advice, I'll look into checking those out sooner than later. Any advice on replacing them? Does the engine have enough play to be raised up by a jack enough to swap em out, or am I looking at pulling the whole engine out?

 

[Shran]

I have done them twice, both times by simply lifting the engine with a cherry picker. You might be able to do it with a jack, but a lifting device would be a lot safer (your hands will be between the engine and frame a lot and a jack could slip.) Removing the engine is absolutely not necessary.

 

[STPL]

I have done them twice, both times by simply lifting the engine with a cherry picker. You might be able to do it with a jack, but a lifting device would be a lot safer (your hands will be between the engine and frame a lot and a jack could slip.) Removing the engine is absolutely not necessary.

Good to know! Ive got an Engine Hoist that ill put to good use.