Are there any videos out there showing the removal of one of these things? It's a 1970 with the slip in handle, no bolts. I'm familiar with the .010 feeler gauge technique but I've ruined several feeler gauges now with no success.
I need to yank the engine and trans for some quick shock tower work and I don't see any other way around getting it all out without pulling the handle first. I'm tempted to try and pull the shifter assembly off the side of the trans and just leave it in place while I yank the trans but that process looks difficult too given the amount of room up in the tunnel.
Soak it with penetrating oil often you can get a ticker feeler gauge in there , there is a small spring tab that locks into the handle that needs to move back , you want to push the handle down as you slide in the feeler gauge to give room for the tab to move back , they are difficult to remove , if you damage the tab you can always just drill a hole through the shifter & handle , I tap one side & use a short 3/8 fine thread bolt to hold it in
Just want to confirm I'm at the right location. Along the chrome on the left side. If so, it ain't going no matter what. Won't go in even a fraction.
The photo by the way is the trans from another car but it won't budge either.
If I drilled it out, do I drill at the two indentations on the left side?
OK it has been 10 years since I pulled one out , so I cannot recall which side the tab is on :thinking:
yes I have drilled through where the indentation is but not right through so I can tap threads into one side of the box , I then use locktite & a second lock nut to hold the handle in place .
Every picture I can find only show the bolt in type except this one picture but it doesn't show which side the lock tab is on .
To me it looks like it is on the left / driver side
I don't see a photo you posted BTW :notsure:
That makes sense drilling one side then tapping the other side. I'll try it some more but I may just break down and drill at some point.
Just realized my photo didn't upload
They work well for keeping the handle in place but they can be tough to remove the handle later for sure , , I have fought with my share of them :bricks:
I just looked at two slide in shifters I have and there's locking tabs on both sides of the shifter handle. In the past, I've always shoved a thin feeler gauge in on both sides of the shifter because I couldn't remember which side to put the feeler gauge in. Always had them come right out.You might try that.
TW
I can't remember now but I think you are on the correct side. As Neil said you have to force it down a bit and wiggle it around, maybe pry it up at the bottom tab with a screwdriver, then force it down again. Then try the feeler gauge it should come out.
Tab is on the passenger side :alan2cents:
I have two of these, one in a car I'm working on and another out of the car. In both cases, there are thick steel shims on either side of the chrome which I'm guessing house the spring loaded locator pins. Up against the chrome handle itself, on both sides, is another thinner shim of some kind, maybe .025 in thickness. On both handles, there is no wiggle and no room at all for a feeler gauge of any thickness. It's like a press fit. In fact, I took a thin screwdriver and hammer and tried to drive it in there a little bit just to open up a tiny gap for the feeler gauge. It wouldn't go in even a tiny bit.
So backup plan was to remove the entire shifter assembly in the car and just leave the handle in. Weeks ago, I polished up the chrome and it looks really nice for a driver, very light pitting. I'll probably leave it like this since the car isn't going to be a show car anyway. For the other handle though, someday I'll need to get it out for rechrome or drill it out.
As far as cleaning, never had one of these apart and it looks like a pain to even try. Am I okay with soaking the lower half in degreaser just to clean it? I don't know if there are any materials like plastic up inside that might get ruined. If I could just get it nice and clean, I could put fresh grease in there and it would probably be great again. It worked fine before and seemed pretty tight.
Definitely needs a cleaning--LOL
JS27
I've always put a feeler on the driver side, as long i as i can remember disassembling the transmission.
I've cleaned my with non-chlorinated brake parts cleaner and greased it removing the bottom plate and it worked for me.
TW
Thanks for the diagram. Good to know I was at least doing the correct side. Ain't no way a feeler gauge is going in mine. There is zero room for anything.
Thanks everyone
Diagram is not correct for 1970-71 E Body, on an E Body the clip is on the passenger side :alan2cents:
Disassembling the shift box, cleaning, greasing and reassembling is super easy. Just draw a diagram of the plates positions as they come out. I always do them when I have the chance.
Quote from: RUNCHARGER on January 28, 2019, 07:25:18 PM
Disassembling the shift box, cleaning, greasing and reassembling is super easy. Just draw a diagram of the plates positions as they come out. I always do them when I have the chance.
How does it come apart? It kind of looks like the side plates have slots that are peened over. I don't mind disassembling it but I'm just concerned it won't be as tight and secure if I can't get it back together right.
With the through bolt removed you just spread the base a bit and the spring sheetmetal clip on the end will pop out of the slot. Then everything just slides out easy, peasey.
I just watched a video on it. Does look pretty simple. I'm gonna do it right. It will give me a chance to examine for wear and tear too.
Boy you were right. It was super easy. Took less than an hour to make it like new again. Never could get the handle out but that's okay. The chrome and the rubber boot look great so I'll just bolt it all back in from the top once I reinstall the transmission.
Thanks
Great: Yes, like I say I service the shifter every chance I get. It's free and pays off in smiles every time you shift it.
I send all of my customer's shifters right back to Hurst for a complete rebuild and they re-chrome the handle as well. :twothumbsup:
Quote from: anlauto on January 29, 2019, 07:08:05 PM
I send all of my customer's shifters right back to Hurst for a complete rebuild and they re-chrome the handle as well. :twothumbsup:
I bet they are nice and crisp shifting after that. Might be worth considering on the other car when I get back to it. That one I intend to fully restore in every way and maybe even a few slight improvements along the way.
Hi Guys,
Dragging up an old thread because I just had my fun with this and I didn't see a definitive answer to the questions of how the shifter handle is actually tabbed. So here is how it is. The the locking tab indent in the handle is on the drivers side only. However, the stainless shims with the locking tab are on both sides of the handle. At least mine is. I can't say for absolute certain that my shifter is original, but my trans is the original #'s matching trans so I believe it to be. When looking at the pictures you'll see that on one of the stainless shims the tab is folded back on itself. That, of course, was on the locking side of the shifter handle. ::) That made removing the handle a royal PITA! :pullinghair:
In the end, I had feeler gauges down both sides. That was unnecessary since after I finally managed to get it out, the tab on the passenger side is well below the hole in the handle as you can see in the pic of that side of the handle. Having the added thickness probably just made the pulling force greater to remove it.
So, for the next person, this is how it is. Hopefully your tab won't be folded like mine was. That was not fun. It took every bit of two hours and some colorful language getting it out. :cheers:
I remember my last Cuda it took awhile to get it to release.I sprayed WD 40 in there and let it work down in there.I used a feeler gauge and I pulled up real hard.When that handle came out I damm near knocked myself out when my head hit the roof.
Quote from: B5fourspeed on April 04, 2021, 12:58:54 PM
I remember my last Cuda it took awhile to get it to release.I sprayed WD 40 in there and let it work down in there.I used a feeler gauge and I pulled up real hard.When that handle came out I damm near knocked myself out when my head hit the roof.
:rofl: :rofl: I've hit myself in the chin with the shifter real hard doing the same thing LoL
Quote from: 71vert340 on January 27, 2019, 10:25:21 PM
I just looked at two slide in shifters I have and there's locking tabs on both sides of the shifter handle. In the past, I've always shoved a thin feeler gauge in on both sides of the shifter because I couldn't remember which side to put the feeler gauge in. Always had them come right out.You might try that.
TW
Same set up on mine. My feeler gauge shims ended up being sacrificial as I went though a couple before I found once stout enough to be leaned on but thin enough to fit. I don't remember the size - sorry. You'll need to reverse the process if you want it to go back in.
Quote from: Dakota on April 04, 2021, 03:17:29 PM
Quote from: 71vert340 on January 27, 2019, 10:25:21 PM
I just looked at two slide in shifters I have and there's locking tabs on both sides of the shifter handle. In the past, I've always shoved a thin feeler gauge in on both sides of the shifter because I couldn't remember which side to put the feeler gauge in. Always had them come right out.You might try that.
TW
Same set up on mine. My feeler gauge shims ended up being sacrificial as I went though a couple before I found once stout enough to be leaned on but thin enough to fit. I don't remember the size - sorry. You'll need to reverse the process if you want it to go back in.
I guess it's a crap shoot. Could be one side, could be both sides. :looney: Oh well, guess we'll just have to do both sides just in case. :cheers:
Dredging up this old post in the hope that this may help someone out.
I've been driving around with a torn shifter boot for ages now because I could never get my push-in style pistol grip removed, until today...
I happened upon a couple of great Hurst shifter rebuild videos on Youtube last night.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F3nh2p4lcM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EU9wj4vgdY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNN10cxa9yg
Both guys doing these videos use a bunch of home made tools to simplify the rebuild process. From them, I got the idea to build this $3 push-in shifter removal tool. I used a 1.5" flexible putty knife that I trimmed down to be about 3/4" wide. The hardware store also had a 3/4" wide flexible putty knife, but that was $7.50, so I just trimmed the $3 one with a cutoff wheel. My shifter was so stuck that I had to use a small hammer to tap this in along the driver's side of the shifter handle. Worked like a charm! :banana:
My shifter handle only has a slot for the tab on the driver's side, which is consistent with the factory service manual diagram and the information presented in these videos.