Transmission, Manual

Shift Lever Always Pulled to Right

I found a temporary fix for a strange shifting problem someone else complained of but no one had an answer for: 5sp shift lever is pulled to the right (4-5 gate) by spring force, instead of resting in the center (2-3) position. Apparently, someone mistook a spring tension adjustment on the passenger side of the transaxle for a fill plug (22mm cap nut over a 22mm jam nut,) & loosened it all the way. This unfortunate mistake allowed the spring mechanism that provides the return-to-center action to slip off of a tang on the selector shaft. Instead of forcing the selector shaft back to the 2-3 gate, the spring now forces the shaft in the opposite direction. Since this adjustment screw is removed from the *inside* of the transmission case, I can only assume that a proper fix would require R&R and disassembly of the transaxle. My temporary fix was to back off the adjustment screw (with the gearbox shifted into 5th gear) nearly all the way, thereby eliminating the aberrant spring pressure-- now the gearbox feels like a 915-- there is NO spring force resisting lateral movement of the lever between the 2 main gates.

Eric Maxon
Autohaus 5
1327 W. 31st St.
Chicago, IL 60608
(773) 890-0296
mailto:emaxon@comcast.net