The Shifter Again--and I'm Stuck

[KVH]

Gee, here I am again. Stuck, but in my own garage. Lucky not on the highway. TR4A.

Same problem as two months ago.

The plunger in the gear shifter (the lever according to Moss) apparently has popped out of the shifter and I'm stuck somewhere in the land of "H."

This requires removal of: The console bracket, radio, plinth, switch plate and controls, and finally the center console to access the shifter.

So, here's my question: How can this happen twice? I already installed a new spring and plunger last time. Is the gear shifter worn where the plunger fits in? It does seem a bit worn, but I can't imagine that's a typical problem.

Any ideas?

 

[KVH]

Just a follow up: I have it all apart again. The plunger in fact slipped out. The old spring is longer than the new one I bought from Moss. Odd. The old plunger is all chewed up, nicked and scored. The sockets of the shift rods seem OK but first/second is a bit scored. Hard to see, or to explain, but it's as if all the sliding created a bit a groove in that shift rod, whereas the rod for third/fourth has no apparent scoring. The socket of the shift lever does look rounded and a bit chipped. I guess I'll order a new one and see if that's the problem. Here's a picture so you can see what you think. Thx

 

[Marvin Gruber]

Most of my cars trans don't have the spring in the shifter and they work just fine. Maybe your shifter top is just worn more than you think. I have several parts transmissions if you want to get a different shifter for it.

Marv

 

[Geo Hahn]

...This requires removal of: The console bracket, radio, plinth, switch plate and controls, and finally the center console to access the shifter...

This time leave all that off until you're driven it quite awhile. Just make a partial tunnel in case the front U-Joint slings any grease:

 

[glemon]

Also helps you maintain the proper finger count if you happen to forget the tunnel is off and reach down there!

 

[KVH]

I'm going to order a new spring and plunger and try all that first. I see the shifter isn't available.

Greg, not sure I've ever posted a pic of my Red TR for you to see (I'm looking at your Avatar):



Mine is a 4A, but the prior owner (a paint and body man) liked the TR250 look.

 

[KVH]

I actually left the tunnel in place. I just meant that entire TR4A/250/6 padded console integrated into the console support bracket.

I'm thinking of going to a hardware store and fabricating my own plunger. It's just a piece of steel. I guess only to avoid rattling.

 

[Moseso]

The plunger doesn't need to be that little cylinder shaped thing. A 1/4" ball bearing works fine and might go easier on the shift lever cups. That's what I've got in my TR3.
That's the way it came to me. When I rebuilt the gearbox, I ordered the "official" part but it flew out and bounced clean off the face of the earth when I was reassembling. So I put the 1/4" ball bearing back in...

 

[KVH]

I've really been noodling this.

I can't explain why the new plunger from Moss popped out, and it puzzles me that this all happened after I put in a new spring and plunger in the first place. It's like the old story of "don't fix it if it's not broken." I did use a slightly longer spring, but that seems to be harmless--or even helpful. It should take up more "slop" and avoid the plunger falling out.

However, the "new" plunger, with this longer spring behind it, popped out twice, jamming the shifter lever from moving in any direction. Like Marv says, I'm tempted to do without any.

Instead, at least for now, I've fabricated a slightly longer plunger, making the plunger about 3/32" longer than the Moss stock. Then, I machined a crown on the top of it. It's all back together and works great, but who knows next week.


So, as usual, I have a question: I can't think of any reason that the longer spring or the longer plunger I've inserted could be a problem. Any thought on that?

 

[glemon]

As long as the longer plunger is still short enough that it can still plunge to the required depth I would think it would help, I assume you used the longer spring under the "shouldn't hurt, might help" theory, which I makes sense too. Hard to guess without seeing it, but sounds like something in the mechanism is worn out of alignment enough to give the plunger some play, or perhaps some more interference or pressure than it is supposed to have, when in action. Good luck, agree with the idea of driving it around for a while with the tunnel off, although you said the last one lasted something like three months, don't know if you want to drive with the tunnel off most of the summer. the socket in the plunger being bunged out could certainly be an issue, I might have a spare shift lever, I used to have three spare transmissions, but they are all gone now, if I find one will let you know. The red 4A looks nice, like the wheels, Greg.

 

[alanjohnturner]

The answer may be in the first picture you posted. The hole in the shifter is worn out of round. The lip is also missing on one side.

This allows the plunger to "capsize" and wriggle out. Get a shop to bore this out and fit a bronze bush. If you cant find a better shifter that is.