Shifter play

[siazul]

Hey guys got a question for you e30 experts.

My e30 I just picked up seems to have lots of "play" while in gear. What I mean is the shifter is still able to move side to side a good amount no matter what gear its in 1-5.

Is this normal for the car/transmission? My other Car is a 06 Civic Si and stock it had very little play while in gears and with upgraded bushings its all but gone.

Shed some light on this please

[llll1l1ll]

Mine does it, too. The bushings in the shift linkage are worn out. It's an easy solution, just a huge pain to do (at least it looks like it is).

[Charley]

You have to replace a few bushings if you want to lose the play in
the linkage.

Parts that need to be replaced are 8,2,6 if you want to do a minimal job
But if you want to replace everything then you should change 8,2,6,11,13
14 and the lever itself(you can use one from other models z3/z4/e36 m3
to get an oem short shifter)

And it isn't hard to replace these just time consuming as you have to
remove the exhaust/heat shield and the driveshaft to get to the linkage
itself.

[siazul]

^^Nice diagram Thanks.

I figured it had to be bushings, Im so used to my civics not moving at all and the e30 has so much play, I even thought I had pulled it out of gear the first time I drove it and stalled when I came to a stop lol.

Im going to tackle this soon, I dont think Im going to replace this shifter though, shifting feels good and short Previous owner installed B&M short shifter and I like the way it feels.

[lateracer]

Replacing all the stuff Charley mentioned will make a huge difference, but it'll still be sloppier than a civic probably. The biggest problem is the system that revolve around piece 10 (selector rod). It's the system that does the heavy lifting and even when everything has been refreshed, it's still kinda sloppy.

If you replace that piece with a double shear selector rod (DSSR) it's night and day. AKG makes one for about 120, which seems kind of pricey at first, but it does more to tighten up your shifting than the rest of the rebuild I think....don't do just this though, do the rest of the stuff Charley mentioned when you get everything opened up.

Also, don't give in to the ebay kit that's about $50. If you do research here on ebay shifters you'll see why this piece - that you use a ton - is worth spending a little $$ on and if you cheap out, you'll pay the price. My eBay short shifter bound up on the track and all I had was 3rd gear to get in to the pits. Total fail on shifter rebuild b/c of that one shit piece.

My .02

[Jean]

^ having done two full shifter rebuilds, one early style and one late model style I agree with the above. Even with all new OEM parts it will still have some left/right play. I believe the books say 4mm or 1/4" is in spec. Also, the early console deff. has LESS place than the new.

[Holland]

^ having done two full shifter rebuilds, one early style and one late model style I agree with the above. Even with all new OEM parts it will still have some left/right play. I believe the books say 4mm or 1/4" is in spec. Also, the early console deff. has LESS place than the new.

Really? I would have thought the early one would have more play.

[Jean]

Nope... the early one deff. had less play once it's fully refreshed. Probably because the early console has 3 mounting points if you think about it.

[Holland]

Nope... the early one deff. had less play once it's fully refreshed. Probably because the early console has 3 mounting points if you think about it.

True, mine is refreshed but still has plenty of slop I would like to get rid of. I'm thinking about trying this sometime in the future.

[MrSlacker]

Charley, can you please link to the RealOEM page so we can get part numbers. Thanks

[Jean]

https://www.realoem.com

[Charley]

^

[Dolmangar]

I'm getting ready to do all of this work. I picked up the Pelican Parts bag-o-bits to refresh the shifter.

I've gone through most of the 50 page thread on short shifters and I still can't get a straight answer on whether I need to remove the drive shaft to actually do this job. My understanding is that if you just want to replace the shift lever you can do it, but it appears that the drive shaft needs to come down to replace all the bushings? Is this correct? Also, how much do you need to take down? Just pull the bolts off and lower the front of the shaft down (supporting it) or does it need to get fully removed from the car to get to everthing?

I'm considering going to the local "Rent a Bay" car repair shop to do this since it will be easier on a lift than jack stands and I'm not as flexible as I used to be.

[lateracer]

I think it's possible to do the shifter rebuild without getting the drive shaft out of the way, but I wouldn't do it. My hands aren't small/nimble enough. I've redone my shifter three times (once with the pelican kit, twice with an ebay kit that I installed incorrectly the first time) and am about to do it one last time - hopefully - with an autosolutions kit...because the ebay kit is even worse than a factory sloppy shifter.

Because you're renting a bay/lift, I would highly suggest pulling your exhaust and heat shields to get a good shot at your drive shaft. Then loosen the guibo bolts and CSB. That will allow you to pull the guibo and rest/hang the drive shaft out of the way without fully removing it.

It might sound like overkill to reach the shifter assembly, but the added room will make the swap process easier and faster. Doing this will also give you leeway you might need to get crafty (ex: loosening motor and/or transmission mounts to tilt the assembly and easily reach the bitch clip on top).

My .02 from having not done this job correctly 3 times.

[Dolmangar]

Thanks for the info, nothing like talking to someone who's actually done it.

I'm 90% sure I want to get a shorter shifter but haven't dropped the hammer on one yet. It's a weekend/daily driver so it's not that important and I could do it later. But right now it's so loose that I've missed the occasional shift from third to forth so even if I stay with the stock shifter and get new bushings I should be way better off.

I think it's possible to do the shifter rebuild without getting the drive shaft out of the way, but I wouldn't do it. My hands aren't small/nimble enough. I've redone my shifter three times (once .....