Trans shifter detents?

[Nut124]

My trans shifter sometimes drops out of 2nd gear under acceleration. Looked for interference under the shifter boot, none found. The 2nd gear detent feels a bit softer than the other gears.

Are the detent springs serviceable while the trans is in the car?

[18Fiatsandcounting]

Are the detent springs serviceable while the trans is in the car?

Good question. I think they might be, although you might have to remove the rear transmission mount and lower the rear of the transmission a bit.

Once you get access to those two M8x1.25 bolts that hold the detent spring cover plate on, I imagine you could reach in with a pair of tweezers and pull out the springs. If you wanted to remove the detent balls, a small magnet (or dab of grease) on the end of a telescoping rod might do the trick since the case is aluminum. Or the balls might just roll out.

On a larger note, popping out of gear can also be worn shift forks and sliding shifter collars and/or gears. The usual cause is that the sliding collar isn't fully engaged onto the gear, and so it pops back off when it has torque applied to it.

-Bryan

[Nut124]

I adjusted the rubber shifter boot and it seems to stay in gear better now.

The top of the boot was pushed all the way down on the shifter stick so that the folds of the boot were stacked up on each other tight. I pulled the top up on the stick and it seems that the boot is now not interfering with the stick movement.

We'll see.

[18Fiatsandcounting]

I adjusted the rubber shifter boot and it seems to stay in gear better now.

Good work Nut, and yes, the inner rubber and outer vinyl (leather) boots can cause issues with popping out of gear. It's a minor problem right now with my '69 when in reverse, and one of these days I'll get around to fixing it. I suspect the issue is that I made and installed a solid wood shifter panel, and I may not have gotten the cutout correct.

-Bryan