Shifter arm bolt

[07gts197]

I noticed more and more effort has been required to shift recently to I took the boot off the shifter and shoved my phone with the camera on down the hole into the trans tunnel to find the bolt that holds the shifter arm to the side of the trans worked its way loose again. Long story short I share my car with my dad and he didnt like the tri ax I had in there so I put the Hurst shifter back in then sold it and went back to the factory setup but in doing so I cross threaded that bolt so it wont snug all the way now. I torqued it down the best I could yesterday and got it 90% of the way in but I know it needs to be fixed. Has anyone run into the problem of it constantly loosening on its own? This isnt the first time. And what can I do to fix the threads? Will a thread chaser work in this case? What about the bolt size and thread pitch?

 

[86GT351]

If there is amore effort to shift you might have a clutch concern. Your clutch is hydraulic. If the engagement and disengagement is not proper of the clutch it can cause a hard shift

 

[07gts197]

I do have a weak slave with unknown miles but this is a different problem altogether. This bolt comes loose letting the shifter move under load. I tightened it up and its better now, not perfect though.

 

[JeremyH]

If it doesn't seat all the way due to cross threading maybe throw some washers, lock washer etc and some blue Loctite on it.

 

[07gts197]

Not a bad idea. I actually put a few washers on it before this to help fight bushing flex. I would like to fix it but I dont know if aluminum can be rethreaded. Once I get my 02 back on the road Ill tackle this.

 

[Wes06]

you could helicoil it

Yes aluminum can be re-threaded

 

[07gts197]

I figured it would be too soft and turn to dust lol. I thought about heli coiling it but Im not sure I could get any tools in there.

 

[Wes06]

well how do you expect they threaded it the first time? lol

but yeah, to do that properly youd need to probably remove the trans to be able to drill it to correct size, thread it, and such.

you might be able to just run a tap down it to clean the threads for the same size as the current bolt, would be a squeeze but shouldnt be much bigger than the bolt and wrench would take

 

[ghunt81]

FWIW I cross threaded that bolt when I first installed my Hurst, way back when I got the car, but it never worked loose. When I installed my Tri-Ax I bought a 12x1.75 tap, dropped the transmission enough to run the tap in that hole and ran the bolt through a die. It's been good since then.

 

[07gts197]

Hmm Ill try looking for that size tap thanks. Eventually Id like to swap the trans anyway but in the meantime Id like to at least get it back to normal. The problem is that I dont really have the means to do a lot of work. I cant use my jackstands because I dont have any concrete to work on since the garage is cluttered so I lay on an asphalt driveway with my stang on ramps lol. And I have to lug my tools 50 or so feet down my driveway to a nice flat spot I can put my car without worrying it will roll back on me. The point is I would like to do it right but I cant lol. Ill try the tap idea. Wish me luck lol.

 

[nyuk98GT]

97gts197,

Removing the transmission crossmember will provide 1 or 2" of extra room between the body and the transmission. Maybe this is enough to get the tap work (har, har) done.

Of course, you'll need to jack the trans back up to get the crossmember back in place. I think it is manageable on the gravel.

HTH,

Chris

 

[07gts197]

When I get around to it Ill keep that in mind in case I dont have enough room.

 

[golkhl]

Loc-tite the threads, and add a lock washer if possible.

 

[ghunt81]

I had to unbolt the crossmember, and after that I was able to lower the transmission just enough to get the tap in there. They don't give you much room but you don't have to drop it more than a few inches to be able to get the tap in there, most likely you'll have to turn it in with a wrench and not a tap handle though.

 

[07gts197]

I think Ill need a new bolt too. Thanks for the suggestions guys it should be fixed in no time.