Reverse sleeve on shifter rattles, how to fix?

[GJarrett]

Has anyone else had this problem? I don't know what happened, but after receiving my car back from a shop that did some major work on it, the reverse sleeve (or whatever you call it) on the stalk of the shifter is loose, as if its inner diameter is larger than the shifter stalk outer diameter, and now it rattles all the time.

Is there a bushing or some sort of other liner that is missing now? I tried unscrewing the shift knob to inspect it but that knob will not unscrew... I put a LOT of force trying to unscrew it and gave up thinking I might break something.

Any help/advice is greatly appreciated.

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[WD Pro]

This may help you :

I fitted the part I didn’t know I needed …

Steeda shift collar, bought from the forum, and refinished before fitment :

We won’t talk about this bit of an unexpected job …

I was hoping that this mod would get rid of my high RPM (7k+) shifter buzz, and as part of my research I ended up in another thread, and soon realised that my shifter was actually assembled incorrectly by Ford.

I will include the info here as it may help others in future :

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From what I can tell (and if Ford would have assembled mine correctly), that white spacer is held down by the o ring, and the o ring is held down by the standard reverse lockout collar when it's in its lower / home position i.e. even if the spacer and o ring move up a little when the collar is lifted and reverse is selected, they will get pulled back down the shaft by the collar when it returns to its home position. The o ring also acts as a buffer / isolator between the white spacer and the lock out collar.

Note that the standard collar does not have the upper internal o ring like the Steeda collar.

I think that my rattle was coming from the incorrect assembly i.e. my shift collar sitting directly on top of the white spacer, coupled with the following :

• No internal o ring in the top of the standard collar.
• My change of shift knob to the Ford Performance version (no leather wrapped up inside the internal bore to act as a buffer / sound deadener to the standard shift collar).

The replacement Steeda collar appears to be designed to operate in exactly the same way as the original (with regards to keeping the o ring and spacer down in position), but has the added benefit of having a second internal upper o ring to keep the top of the aluminium collar from contacting the shaft, therefore adding additional sound deadening / metal part isolation In that area.

Now some random pictures to help with understanding the above.

Standard and Steeda components - note that the bottom of the standard shift collar has been removed as it gets broken during removal of the standard shift boot :

Standard (MT82) shifter :

Standard assembly order (I think) :

Spacer and o ring position after fitting the standard collar in the home / bottom position (same position with the Steeda collar) :

A right pair of knobs :

As I’ve seen a few posts in the past asking - mine takes 11 full turns (approx 14mm of thread engagement) to sit in a nice position that still allows easy engagement of reverse. 12 turns still worked, but the ridge on the collar was right up to the underside of the knob.

11 turns, and reverse :

The only problem I have now the buzz is gone, is the loss of my audible 'shift now' warning ...

Note for anyone doing this mod on the standard shifter : ensure the roll pin is central in the shaft :

If that pin is not centered, there is a chance it will cut into the inner bore of the Steeda collar (possibly adding NVH ?) :

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For anyone considering this mod, I would also suggest you take a little bit of time to adjust the fitment of the shift boot around the collar to get the folds evenly spaced, before finally tightening the cable tie (if you don't, it can look a bit uneven and it won't sit nicely).

In addition, if you buy second hand (like me) or mess up your initial fitment wasting the supplied low profile cable tie, it is possible to use a normal cable tie

You will need a small headed tie so the head can fit unobstructed down the recess in the white plastic collar that the shift collar clips into without obstructing the locking mechanism, or causing an interference with the shift boot that's folded over it (that statement will become much clearer when you have the components in hand).

Low profile cable ties are available as a replacement, but I found them difficult to source (in the U.K.) without buying a (very expensive) bulk pack.

I also went a bit easier on the thread lock this time around ...

First time (Ford knob) was tight, but it was possible to remove it by hand.

Second time, I got a full turn or so and then it locked up solid. I had to resort to wrapping it in a latex glove, and then this to get it off :

I genuinely thought I was going to destroy the knob, or at least pull the brass insert out of it.

First replacement was fitted with loctite 243 (blue), and I completely covered all the male and female threads.

This time around I used loctite 242 (still blue, but a little weaker), and just put a single stripe down one side of the male thread. It seems to have secured it well, but time will tell

I’ve also got some 271 (Red), it’s a good job I didn’t use that !

WD

Hope you get it fixed up OK.

WD

 

[GrabberBargeCaptain]

Did they touch the shifter or transmission? They might have broken the plastic collar that snaps onto the shifter assembly. They’re weak and very chintzy.
I tried all sorts of fixes on mine, wasn’t the plastic collar, I think it was just the spring rattling around on the assembly. Garbage design. Tried the steeda billet lockout and it didn’t make any difference.
Ended up ripping it out in favor of an MGW shifter

 

[GJarrett]

They pulled the tranny back to access and replace a leaking rear main seal. I don't know what reason they would have to mess with the shifter up in the cockpit, unless they manhandled it in order to reconnect the linkage or something.

 

[WD Pro]

Did the rear mount go back in reasonably central ?

I seem to recall some of the M1 guys having a vibration if the transmission wasn’t central - seems logical that the issue could carry over to a GT ?

WD

 

[VoR]

You should be able to unscrew the knob without breaking anything, maybe hit it with a little heat before you try again.

 

[Kerr]

CJ Pony and Steeda make billet ot other parts to replace the cheap plastic insert, I added an extra amazon o ring below and it won't rattle and drive you nuts, one of my favorite modes beside the and stainless brake lines

 

[GJarrett]

I just found some other threads where the knob can be removed with the help of a strap wrench so I'm going to HarborFreight to get one and see if I can get the knob unscrewed and then go from there. The reverse sleeve is loose like it lost an 0-ring inside it or something so I may see if I can get away with putting in a Ace Hardware 0-ring or wrap the stalk in tape or something like that.

I know Steeda has a billet one but I'm trying to fix it cheapo at this time because my mod piggy bank just got cleaned out by buying a new set of Apex wheels and track tires.

 

[GrabberBargeCaptain]

The leather boot basically snaps in with plastic ring. I’m betting a gorilla broke it. A new shift boot is like $50 which the shop should have just ordered. They probably pried it off with a screwdriver when they had to mess with the shifter and snapped one of the little teeth off

 

[WD Pro]

I just found some other threads where the knob can be removed with the help of a strap wrench

I did show a strap wrench in post #2 …

Hope you get it fixed OK

WD

 

[GJarrett]

@WD Pro I just now noticed that; I didn't "click to expand" to see the rest of your reply so I only saw the first two photos and not the rest of the post, doh!

Now I see all your reply and it helps tremendously, thanks

After reading your (entire) reply in post #2 I am going to assume that they had to remove the shift boot to disengage the linkage of the tranny below, and then when the reinstalled it, they didn't replace either the white spacer or the 0-ring. I'm betting that I'm missing one or both of those items. I'll find out this weekend when I work on it.

 

[WD Pro]

@WD Pro I just now noticed that; I didn't "click to expand" to see the rest of your reply so I only saw the first two photos and not the rest of the post, doh!

Now I see it all

No problem - that post also shows some of the bits that may be broken and / or missing (if they did strip those items apart for some reason)

WD

 

[offtopic]

The o-ring that sits on the stem that the reverse lever rides over is most likely missing.

 

[GJarrett]

Thanks.... I had just edited my post above to add that I assume that the shop removed the shift boot and I am now missing the spacer or 0-ring (or both) because they did not include them when they reinstalled it. Both of you answered too fast for me!

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