Author Topic: Hard to shift it over to get it into 3rd and 4th gear.  (Read 3200 times)

Offline Chlngrcrzy

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Hard to shift it over to get it into 3rd and 4th gear.
« on: March 28, 2014 - 11:02:46 PM »
I have crawled underneath and watched the shifting process and I just can't seem to find any reason why it won't shift over to the 3rd and 4th. I removed the rod and can move it freely, but as soon as I try it with my shift lever it won't move over. Has anyone purchased the rebuild kit for the hurst shifter assembly and rebuilt it themselves or purchased the rebuilt assemblies from Passon? Any other ideas?




Offline Chryco Psycho

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Re: Hard to shift it over to get it into 3rd and 4th gear.
« Reply #1 on: March 28, 2014 - 11:21:06 PM »
make sure the 2 levers are aligned correctly , other than that rebuild the shifter often the grease dries & hardens in the mechanism making it hard to move & spring back to center .

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Offline Chlngrcrzy

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Re: Hard to shift it over to get it into 3rd and 4th gear.
« Reply #2 on: March 28, 2014 - 11:40:00 PM »
I took it apart and cleaned it up good. I took pictures as I took it apart, just to make sure it went back together properly, but it is possible that I missed something. Do you know of any step by step directions to these shifters for tear down and rebuild? I really don't want to buy a kit if I don't have too. Mine looked okay. What should you use to lubricate these and where do you lubricate them?

Offline 73restomod

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Re: Hard to shift it over to get it into 3rd and 4th gear.
« Reply #3 on: March 31, 2014 - 09:50:01 PM »
I've rebuild  a couple of hurst shifters. There should be an index hole or a half moon in the bottom of the case, when all the levers are aligned there is a small 1/4 hole in the levers (I think); stick a drill bit in it to keep it from moving. Then bolt it to the plate adjust all the rods ends to fit. Then pull the drill bit out. Will try to find a photo or video to link as well. The tolerances are pretty tight in those shifters when they are done right, but if the shim plates and everything else are missing/or beat up, they can get sloppy enough to bind as well. As far as lube I use water proof wheel bearing grease.
« Last Edit: March 31, 2014 - 10:19:57 PM by 73restomod »

Offline HP_Cuda

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Re: Hard to shift it over to get it into 3rd and 4th gear.
« Reply #4 on: April 01, 2014 - 01:19:55 PM »

Yup! I had the shifter setup on the Kmember with the engine and tranny so I could ensure I could put it in every gear.

Tore it down and put it back on the car when installed. The key is having a pin through the alignment hole shown above and then attach the rods, you will see they will need a little adjustment here and there but it's not that hard.
1970 Cuda Clone 440 4 speed - sublime green
1970 Cuda 383 4 speed - yellow - SOLD

Offline Chlngrcrzy

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Re: Hard to shift it over to get it into 3rd and 4th gear.
« Reply #5 on: April 01, 2014 - 10:21:20 PM »
great stuff. Thanks guys. i have it adjusted now, but i still feel like i am having a harder time pushing the shift lever to the far right side for shifting into 3 and 4.

Offline HP_Cuda

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Re: Hard to shift it over to get it into 3rd and 4th gear.
« Reply #6 on: April 01, 2014 - 10:59:52 PM »

That means you have a plate that is not out of the way allowing you to freely move it into 3rd and 4th.

Take the rod off 3rd and 4th and try to back it off a tad and still stay within the alignment pin.
1970 Cuda Clone 440 4 speed - sublime green
1970 Cuda 383 4 speed - yellow - SOLD

Offline Chlngrcrzy

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Re: Hard to shift it over to get it into 3rd and 4th gear.
« Reply #7 on: April 02, 2014 - 09:14:56 AM »
That means you have a plate that is not out of the way allowing you to freely move it into 3rd and 4th.

Take the rod off 3rd and 4th and try to back it off a tad and still stay within the alignment pin.
Thanks. I will give that a try.

Offline Locke

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Re: Hard to shift it over to get it into 3rd and 4th gear.
« Reply #8 on: April 02, 2014 - 08:03:06 PM »
I bought a kit and rebuilt mine a few weeks ago and it shifts MUCH better now. I was having trouble getting into reverse, I aligned the levers first which helped a little but the rebuild made it like new.  The plates that I took out were badly worn.  If you Google "Hurst Shifter rebuild" there is a Youtube video in 2 parts that shows how to do the work.  Getting the springs back in is the biggest pain.
Two (2) 71 Barracuda Convertibles

Offline Chlngrcrzy

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Re: Hard to shift it over to get it into 3rd and 4th gear.
« Reply #9 on: April 02, 2014 - 09:55:57 PM »
I bought a kit and rebuilt mine a few weeks ago and it shifts MUCH better now. I was having trouble getting into reverse, I aligned the levers first which helped a little but the rebuild made it like new.  The plates that I took out were badly worn.  If you Google "Hurst Shifter rebuild" there is a Youtube video in 2 parts that shows how to do the work.  Getting the springs back in is the biggest pain.
Sweet. Thanks, i will be sure to watch it when i do mine.

Offline Chlngrcrzy

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Re: Hard to shift it over to get it into 3rd and 4th gear.
« Reply #10 on: April 12, 2014 - 10:15:11 PM »
Not good news! I bought the shifter kit and rebuilt it. wasn't hard at all. Went through and aligned and adjusted the levers. Bad news is 1st and 2nd gears are locked up. Originally i thought it was 3rd and 4th, but it wasn't. Took the levers off and tried to turn it with a wrench. No Go! Now i get to pull the transmission next week. On the bright side, i can at least adjust levers a bit better with it out. Bad news is, i have no idea why it won't shift. Good news is, it was working fine before i rebuilt the transmission. So more than likely it has something to do with the side cover and maybe where the forks are sitting. I guess we will see.   :walkaway:

Offline Chlngrcrzy

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Re: Hard to shift it over to get it into 3rd and 4th gear.
« Reply #11 on: April 16, 2014 - 03:38:51 PM »
Good news. i did not have to pull the transmission. It was all in my linkage adjustment. After i watched a couple youtube videos, i was able to get things figured out. I can now shift into all gears.  :woohoo:

Offline HP_Cuda

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Re: Hard to shift it over to get it into 3rd and 4th gear.
« Reply #12 on: April 16, 2014 - 05:41:22 PM »
Time to bang gears!!!
 :2thumbs:
1970 Cuda Clone 440 4 speed - sublime green
1970 Cuda 383 4 speed - yellow - SOLD