blakev45

I just sold my Hurst shifter on the forum last week. It was removed from my car and was working perfect, I just put the stock one in because I am selling/trading in my car. Now the new owner sent me a PM saying he would like to return the shifter because he now can't get his low mileage Z out of 4th gear.

Has anyone else had this situation and could possibly offer some advice? It was my first shifter installing/remove myself but the process seemed quite simple, but still makes me wonder if there could be adjustment etc that needs to be done for his car to shift correctly?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

bumble-z

I would"t worry about it. If it worked in your car w/o problems, you sold in good faith. Problem., probably is the way it was adjusted when new owner installed it . In regards to front&back stops&bias spring tensions. If I were you I would have them get in contact w/ Hurst tech.,and tell them to stop bothering you. Have a nice Holliday. Bob.

Cobra4B

Not your problem... buyer beware. You have no clue how he installed it, if he adjusted the shift stops correctly, if a jamb nut came loose etc.

Russ K

Sounds like the 3-4 syncro slider keys are broken. I had the same problem, but the trans was locked in 3rd. I rebuilt the trans and installed the billet slider keys from D&D Performance.

http://www.ddperformance.com/billetstruts1.jpg

Russ Kemp

ctusser

I'd say its a tranny issue. The shorter throw ratio of the aftermarket shifters tend to Waste these trannies if they don't have billet synchro keys, bronze pads and steel 3-4 shift fork. Soon after I went with an aftermarket shifter I ended up rebuilding the tranny too.

I had an MTI six shooter, and now have a Kirban. The shifts with the aftermarket shifters feel a bit stiffer and shorter (more precise), but other than that there is no real benefit to go with one.

IMO the less effort of the stocker is better for roadcourse racing, and for 1/4 mile racing shift speed is limited by the quickness of your clutch foot. So I'm thinking of putting the stocker back in to reduce the risk of tranny dammage.

sothpaw2

I have to agree, having also experienced this with a car I bought used at low mileage with the shifter already installed. Within 1000 miles of ownership I had to rebuild the tranny, broken keys.

This seems to be a "dirty little secret" that I wish I had known about before I went car shopping. I knew about the '02-'03 valve springs and the bent shift fork but a shifter sounded harmless. I thought it a little ridiculous to reject an otherwise nice car because it had an aftermarket shifter and headers. Evidently, you just can't mod these cars. At least not the shifter.

So now we've connected the dots on the hurst shifter. It's not your fault his tranny is busted because you didn't know. But I would give him a refund just because.

Sell your Z quickly, to a dealer.

Cobra4B

I beg to differ... a short shifter doesn't harm the gearbox. I had one for 3+ years with tons of drag racing abuse, auto-x, and 5+ HPDEs a year. I had to have the gearbox rebuilt in summer '06 but only becaue I had finally worn out the 3rd gear synchros from all the downshifting at VIR.... eventually they wear out, no fault of the cars. With the trans in the rear the synchros have to deal with the added mass of the driveshaft when making downshifts. The rest of the parts were 100% fine. I did upgrade with better parts from RPM though.

The throws are only shorter because the fulcrum point is moved upward. The bottom shifter ball still moves the exact same amount.

overBlown

TEXHAWK0

I tend to agree. The shifter is just a stick that pivots, and it is still up to the driver to make sure the gears fully engage. The only adjustment is the stops that are supposed to prevent overshifting, and the stock shifter does not even have those.
With the pivot point higher, the shifter is actually exerting less force on the transmission shaft. That is why more force is required to shift the car on the driver side.

only59

One of the greatest moments in life, selling stuff that works real well and then hearing from the person you sold it to that it doesn't work at all.

refund for piece of mind.

t

Cobra4B

^ Who's to say he'll get back what he sold? Most likey the guy was out banging shifts w/ the new shifter and something clutch related went. If he cant' get it out of gear it's most likely clutch.

overBlown

no refund. if you sold him a pair of tires and he picked up a nail a week later would you give him a refund? come on. sorry to hear about the guys troubles though. it always sucks to have a broken car no matter what the reason.

ctusser

As far as the shifter not causing tranny dammage. The Six shooter I had installed first (didn't have shift stops) caused my tranny to overtravel and get stuck in fourth. The rod length below the pivot ball is greater on aftermarket shifters which will allow longer travel if there are no shift stops or if they are not adjusted. The extra effort of the aftermarket shifters can cause an incomplete shift and a wasting of the synchro keys (user error) especially right after an install where the user is used to the easy effort of the stocker.

But for a properly practiced driver with a good shifter with properly adjusted shift stops this shouldn't be a problem.

Cobra4B

Bull****... the T56 has internal stops... no external ones needed. That's a different story in my old Cobra, but again for the vette none needed.

The aftermarket shifters simply have a higher fulcrum so the upper part of the shifter has to move less. The bottom moves the same amount and the trade off is increased shift effort on the part of the driver.

overBlown

ctusser

I would have tended to agree with you before this happened. My tranny guy was perplexed as well, but the overtravel did occur.

He made me get rid of the six shooter and go with one with stops.

sothpaw2

It could be an issue with stops & proper adjustment, my mechanic did mention re-adjusting mine when he put it back in.

Still, now I've got 5 people on here who had Hurst shifters in there for around 15k mi and all have broken slider keys and all stuck in 3rd or 4th.

I'd say the rebuild is an expensive side effect. Not cool.

C5Z

Not all aftermarket shifters are created equal. I've measured the travel on a few designs vs stock and yes some of the aftermarket ones will allow slightly more travel. Also the internal stops of the T-56 are not foolproof, which is why some of the good aftermarket shifters are designed with shift stops.

As mentioned above the extra effort required to shift an aftermarket shifter sometimes causes missed shifts for those who aren't conditioned to them yet (people who have just purchased an aftermarket one and then immediately go out and flog the car.) When the clutch is reengaged before the next gear is selected it will often wipe out the slider keys, especially if they are still stock (not solid billet.)

I would place a large wager that the poor gentleman who installed the Hurst damaged his transmission and that it isn't a clutch issue or a faulty shifter install issue. But I wish the best nonetheless; what the hell, it's only money

blakev45

Thanks for the input guys.

The gentlemen is persistent on sending the shifter back for a refund. Although I don't feel its my fault as I know the shifter was fine I feel its best to just go ahead and refund his money.

only59

blakev45.. just refund it for piece of mind..

I hate this for you..

been here, dun this...with other stuff..best to just move on and chalk it off to "experience"...