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shift slop?

Posted: Wed Jun 14, 2006 8:57 pm
by sh0rtlife
been looking thru the site and i dont find any info on how to eliminate the slop in a worn out shifter as in the link between the shifter and the arm running back to the transaxle

was wondering what you guys normaly do on this stuff or do ya just replace the parts and call it a day?

i managed to firm mine up better than the average new car with a bit of re-engineering and creative thinking..but mine was worn out so bad that the arm running above the drive shaft was actualy hitting the rubber joints

Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 5:43 am
by DaveH
I've got a roller bearing shifter kit I can sell you. Depends on what year yr '6 is thou.

Have a look:

http://www.alfabb.com/bb/forums/showthr ... er+upgrade

Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 7:50 am
by Terry Johnston
I recomend Dave's kit. Also, if you have the 85-86 isolastic shifter mechanism Perfomatek has a rebuild kit to replace the components that wear out. If you have a earlier car APE in Tracy used to sell a kit that is documented in this web site that took a late Milana isolastic shift mechanism and shotened it to fit a a GTV6. Don't know if they still offer that. Terry

Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 8:08 am
by sh0rtlife
yeah ive got an 83...im skilled enuf to adapt anything to just about any car lol..love your design

being my linkage was pure slop in all direction in fact the side of the fork were even rounded and so were the sides of the eye sooo i welded some of it up and re surfaced it all then drilled the eye out a little bit to accept standard hurst shift kit bushings ..the stock steel pin that rides inside had to be milled down a tad(wich fit on a dremel bit makeing a minilathe)....at a minimum its a very solid fix untill something better for this style comes along

i imagine the berings you used arnt cheep mind me asking where you found em and for what aplication?....i dont see why i couldnt make it work on the older style by cutting the eye off and welding a new bigger eye on

Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 8:55 am
by Terry Johnston
The process is documented on this website at http://alfagtv6.com/eurocar7.htm Basically it involves the shortening of a later Milano shift linkage, replacing the shift lever with one from a later milano ot 85-86 GTV6 and replacing the shift arm in the transmission. A older style 81-83 shift linkage cannot be modified for the isolastic. Some people have put solid bushings and alfa ricambe sold a replacement shift mechanism but it was not as good as the 85-86 isolastics.

Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 9:47 am
by DaveH
It could work if you enlarge the eye and fork. Diameters and widths are different between old and new.

Converting to iso is a great way to go.

Can't recall where the brgs came from. I bought a large quantity and got an oem discount (thru work), as low qties are just v expensive. They're twin sealed roller brgs, so they're superior to a bushing for most apps. In fact, a roller set for this app is overkill. But hey, you should never have to touch it again, right :wink:

Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 1:04 pm
by sh0rtlife
actualy dave i realy like the idea and am curious of getting ahold of the berings themselvs as something to work from..i saw my bushing setup as a temp fix that feels great but was idealy looking for berings at the time of thought..being ive fabricated many parts in the past i can pretty much scratch build anything from a single part...course if i was going to go all out id probably goto a cable shift but im not building a race car out of this one

Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2006 9:52 pm
by Zamani
There's a lot of left-right slop on my shifter. Is it the roll pin? I have to drill it out? Man that's scary. Is it tough to do? The left-right movement has almost no elasticity or resistance. Doesn't center itself. I replaced the worn parts in the isostatic linkage only 2 years ago.

Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2006 2:56 am
by MD
Hey Zed man. Ever hear the saying " I'll see you in the Spring when the bed breaks?" No, well you certainly live a sheltered life...

Your problem is the self centering spring in your selector. Unfortunately, you gotta take the front of the box off to fix it :cry:

Could be broken, could be out of adjustment, could be just knackered.

rottsa ruck ..

BTW the left to right action is called the "gate"

Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2006 3:29 am
by Mats
Do you still have slop when you have a gear engaged?

Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:43 am
by Zamani
Yeap. I think it's internal. Darn! Although I don't think it's gonna effect the gearbox performance. Just that I cannot let people drive my car since they might shove it in the wrong gear..... maybe time to put a ferrari style gate at the shifter to avoid misshifting ? :roll:

But I still wanna check the iso linkage first.

Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2006 11:47 am
by Mats
I was going to say that if you do it's probably NOT internal. :wink:

Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2006 12:08 pm
by Zamani
Really Mats? WHich part do you think it is? Is it where the 2 shafts of the iso joins?

Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2006 11:54 pm
by Mats
Bottom of the stick is the usual culprit, difficult to get nice and tight without making it sticky. The arm on the actual shift axle is usually seized so that's probably not it. :lol:
Should probably have a look at the isostatic joints too and see if they have play in them or if anything have worked itself loose.

Naturally the non-centering part is internal but I don't see how the shifter parts inside the box can actually wear out, there is no movement that can cause wear unless you are doing some really weird shifting techniques. :?

Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2006 12:43 pm
by Daniel
there is no movement that can cause wear unless you are doing some really weird shifting techniques.
unless you rest your hand on the stick while driving, wearing out selectors etc but that only effects the fore/aft movement, not the cross gate.