Fixed worn shift collar

[bygrace]

The pin in my shift lever had worn a big hole in the collar. Pretty sloppy. I pulled the lever, drilled the collar out 3/16 round straight thru. I cut two little bushings from 3/16 brake line, and put them in with an 1/8 bolt and nut. The bushings pinch tight to the shift lever but rotate in the collar, like the original pin did. Only on a larger diameter. Later, I pulled the bolt out and filed it and the nut real thin, with a chamfer. I also welded and reground the tang that keeps the lever in park. Not a fix for a purist, but works great.

[jopizz]

Any fix that doesn't cost anything is great in my book.

John

[Deanj]

Very nice fix. I installed a new collar, bushings, detent, shifter, insulator and new roll pin. That only corrected the shifter from rotating 360 degrees and made the back-up lights easier to contact. The shifter still has a one spot play meaning the culprit lies at the bottom of the shift tube in the selector arm. I might ask a welder if he can do anything with that.

How do you widen the diameter of the roll pin? Mine likes to slide out by itself.

Dean

[Tbird1044]

Dean:
Part of the problem with the design is that the roll pin has a press fit into the shift lever and then the pin rotates in the shift collar. The shift collar becomes the bearing surface and is a lot softer metal and hence over time, you get the wear. I got rid of the roll pin and replaced it with shouldered pin I found at Ace hardware. Worked well so far.
Nyles

[Deanj]

Great idea. I'll give a status soon.

Dean

[bygrace]

I like that shoulder pin.. Is it the same diameter as the roll pin hole? Or did you redrill to correct wear in the collar holes?

[Tbird1044]

As I recall, I think I found one that was the same diameter as the roll pin. I did have to cut it down to size, as it was too long, but that wasn't a problem.
Nyles

[Deanj]

I went to ACE Hardware and a place called Micron that specializes in fasteners. No shoulder pins or anything close. Micron did give me a new roll pin which I installed for good measure. I might be better off inserting a small screw inside the roll pin to act like the vent window resistance mechanism.

Dean