Shifter Linkage Replacement

[doc526]

Hello all,

 

I figured that since I lurk most of the time, that I would do something that would be more productive and somewhat informative.

 

This past Thursday, I replaced the joint that connects the shifter arm to the transmission. I know that there is a way to rebuild this, but since I was leaving on a 1800 mile trip in 6 hours, I chose to buy it from the local dealer.

 

Price was not too bad, $60 for the linkage and $2 for the roll pin.

 

Car: 1997 Outback 2.5 DOHC, 5MT transmission approx 175K miles

 

Tools:

 

Hammer

Long punches, (one wider than the pin and one a little smaller than the roll pin that attached the linkage to transmission) * I will look tonight at my set and get the sizes*

12" 3/8 drive extension

3/8 drive universal joint

3/8 drive ratchet

3/8" drive 12mm shallow socket

12mm wrench

Needle nose pliers

Short small bolt just a hair smaller in diameter than the pin and only about 1/2 the length of the pin. (use this for alignment purposes)

 

 

 

Step 1. Jack up car and secure on jack stands

 

Step 2. Place shifter in 5th gear. This gives easier access to the roll pin that attaches the linkage to the transmission. When I started the process, I left the car in neutral and found it a real PITA to get the new pin installed.... The transmission cross member gets in the way to get a straight shot on tapping the pin in.

 

Step 3. Using the needle nose pliers remove the centering spring from the lower mount.

 

Step 4. Using the 12mm shallow socket and ratchet, remove the lower shifter arm nut from the transmission. Pull the arm off the transmission and lay off to the side.

 

Step 5. Using the extension, universal joint, socket, ratchet and wrench. Remove the bolt and nut that attaches the upper shifter arm from the linkage. On my car the bolt only went in one way so make sure you note which way it came out.

 

Step 6. Using the hammer and wide punch tap the pin up from the bottom until it is flush with the linkage. Then using the narrow punch finish tapping the pin out.

 

Step 7. Slide the old linkage off. Remove old centering spring for re-installation later. Note which way spring came off. It make a difference upon re-installation later.

 

Step 8. Get the new linkage and roll pin. Tap the roll pin into the linkage (making note of which way on the linkage faces down) just enough for the pin to stay in place. Too deep and you cannot slide the linkage on the transmission. I used a bench vise, but later I was able to tap it in with the hammer after I knocked it out a few times while installing it.( It was at this time I realized the 5th gear made things easier.)

 

Step 9. Slide the linkage on to the transmission. From the top of the linkage use the bolt to find the hole that the roll pin goes into. This will allow you to knock the pin back in without having the linkage flop all over the place. Since it is a bit smaller than the hole the roll pin should allow the bolt to fall out when the pin is knocked in. Using the wide punch and hammer tap pin until pin is equal length on both sides of linkage. Mine was about 1/16" exposed on either side. Reattach one half of centering spring to linkage

 

Step 10. Reattach the upper shifter arm using the items from step 5. Make note of bolt placement.

 

Step 11. Reattach the lower shifter assembly to the transmission using items from step 4.

 

Step 12. Reattach centering spring.

 

Step 13. Recheck your work and make sure you have all your tools.

 

Step 14. Raise car off jack stands and remove jack stands.

 

Step 16. Lower car to ground.

 

Step 17. Drive car and take in the new found shifting sensation.

 

If I left something out. Please feel free to add.

 

 

Dean

Edited June 30, 2010 by doc526
Info added.

[Legacy777]

Nice write-up. Thanks for sharing.

[doc526]

Thanks.

 

Update for the tools. Been a while since I said I would do it.. :-\

 

Small punch was a 1/8" diameter

 

Large punch was 5/16" diameter.

[1-3-2-4]

Thanks so much for the info for some reason I was seeing two part numbers for this year but this solves that!

[doc526]

You're welcome. I have been following your recent purchase and hope it all goes well for you.

 

Since the write up I have put 40K on it and it still feels great.

[1-3-2-4]

haha I was hoping you were still active here did the dealer have the linkage part on hand or did they have to order it? I have some punch pins but I have to go check to see if I have the sizes you listed.. interesting I did not know it was two pins.

 

If it keeps raining im going to have to put up a huge tent.

[Fairtax4me]

Yeah the middle pin might as well not be there though. It gives you a false sense of accomplishment by popping out really easy. Then the large pin won't even budge. I had to use an air hammer on mine before it would move at all.

[1-3-2-4]

I saw a little bit of rust on it.. but good thing about the outback is I can go under the whole car with ease

 

it's going to rain on tuesday when I get the car so not very many pictures hah

[doc526]

haha I was hoping you were still active here did the dealer have the linkage part on hand or did they have to order it? I have some punch pins but I have to go check to see if I have the sizes you listed.. interesting I did not know it was two pins.

 

If it keeps raining im going to have to put up a huge tent.

 

 

It was easier to use two sizes of punches for me. I kept slipping off the pin with the smaller punch trying to break the pin free so I used the larger punch to knock the pin loose and flush with the linkage and used the smaller punch to finish the job.

 

Luckily, my local dealer had everything in stock so I had the parts immediately.

 

I am still active although 99.9% of the time I lurk around without logging in. I mainly prefer to read rather than comment as I have relatively little experience with wrenching on soobs.

 

Most of my wrenching has been on domestic cars, 7.3 and 6.0 Ford Diesels and various 1929-1950 hot rods.

 

About 2 months ago I did change out both tie rod arms, tie rod ends, both ball joints and a passenger side front wheel bearing.

 

Dean

[1-3-2-4]

holy crap lol this linkage is by far the worst I've seen.. when going around turns it will flop around haha and so much that you can hear the whine from the tranny when it does so.

 

I for sure will get this replacement It makes finding 3rd a little hard

[1-3-2-4]

Ok I'm going to do it tomorrow I was playing with the shifter yesterday and I see the area where I will have enough space but man rust :-/

 

 

I don't think I saw a spring on mine but I can take a picture for you

 

Another question on the linkage at the top is that a nut I feel? I'm not sure how long these are meant to last for but any issues sliding the new one on?

 

 

here is a video showing how sloppy it is

 

Edited April 21, 2011 by 1-3-2-4

[doc526]

Mine was just that sloppy too. While driving mine would bounce around and make a clicking sound and make shifting into gear challenging. When I pulled it out, the bushing material was completely gone.

 

There is a nut on top of that bolt. As far as how long it will last, im not sure. I live in the south where salt is an unheard of idea, so all the hardware was in perfect condition.

 

The spring I refer to helps hold the shifter in the center (netutral) position. If you pull the handle to the left like you are going to go into first gear (without putting it into gear) and let go, the shifter should automatically center itself.

 

I saw yout video and noticed that you are lacking the plate that should go on to the large shift linkage arm bushing. That is the anchor point for the spring. The other side goes to the little ear on the shift linkage.

 

I show that plate/spring/linkage assembly in the third picture. On yours that might be the reason for all the play in the bushing. That plate acts as a big washer to hold that bushing steady.

 

Let me know if you need any more info.

 

Dean

Edited April 22, 2011 by doc526

[1-3-2-4]

i'm looking at the opposedforces site and I see that part with the spring sounds like someone has been around the shifter before.. if that's the case I might as well replace those bushings as well?

 

Might work for direct link

 

http://opposedforces.com/parts/legacy/us_b11/type_47/manipulation/manual_gear_shift_system/illustration_1/

Edited April 22, 2011 by 1-3-2-4

[doc526]

I dont see why you can't.

 

 

If you have access to a wire brush or a wire wheel on a grinder I would clean up the bolt and nut to inspect their condition. If they look pretty cruddy, get new ones too.

 

Parts you are missing are #22 and 26.

[1-3-2-4]

yep I wrote the numbers down hah that site has been a lifesaver on those odd parts.

[1-3-2-4]

Oh man that large washer thing was the only thing from the dealer they had to order from NJ or the SOA plant in Indiana..

 

He was like you can't just use a normal washer? and I was like no.. I need the spring to hook onto the washer..

 

I'm not sure how much it's going to help.. centering yes but this is just a stop gap.. I'm not buying the replacement transmission until after I do this wedding too risky if something stupid goes wrong.

[1-3-2-4]

Put the stuff on yesterday day nice it centers its self when not in gear and it no longer pops out of 2nd when driving around slow off throttle.

 

still floppy when shifting because of the linkage but I'm waiting for vaction next month for the heavy duty stuff Going to try to do both back to back engine pull/transmission replacement.

 

[doc526]

Getting better each time.

Edited June 17, 2011 by doc526

[Fairtax4me]

That' silly spring is 100% required for proper shifting. It's incredible how much difference it makes just to have that spring.

[1-3-2-4]

Yeah side to side movement feels stiffer it was stupid it took almost 2 weeks to get that stupid large washer.. must of came from SIA.

[doc526]

I can see that. I don't think that there is too much of a demand for that as it's not a real wear item.

 

Most dealers will stock parts that move in a short amount of time. :-\

[1-3-2-4]

I can see that. I don't think that there is too much of a demand for that as it's not a real wear item.

 

Most dealers will stock parts that move in a short amount of time. :-\

 

hah yeah he was baffled why I could not use a normal washer lol I tried to explain but just gave up lmao.

[Tmb9862]

Do you know the part number on that spring by any chance? My 96 Outback has a slightly different shifter linkage but the spring s probably the same and I've never had one in my car.

[1-3-2-4]

do you know the part number on that spring by any chance? My 96 outback has a slightly different shifter linkage but the spring s probably the same and i've never had one in my car.

 

 

33022ga081

[kjmclark]

Alright, I just did this and I have some warnings. 98 Brighton, 220k miles. We had enough slop that it was getting hard to hit fourth gear, and in fifth, the shifter had a nasty rattle. We started putting a pop bottle against it to shut it up, but that led to swearing every time we got off the expressway and tried to downshift!

 

Changing to 5th right away - awesome.

 

Getting the pin out - like everyone said, the small pin moves easily, the big one is a bear, mostly because you don't have much room to swing the hammer. You *must* have a 5/16" punch, but you almost certainly won't find one long enough to be able to hit it. What you want is another punch, I used a 3/8", to hit your first punch. I used the long 3/8" (why's it so freakin hard to find a long 5/16" any more?) to get the pin flush with the linkage, then another long centering punch to get it in some, then the 5/16.

 

I got the pins out, then discovered that my linkage and transmission rod are corroded together. I had hit the linkage with PB Blaster five days ago, but it was still locked tight. I hit it with the punch a bit to break things loose, and still nothing. It was going to take some cutting to get the darned thing off. I took a good look at my bushings, and discovered my permanent bushings were in good shape, but my replaceable bushings were shot. I decided to take the bushings off my new part and save cutting the linkage off for the shop another day. So I put the pins back in (using the tape trick, tape your pin to the end of your punch).

 

The bolt for the rear (vertical bolt) bushings came out just fine. The top bushing was gone. The bottom was just the plastic cap. I was laying under the car with my legs sticking out the driver's side. I found I had a *lot* better access to the nut on top of that bolt if I turned the other way. (Though I couldn't see what I was doing at all like that.) So I put my wrench on the nut, turned back around, and only needed to turn the socket wrench (yes, you *must* have the universal socket.) I pushed the new bushings in (had to turn myself around again to get the top.)

 

Then I tried to get the bolt back in - - it wouldn't *begin* to go in. I tried all sorts of stuff, but it wouldn't go anywhere. There was so much crud in the linkage, that I could get the bushings in, but there was so little clearance left that I couldn't get the bolt back in. I ended up cleaning (sanding) off the bolt, using a battery terminal brush to clean out the gunk in the linkage, hitting the linkage with silicone multiple times, and putting some superlube on the bushings and the bolt. I *still* had to force it. As I was turning the bolt with my socket driver, I pushed hard as I could into the bolt at the same time. After about 15 minutes of grunting and swearing, it was finally in.

 

Works great now. I strongly advise people to figure out which bushings need replacing early on. Save yourself some grief if all you need is the replaceable bushings. And if your linkage looks corroded to the transmission rod, do yourself a favor and give it to the shop! I started wacking and twisting things, and realized I was wacking and twisting a fairly delicate part of my transmission! Bad idea! Render unto the shop the really hard jobs...