Shifter feels like it's binding up.

[ShadowGT]

I installed my transmission. Taking it out I opted to keep the shifter assembled. Test drove the car, things went fine but I noticed my shifter felt weird.

Today I drove to work while first stopping at a store. Thirty miles, spirited driving and noticed something.

Complaint:
Shifter easily goes into first, third and fifth. Easily moves from 1,3,5 to neutral. Shifter is difficult to move into 2,4, Reverse. Resistance is felt. Shifter is difficult to move from 2,4 to other gears including returning to neutral. Very difficult to seamlessly flow from gear to gear especially if gears on the lower side of the shift pattern are involved.

Observations:
1. When accessing 2,4, or reverse or shifting out of 2,4,R, I can feel something rubber through the gear lever. You know what I'm saying? There is some sort of resistance, it feels like something rubber.
2. Front shifter bushing is intact, a polyurethane replacement.
3. rear shifter bushing, the two bolt thing that goes aft of the shifter plate is original stock.

Equipment:
Kartboy Short Throw Shifter 5MT. Kartboy polyurethane front shifter bushing. Stock Subaru Legacy rear shifter bushing. Turn In Concept shifter arm (Shifter arm-Yoke) bushings.

I suspect something has gone wrong with the rear bushing and should be replaced. I can't see what the problem is, I'm working nights and I won't be able to really look at it until the weekend. I'm just looking for thoughts and ideas.

The clutch is fine, nothing rattling or chattering. Clutch engagement is fine. Problem is isolated in the gear shifter specifically accessing gears 2,4 or reverse only.

[chuckthefuk]

Sounds like your linkage is not seated properly. Either the upper linkage that connects to your shifter through the tunnel or the lower linkage which passes through the front/rear bushings.. Check your snap ring and see if its wearing away this could lift the shifter up a few mm and cause the binding..

-Chuck

[ShadowGT]

Sounds like your linkage is not seated properly. Either the upper linkage that connects to your shifter through the tunnel or the lower linkage which passes through the front/rear bushings.. Check your snap ring and see if its wearing away this could lift the shifter up a few mm and cause the binding..

-Chuck

Where is this snap ring? I found a snap ring under my car after the install. I never saw it fall to the ground, just saw it laying there after all the work was done. Didn't think much of it because we work on other cars and motorcycles. Thought it may have rolled under my car from another project. I couldn't remember pulling a snap ring from anywhere on car during this project.

Also looking at the kartboy rear shifter stay bushing part KB-003-Rear.
There is a hole in the bushing. Does the shifter stay go all the way through out the back? I remember when adjusting the shifter to fit back through the transmission tunnel that the entire rear bushing stay assembly had moved up the metal shaft like a doughnut on a metal rod.

By the way..
Upper linkage is seated properly. Front lower linkage is seated properly.
Either way I'm going to be ordering that Kartboy part tomorrow. Seems like at this car's age all the bushings everywhere are wearing out. Now that the engine and transmission are properly built all I've been doing is chasing old chassis parts that have worn away.

I've already counted numerous bushings that look like crapola.

Thanks for your input.

[chuckthefuk]

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/

Without the snap ring installed you should be able to pull the shifter out of the lower linkage.. The snap ring clips on to the bottom of the shifter its #9 in the explosion diagram.

The rear bushings should not be a concern unless the hole that allows the linkage to go into is clogged thus preventing the linkage from fully extending.

-Chuck

[ShadowGT]

Oh you are the man. I'd mail you a beer.
Ok, I'll go see if part #9 still exists on my car. At least I still have that ring on my parts shelf.

HA!
Here's something I never noticed. See that spring - Part 17? I don't have that spring. I never did. I've been all up around there when I put the Kartboy front bushing in and recently with doing the clutch. There is no spring in my car. Like it's missing. I guess the last 2 years it's been missing and I never knew it was supposed to be there.
So it attaches to part 18 at the flange.. but where does it go on the other side? Part 16 or 8?
I have box of little springs and shit. I'm sure I have one that will suffice.

[chuckthefuk]

Thats the return spring.. I am guessing you have always had a wobbly feel Left-Right with your shifter.....

Check out the DIY.. at the bottom there is a spec for the spring or you can just it at the dealer.

viewtopic.php?f=39&t=9841 (https://sl-i.net/FORUM/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=9841)

The spring attaches to #16 -> #18

#8 is the dust boot..

Once have the spring and your under the car it will all make sense.

No need for beer its why I am on SLi... to help and improve.

Good luck with your restoration and upgrades.. The joy of owning a pre-2000 subaru :-D

Oh btw.. I don't know if its necessary but when I installed my B&M the instructions told me to rotate #3 the metal shift gate 180 degrees. Without me doing this there was extreme binding to get into 1st.. but I haven't heard of anyone complaining about that issue.

-Chuck

[ShadowGT]

Thats the return spring.. I am guessing you have always had a wobbly feel Left-Right with your shifter.....

Check out the DIY.. at the bottom there is a spec for the spring or you can just it at the dealer.

viewtopic.php?f=39&t=9841 (https://sl-i.net/FORUM/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=9841)

The spring attaches to #16 -> #18

#8 is the dust boot..

Once have the spring and your under the car it will all make sense.

No need for beer its why I am on SLi... to help and improve.

Good luck with your restoration and upgrades.. The joy of owning a pre-2000 subaru :-D

Oh btw.. I don't know if its necessary but when I installed my B&M the instructions told me to rotate #3 the metal shift gate 180 degrees. Without me doing this there was extreme binding to get into 1st.. but I haven't heard of anyone complaining about that issue.

-Chuck

Ha, my laptop rebooting while trying to post after your response.
Thanks for your info. I haven't had time to get under car.. that and it's been 29 degrees at night here and I'm on the gulf coast. I have a thermal work suit but that's just awful working under the car in a car port at freezing temps.

So it all makes sense so far and I'll post back here again if I can't restore things to normal.

[jey]

The spring actually attaches from #18 to the stay bracket.

[ShadowGT]

The spring actually attaches from #18 to the stay bracket.

Which part number is the stay bracket?
I did notice that I can shift better if I push down on the shifter pretty hard so it's definitely out of place. That snap ring being off is probably a lot of what I'm experiencing.

[jey]

Yeah Chuck is right, I misread the diagram. #16 is the bracket, so the spring attaches from #16 to #18.

[ShadowGT]

Yeah Chuck is right, I misread the diagram. #16 is the bracket, so the spring attaches from #16 to #18.

It's all good. I just need to find that spring. I was at Ace Hardware and Home Depot and they don't have anything like that. We just got a Subaru dealership but it's part of a Toyota / Ford / Hyundai / Mazda dealership. They have one of each Subaru and that's it. Their parts department is awful.

[elislider]

im not sure what would be causing your specific problem without being able to feel the shifter myself, but heres a few things to check.

-- that spring (#17 in the pic above) is part number 33022GA081 - its only about $1
-- if you have any sloppyness in the shifter when it is IN gear, you need to replace #13 in the picture above. part number is 35047AC030 (should come with 2 of the #5 in the picture as well) - this is about $50 though (but it will make the shifter much more precise and responsive if yours is worn)
-- i cant imagine your ring clip (as discussed above) is a problem, because if it was, when you went to shift into 1/3/5 you would pull the shifter right out of its base.

you might also reference this
http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/sho ... p?p=961402 (http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?p=961402)

[ShadowGT]

I haven't had the time to ramp my car and start looking around under there. I did receive my Kartboy rear shifter stay bushing kit and I will say that the one on my car looks like total crap. I mean just by comparison from the new one. We'll see what happens day after tomorrow when I take a look under there.

[ShadowGT]

Sorry for the double post.
Problem resolved.
Installed the rear shifter stay from Kartboy. Binding sensation is gone. Gear shifts are smooth and accurate.
I have front shifter stay bushing too as well as the TIC bushings for the actual shifter arm.
Still have some side to side play because that spring is not there. But the problem I was having is gone.

Had to take the entire shifter stay arm out of the car to get the rear stay bushing on. Had to get my wife to push down on the shifter itself so I can get the snap ring back on and mated to the stay arm.

[chuckthefuk]

stupid snap ring.. glad your all set.
-Chuck

[ShadowGT]

Thanks! Yeah my wife was yelling at me to hurry up because she had to really push down hard to get that part #13 to pop through enough for me to get the snap ring on. Then I accidentally shot the ring off the pliers opening it up. Some hilarity ensued though my wife didn't think it.

Holy crap though to get that rear shifter bushing stay on took some "persuading."

[chuckthefuk]

at least you didn't have to deal with the Allen key bolts that came with the B&M unit.. so stupid... and impossible to get off after a few winters..
-Chuck

[ShadowGT]

Just wanted to report back, 100 miles and the shifter is still good now. New rear shifter stay made all the difference in the world.
Now after I fix the speed sensor, I'll track down that spring I'm missing.