5 speed coversion woes

[ceylove]

With 400 miles on my 76 w/5-sp conversion, lost guibo bolt on the road. While replacing it, new bolt, lock nut, lockitie 242, etc, noticed guibo being shaved down at that bolt hole, with metal core beginning to show through. You can clearly see with a single rotation of the shaft, the guibo contacts the bottom of the shift rod and it's hardware. I guess the shop who did the conversion somehow missed this.? See photos. Any suggestions before I'm ground down to the bolt?

[thehackmechanic]

It's hard for me to think that this is a driveshaft alignment issue... I'm wondering if the shop used the correct guibo. All of the 5-speed conversions I've done have employed the four-bolt transmission output flange, a four-bolt flange on the end of the driveshaft and a four-bolt guibo. With the four-bolt, even a driveshaft that's out of alignment never came close to twisting the guibo enough to put it into the shift lever.

Anyone else?

[jgerock]

I'm using the original 3-bolt output coupling that came with my '81 5-speed and a new 6-hole guibo (from a local BMW dealership) in my current conversion and the shift rod is indeed very close to the guibo. I haven't installed a driveshaft yet, but will ensure everything is aligned before the first drive.

[BLUNT]

i agree with the hack mechanic. i dont believe thats an alignment issue. there are slight variations in guibo diameters depending on manufacturer and there is no room to spare up there

[TobyB]

Is it hitting all 6 bolt 'bulges' equally?

If you lost a bolt, the guibo would be free to expand a bit-

and yes, with an early linkage and 3- bolt flange, there's not

nuch free space (Jenn's car is set up this way)

But there should be enough.

I too agree- it's not an alignment issue.

You really shouldn't be losing bolts from there.

Sadly,

that's all I gots.

t

[thehackmechanic]

Are you certain that your selector rod isn't bent slightly downward? That would suck. I had one cheap 5-speed of unknown origin where this was the case (you could see the rod was bent because of how it protruded out from the oil seal; there was a gap at the top of the seal) and I tried to bend it back up. When I put the trani in the car, it intermittently locked up... very bad... don't know if my trying to straighten it was the cause of the problem or not.

But TobyB has a good point, that the bulge in that part of the guibo may have been caused by the loose bolt. Maybe you should just put in a brand new guibo, locktite and torque the nuts down, and see where you are.

[BillWilliams]

Ensure your shift platform is tight against the transmission tunnel. I drill a hole in the top of the tunnel, just behind the hole for the shifter, and catch the the shift platform. Draw it up tight - it may give the clearance you need if the other thoughts above do not work.

I use this method rather than the stock support bar. That stock support bar gets in the way working on things.

[ceylove]

Thanks All and I think TobyB has pegged it-I drove about 10-15 minutes with the bolt out-enough to get home and swap cars. The noise and vibration driving it minus one bolt was BAD. Probably enough to distort the guibo where it was no longer attached. There was only contact in that spot. I'll put some paint on the grazed spot and check it after driving. I suspect now that the bolt's been replaced it's not longer hitting the shaft. You guys are awesome! Again, Thanks!

[76duece]

That shift support also looks strange. I've never seen a set-up like that before. It just doesn't seem very functional. Is your shifter solid?

Larry

[ceylove]

Hi Larry-yes the shifter feel solid, but I agree, the support doesn't look like other set ups I've seen. Also the shop that did the conversion left the shifter shaft too long so the gear shift and shift pattern it tilted too forward. They installed, (without my request) a short shift kit, which is fine, but the angle of shift pattern bugs me. I'll take it apart, cut the shaft, taking off a bit and re weld it. At that point I'll get a good look at the shifter support and see what's up.

Thanks for the input

[napa02]

Hi Larry-yes the shifter feel solid, but I agree, the support doesn't look like other set ups I've seen. Also the shop that did the conversion left the shifter shaft too long so the gear shift and shift pattern it tilted too forward. They installed, (without my request) a short shift kit, which is fine, but the angle of shift pattern bugs me. I'll take it apart, cut the shaft, taking off a bit and re weld it. At that point I'll get a good look at the shifter support and see what's up.

Thanks for the input

Is it possible your shifter is installed backwards? If it is, your shifter will real close to the dash, be there done that.