4-speed shifter sticks

[masonma]

My 4-speed shifter is sticking when I am shift from reverse to foward gears.

anyone had this problem before?

The car is a 1968 and I have already tried removing the reverse lockout and I still get the same problem.

If I slap the shifter from the reverse gate to the foward gates it will work but that is not normal.

Thanks

 

[ssvett]

Massona, My guess is that your linkage is out of adjustment a little bit. It is fairly easy to adjust, just hard to explain. Any Corvette manual,like Chilton's or Haynes, has pretty good directions..........Sorry I'm not much help.........Steve

 

[VetteGuy66]

Stuck in Reverse

I have a 66 with a 4-speed and have often had the problem you described. When I put the car in first, then go to reverse, it dis-engages better than if I go directly into reverse. The transmission shop I went to looked at it and said he'd adjust it as well as he could from the outside, but to really see why it was hanging up coming out of reverse he'd have to take things apart. It has something to do with the alignment of the gates and forks or something like that. (Can you tell I need a book: Transmissions for Dummies"?) I am going to wait until I can get a Vette specialist to open the thing up and see what's happening. It is not a big problem, usually jiggling the shifter around frees the gear, but I do not want to go forever with this difficulty - like you, too I bet.

 

[Tom Bryant]

Shifter problems

One other thing you might want to consider is how many thousands of times that old gearbox has been stirred by that little chrome stick. There are several places in the linkage that wear and this causes your lever to have to move greater disances all the time before something happens.

The shift arms on the trans, linkage rods, clevises, and the various parts of the shifter itself can become worn to the point of not being able to be adjusted properly anymore. I would recomend removing the shifter, disassembling it, and replaceing anything that looks worn or bent. There is a shim in the shifter, called a shifter interlock, that is located between the levers that is a common wear item. Replace it when you have the unit apart.

After this and properly resinstalling and adjusting the shifter you should once again have a happy 4-speed. You can find the items you need in the Paragon catalog, www.corvette-paragon.com . No I'm not on their payroll, it's just that they have the right pieces. Others may also but this is the place I'm familiar with.

They also sell a complete repro shifter if yours is too far gone to rebuild. And, if you would rather have a Hurst shifter but don't want to give up the original appearance, they have an original style lever for the Hurst that will make it look unmodified from inside the car.

Tom

 

[VetteGuy66]

Paragon

You may have sent me to Paragon regarding "Anchor" screws or it was someone else. I called, ordered a catalog and :TALK BS'd Vettes and parts for a while with a very nice guy there. Much more congenial than Long Island Corvette Supply. Guess who is likely to be the supplier of choice for my frequent $500 restoration part orders? Thanks!

All of the descriptions for the sticky transmission repair - does one do this from the the underside of car? Or from the console? It all sounds like work best left to the competent mechanic, not me, a numbers geek. :L

 

[Tom Bryant]

VetteGuy66

Glad to help with the bolt. They are a nice place to do business with. If I remember right I had to remove the shifter from the interior side when I pulled the trans on my '67.

Want to see the old '67? Click on the little house icon below with the www beside it.

Tom

 

[VetteGuy66]

Tom's Web site

Very nice, even in a black and white photo. A '67 Corette in the drive way in winter... interesting dichotomy: a hot hot car in the cold winter snow. The exhaust pipes and wheel covers looked like modifications... Good luck on the '59 project, that must soak up all of your "free" time.

 

[Tom Bryant]

You didn't notice the rear wheel openings

This car was very modified, The cop hub caps were for winter (stainless). The outside headers were for snow melting. :L

Tom