loose shifter causing problems

[babar24]

hi folks,
got an 85 ranger, 5-speed manual. i posted a few weeks back about it being stuck in gear, and much thanks for the replies which got me back on the road. after much trial and error work on the truck, i think i've located my problem.

my floor shifter is EXTREMELY loose fitting in the transmission, and i think this is what was causing my transmission problems. the end of the shifter bar is about 1/4" without any ball at the end or anything. this is my first time working with manuals so i'm not sure what a shifter should look like on the end, but i know that the place where it fits into (excuse my lack of technical terms, but the part that runs down into the transmission and holds the shifter bar) is about 1/2". there is both vertical and horizontal play in the shifter and makes for extremely sloppy and frustrating shifting. its mostly a nuisance (especially when it rattles going over railroad tracks) but doesn't give me any trouble on the road, aside from the fact that its hard to figure out what gear you're going into because its so sloppy.


the real problem is in REVERSE, coming out of the reverse gear. when i'm shifting up to go back into neutral, the shifter sometimes pops out of place and just rolls around. it doesn't always happen, but when it does i can definitely tell that it is out of place from the hole it should be fitting in, because the shifter just rolls around in a circle without shifting any gears. in the past i've tried to force it back into place, but have learned thats a bad idea b/c it gets the transmission stuck between gears and i have to get down under there to jimmy it out of place (thanks again to schmoo for his advice on how to get it unstuck). i have to keep a 10mm socket wrench in my truck at all times to take the shifter out and put it back into its hole in case it happens. as you can imagine, its a huge pain in the ass.

my diagnosis is that the shifter is just so loose that its not making a solid connection and slipping out of place. does this make sense? i understand that some play is necessary to allow for proper shifting, but this thing wobbles around way too much for me to have any confidence in it. i'm scared its gonna mess up just getting out of the garage.

i called all the salvage yards in and around town and they had nothing. the only place that had a replacement floor shifter was the ford dealership.....and they wanted $225 for it. thats half of what i paid for the truck!!!!


does anyone have any suggestions? i tried putting a socket fitting down there to reduce the play, but found that it wouldn't shift. on top of that, i'm really paranoid about having random parts floating above my transmission, just waiting to fall down into the gears when i'm on the highway. there is a little plastic cone at the top of the shifter that is worn from 25 years of abuse, and that contributes to most of the vertical play.


sooo.....do i need A) a new shifter B) to replace the cone at the top of the shifter (if that is even possible) or C) get creative. getting creative and making some homemade solutions sounds easy and cheap enough, but like i said i'm paranoid about having some half-assed rig fall apart and fall down into my transmission.


thanks in advance for any advice
mark

 

[Combs Customs]

http://www.therangerstation.com/Magazine/winter2007/shifterbushings.htm

Hope that helps.

 

[kunar]

http://www.therangerstation.com/Magazine/winter2007/shifterbushings.htm

Hope that helps.

i dont think hes got a mazda trans... from his descriptions hes got an fm146??

to the OP- figure out what transmission you have here, it will help us solve your problems.

if it is in fact a mitsu trans, theres a plastic ball that should be on the end of the shifter. from the sounds of things, thats the problem. i havent figured out where to source them though. you might want to see if a dealer can get them. (just the bushing, not the whole shifter)

 

[Combs Customs]

Your right. My bad I didnt pay attention to the truck. I'm so use to the common M5OD shifter bushings going out I forget about the older ones.

 

[babar24]

yea, probably should have mentioned that its a mazda TK5. i saw that article on replacing shifter bushings earlier, but thats not what mine looks like at all.

went to a tranny shop today and talked to a mechanic who gave me a plastic cap to put inside the bottom hole that holds the shaft in place (whats that called anyway?). this reduced play a little bit but not completely. he recommended taking it to a welder and have them weld me a new ball on the end, b/c the plastic one that should be there must have disappeared with a previous owner. he said it'd be really hard to source a part that old. i tried all the junk yards and they said they had nothing, thinking about just driving up and down alleyways til i see an old dead truck on blocks and asking the owner if i can take some parts. i swear i see a ranger on every block in town, you'd think there'd be some spare parts sitting in a junk yard somewhere....

 

[kunar]

in that case, i really couldnt tell you. it sounds like there is some sort of bushing that is worn out, but how to source a replacement is whats important... unfortunately i dont have any experience with the tk transmissions...

 

[piotrsko]

I made one from a pre 66 vw black heater control knob

sanded the outside to 17mm dia and drilled a 3/8 hole where the old bar went in, but not all the way through. banged it on with a mallet, been in there for a while and so far worked really well.

and you can drill out the rivets in the top bearing holder assembly, sand the plates flat a wee bit, use 6-32 hardware to put it back together.

 

[babar24]

thinking of taking shifter bar to a welder and having him weld a ball or some kind of fitting on the end of it. worried that a homemade rig might just fall apart and grind up the gears. figure a weld job should hold at least til i can locate a parts truck to pull an old shifter out of.

 

[Gsnow]

Combs Customs, This is the exact info that I am looking for my shifter came loose just this weekend driving to work. I got on the freeway put it into 5th and Wam the thing got totally sloppy. I did have a similar thing happen to a '87, 4 cyl., 5 spd., 20 years back. I just couldn't remember how we fixed that one.

Thank you sir.