Shift Tower....any tricks?

[CGauthier]

I've been struggling trying to get the shift tower back in... . its a real pita... if anyone knows any tricks to doing it please let me know.....



Thanks,

Carl G

 

[bgilbert]

We tried to warn ya lol. Tried to get ya to do the top bolt in PTO cover. Anyways, I hear you will need a friend/extra person to push on the stick from the top while you open the snap ring or something. Its stiff and will need an extra set of hands. But I've never had mine out. P. S. did ya find all the lubes you needed? What about the blinker fluid for turn signals? Get the good stuff don't go cheap... . Bill

 

[CGauthier]

Originally posted by bgilbert

We tried to warn ya lol. Tried to get ya to do the top bolt in PTO cover. Anyways, I hear you will need a friend/extra person to push on the stick from the top while you open the snap ring or something. Its stiff and will need an extra set of hands. But I've never had mine out. P. S. did ya find all the lubes you needed? What about the blinker fluid for turn signals? Get the good stuff don't go cheap... . Bill

Ugh... lol I didnt know it would be that hard, I've had the stick shift out of my old GM and it was NOTHING like this. I did find all the lubes i needed... except the blinker fluid what tha hell is that? I just searched this whole thread and didn't see anything about blinker fluid If you're talking about the LSD additive I got that..... and I got mobil1 5w30 for the trans also. I didnt cheap out so far... .



Carl

 

[dan brooks]

Originally posted by bgilbert

What about the blinker fluid for turn signals? Get the good

stuff don't go cheap... . Bill

Cruel, very cruel... .

 

[BushWakr - RIP]

Hey Carl... . Bill is just pulling your chain... which can happen in here from time to time since we're all pretty much out on day passes from the 'institute' if ya know what I mean



Unfortunately I can't help with the shift tower issue since I drive a nasty auto transmission

Come on guys, lets help Carl out a bit here... any more suggestions... ?????



pastor bob

 

[TKingsbury]

I just had mine out again a couple of days ago. you have to have all of the peices on the handle and ready to go. push the shifter in and kinda hold it down with your shoulder or arm or whatever and use your fingers to pushdown on the collar thing. Just then, jam just the edge of the snapring into the groove and get it stuck, then put it in the rest of the way. It helps to be flexible and have good dexterity, but it can be done.

Travis. .

 

[CGauthier]

Travis... I dont know if mine is more difficult than normal, but that collar thing seems very tight and I can't even seem to get it to go further than flush I noticed that someone has been in there before cause i could see little screwdriver marks or somthing... Taking it out was a real devil too, I almost gave up on it... I should have given up i guess and listened to Bill and went through the pto cover. Talkin about Bill that reminds me-why you little..... lol u caught me off guard there. Bad Bill lol.

 

[phillips5]

I have have had mine out a bounch. If I don't remember to shift square h patern it gets stuck in a gear. Get yourself a pair of snapring plires (autozone napa ect. ). Hold the shift lever down with your sholder and use a small hamer and punch to tap the coller down then put the snapring in.

 

[bgilbert]

Carl, I'm so sorry, I had to do it. Sounds like having an extra set of hands to do this chore would help. What about this... Should the transmission be placed in neutral before removing the shifter??? Seems like I read that somewhere... maybe if it makes it tough to get shifter back in while in gear?? Bill

 

[JKurley]

I've done mine many times, but can't imagine putting it back in without help. Pushing it with your shoulder? AAAGH, the pain! I push it in with a padded glove, and have the snap ring around the shifter before starting. my son, daughter, or wife employs the snapring, and we have a LONG blade screwdriver to drive the last of the snap ring in the groove. Yes, its a PITA, but I actually over fill with 6 quarts- just dont park nose forward on a steep driveway, or you'll have the traditional 5 quart overfill.

 

[Scot]

Pull the shifter off of the stub. Run a #3 phillips screwdriver about 18" long through the hole and wrap it with a towel on each end or if you are feeling real manly, skip the towel. Push this down with your knees and insert the snapring. Mine is so tight, you have to pull the stub with a lever and then hammer the thing back in. I must be lucky...

 

[dpuckett]

Guys, guys, guys. You are making the Rocky Mountain range out of a mole hill. I do this every 20-30K mi by myself, and dont need 3 or 4 hands. Besides, I'd look real funny with 2 extra arms sticking out.

Removal is easy, so I wont cover that.

Reinstall:

Make sure the stick is still on the stub shaft. Put the snapring around the stick, and line up the little collar.

Use one hand to push down on the shift stick, and use a ball peen hammer to drive the collar into its bore.

Get the big snapring pliers and snap the ring into place.

Renistall the boots and you're good to go.



It helps if you have all this stuff lined up ahead of time ready to go. The dash is the perfect place, as it allows stuff to fall down and force you to go into all sorts of contorsions to get at the tool you need while trying to hold the stick in place and not have anything pop out or swarm on ya.



bgilbert- I used DOT7 synthetic blinker fluid; been going strong for over 100K in Mom's pickup. Been good for 30K+ in mine :-laf



Pastor, what do you mean by day passes? Should I have gotten one before I jumped that 8ft electric fence with the dogs after me?



Daniel

 

[CGauthier]

Well guys, I had my brother come down after work and with his help it was easy. I didn't try with the shifter attached because I didnt think it would work that well based on the angle of the shifter and I thought I might damage the rubber thing if i tried to take it off. But I got er all done now, mobil1 5w30 5 quarts (Crowd goes wild) Next time I'll put in an effort to try and do it alone... Is mine the only one that's real hard to get out? I spent like a half hour yanking real hard &wiggling the shifter, tapping with a hammer, swearing real loud, and i even tried using a torch around the housing. Just about gave up then she came out. I conquered thou, and as the young guys would say, "owned"



DP-are you real big and strong? That spring inside the shifter housing is a pretty dam stiff sob! One day maybe I'll do it too, I hope lol. Dont worry, I didnt get a day pass either, if i did i was gonna get some of that Blinker fluid and lucas oil stabilizer Oh, and BTW its alright if you call bgilbert Bill, I asked him



Bill- It's all good, no worries lol I would have done it to you too I just didn't expect it coming from you cause you've been serious all along hehe its ok tho-thanks for your help



Thanks everyone-



Carl G

 

[Tim1]

Why don't you guys just use the street ell and nipple with cap? No fuss and takes at most 30 minutes! Tim

 

[JFitzgerald]

C'mon guys, you're making this too hard. Here's what works for me:

Have all the parts and tools ready lying within reach.

Sit down on the console or middle of the bench seat, depending on your style seats.

Put the shifter in place and hold the spring tension down with your breast bone while you tap the ring in and get the snap ring in place.



Also, make sure the trans is in neutral before removing the shifter. I don't even have snap ring pliers large enough for that ring, and it doesn't seem too hard. Sure beats lying underneath trying to coax the oil in while spilling most of it, but maybe that's just me! I'm on my second truck with the Getrag, and this has worked for both. If I ever tear my Getrag down, I'll investigate adding a fill port to the top of the trans. Then I would only have to remove the shifter boots to get at it.

 

[bgilbert]

Sure beats lying underneath trying to coax the oil in while spilling most of it, but maybe that's just me!

Carl, JF, you guys made me go out in the rain and take some pics, I posted a new thread with pics on getrag overfill by one quart. Not saying it is any better than your methods but it works for me. Bill

 

[JFitzgerald]

Sorry you went out in the rain. I like the pump setup you use. Should solve the mess of trying to pour it in with the body in the way.



I went the same way with gear oil. I bought a lever operated "bucket pump" that works with 5 gallon buckets of gear oil. Has a clear hose and a curved metal end that you just hang on the fill opening. I'll use it a lot on the trucks and especially my Jeep, which gets water and mud in the axles quite often.

 

[dpuckett]

Originally posted by CGauthier





DP-are you real big and strong? That spring inside the shifter housing is a pretty dam stiff sob!

I cant quite compress the spring with my fingers, but I put my 220# behind it and the srping shrinks back in horror. I guess you could say I'm strong enough- I can throw a spare tire in the bed with one hand, gripping it in the center hole.





Glad I aint the only one without a day pass. :-laf

-DP

 

[CGauthier]

Originally posted by dpuckett

I cant quite compress the spring with my fingers, but I put my 220# behind it and the srping shrinks back in horror. I guess you could say I'm strong enough- I can throw a spare tire in the bed with one hand, gripping it in the center hole.





Glad I aint the only one without a day pass. :-laf

-DP

220# :O no wonder you're thinkin we're all wussies with the shifter lol.

I cant get day passes no more, Bill keeps stealin mine cause he keeps losing his... bully lol



Carl G