Replacing the shifter

#1

IS there a “hold your mouth right” secret to doing a short shift with the gear box in place, or does the trans cross member have to come out and the box lowered? I’d rather tap into the experience base here than wasting my time if the is an effective shortcut. Thanks in advance.

#2

While it can be done w/o disconnecting the transmission cross member and lowering the rear of the transmission, the task is easier if you do so.

#3

Yeah you will struggle to bet the bitch pin out without more room in the top of the transmission tunnel. The cross member is held on with 4 bolts and takes a minute to drop. Just do it.

#4

Look on the pelican parts forum for good pics.
I recommend the 101 projects book from them.
Bruce

#5

By the way, on every trans we touch, we throw the bitch clip as far into the weeds as possible and replace it with a good old-fashioned nut/bolt of the correct size. Have never had a problem and never had to deal with the B-C again!

#6

I did mine whilst in the car. I don’t remember it being that awful.

#7

ctbimmer wrote:

That works, or you can easily remove the clip with a radiator hose tool. You need the one that has the tip “twisted” rather than straight. To remove the clip you slid the tool over the top of the transmission and engage the clip with the point of the tool as you pull it back out. That will spread the side of the clip and unlock it and rotate it up at the same time.

#8

If you’re just installing the shifter, it’s very simple and does not require removing the “BC” or dropping the tranny. It’s a tight fit, but you can get there without removing anything other than the shifter components inside the car. The connector rod bushings are when you have to start removing a lot of things.

I think you can do everything except the front bushings without removing the BC.

I know that UUC Motorwerks has some installation instructions on their site and I’m sure others do as well. Of course the Bentley Manual or the Pelican book mentioned above are great resources as well.

#9

Got it done. PHEW !!! Unbolted the cross brace towards the rear of the gearbox and let it drop until the cylinder head pressed against the firewall. With the interior alreay out of the car, I found a rubber grommet over the nasty clip on top of the box. Finally got that off and the rest was fairly easy ------------ except getting all of the years of black goo that accumulated on the transmission. What a mess. The short shifter is fantastic but still has some side to side slop, but no nearly what was there before. It was tough doing things with the car on stands, but all things considered it went fairly smoothly. It was GREAT having a good shop manual handy !!!

#10

The side to side slop can be fixed with a new selector rod joint aka knuckle on the back of the gearbox. Might also pay to install a UUC DSSR at the same time, just make sure you use the late model narrow rod joint Pn#25117503525