little x
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- March 21, 2005
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- City, State
- SW VA
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- '91 XL
Since the stock shifters are made of unobtanium, many people who swap in a manual case will have to make their own shift linkages. This might scare some people from the swap, but if you have enough mechanical knowledge to be able to swap t-cases then you should be able to make a linkage for it, no problem.
I'm building a linkage for a 1st gen with a manual transmission. The automatic linkage will be just barely different, it should have more offset in the bend (you'll see what I mean, just read on) and the short end of the linkage will be just a hair longer then with a manual trans. But, it's the exact same principal.
If anyone knows if the threaded hole in the auto trans is the same as the manual (1/2"-13) post it up.
Tools required:
Angle grinder with cut off and grinding disks
Dremmel with metal sanding barrel (not necessary, but nice)
Drill with 1/2" bit
Bench vise (or just a c-clamp, that's how mine came about)
3 lb hammer
Socket wrench with 3/4" and 8mm sockets, 11/16" also if you have a manual transmission and still have your carpet
Scissors or box opener
Phillips head screw driver, if you have carpet
Supplies:
3/16" stock roughly 16"x6"
1/2"-13 grade 8 bolt, 1" long if you get your bends right, 1.5" long if you need to space it out with a few washers (like mine)
Two 1/2" washers if you get your bends right, up to 4 more as spacers
Red thread locker
Spray paint
Chalk
Piece of cardboard
Pen
The first step is go gain access to your transmission tunnel. If you have removed your carpet this is easy, if not then you need to remove the kick panels and lower door sill trim, and pull the carpet back. You should be able to get it out of the way enough without removing the front seats and center console, but I can't guarantee it, I don't have carpet to try it out. If you have a manual trans you'll need to remove your shifter to pull the carpet back. Just remove the trim piece, held on with Phillips head screws and roll the shift boot up from the bottom to see this bolt.
It's 11/16". Just remove the nut on one side. Then thread that nut onto the other side of the bolt. As it tightens down it will pull the bolt out, and you can remove the shifter.
Now remove the trans tunnel access plate, it's held on with 4 8mm bolts.
You should now be able to see your transmission.
Climb under the truck from the drivers side, and check out what's going on down there. There are 2 threaded holes in the side of the transmission. One pic I'm pointing them out, the next I've moved my fat hand out of the way so you can get a better view. The stock shift linkage uses both of these holes, but your just going to be using the front, larger one. It is 1/2"-13.
You can also see the transfer case shift mechanism in the back ground of both of those pictures.
The basics of what your going to do it build a handle that goes from inside the cab, through the trans access panel, then bolts to the transmission where it pivots, and turns to run back to the transfer case shift mechanism. Here is mine, now that it's done, to give you an idea of what your goal is.
You need to make a template out of cardboard to get the angle right. I made the handle (the long end) 12" long because that is the length of the stock shift handle. You could make it longer to give yourself more mechanical advantage, or if you have a body lift. The shorter end it about 5.5-6" (remember, you can always cut more off if you need to). If your angle is too tight then the handle will hit the center console when pulled all the way back (4-Low). If the angle is too wide then you'll need to reach all the way down to your feet to grab the handle when it's all the way forward (2wd). My first test handle (bottom) was too close to 90* and would hit stuff in 4-Low, the second handle (top) was just right.
Cut a hole in the vertex of the angle large enough for your bolt to go through and cut a U in the end of the linkage (to fit around the t-case selector mechanism). You'll also need to put 2 bends in the short side to move then end out from the trans, towards the drivers side. Here is a pic of the bend in my final linkage.
Here is a pic to show why exactly you need the bends, the shift mechanism isn't quite inline with the side of the transmission. If you have an auto trans I *think* that the bends will need to be more extreme, i.e. I *think* that the offset is even greater.
Bolt your test arm to the transmission and put the U around the transfer case selector. Now you can hop in the truck and see where the handle will be in 2wd. Crawl back underneath and move the t-case selector all the way down (4-Low) make sure the cardboard is still connected and look in the truck again to see where the shift lever is. If your happy with how it travels and it doesn't hit anything then you are ready to make your lever (out of steel this time, cardboard just doesn't hold up on the trail too well).
Take your cardboard template and lay it out on the sheet of steel. Trace it with chalk. And cut it out with your angle grinder and cutoff disk. Remember to leave the short arm a little longer then needed, it's very easy to remove an extra inch or 1/2 inch once you bolt it in and see how long it really needs to be, but if you need to add an extra 1/2 inch your going to have to start over again. WEAR SAFETY GLASSES, it's just not worth it not too. In fact, I recommend wearing safety glasses while your lying under your truck, it's so easy for a little bit of dirt to fall off the underbody and land in your eye.
Once you cut it out be careful, it will be HOT and the edges will be SHARP. After it cools use a grinding disk on your angle grinder to round all the edges. After the edges are smooth and its cooled off again you can put it in your vise or clamp it down and wail on it with your 3lb hammer to get the proper bends in it. If you want you can pick it up with a pair of pliers and put it in the vise, that way you can hammer it while it's still hot from grinding, which will make it bend easier. After you've bent it up you can drill a 1/2" hole in the center of the piece, at the vertex of the angle. Then you can cut the U out of the short end. I just used my angle grinder and the grinding disk. Afterward I went back with my dremmel and smoother the edges around the U and the pivot hole. Here is a close-up of the U cut in the end.
Now it's time to bolt it up and test fit it. Use one washer on each side and tighten the bolt down. You don't want it so tight that you won't be able to shift it though. In this first pic you can see that I didn't put enough offset in my bends to reach the t-case shifting mechanism. So I just stacked 5 washers on the inside of the arm to space it out more (2nd pic). It works like a charm, but you can only space it out so far before the shift lever is going to reach the edge of the transmission tunnel access panel, at which point you'd have to cut a slit in the floor instead of the panel, no bueno.
Try shifting though the ranges to make sure everything works. You may need to shorten the short arm just a little (remember, you were supposed to cut it longer then needed). Once you have it finalized take the truck for a spin around the block to make sure its shifting properly. If everything works as it should pull the new linkage back out and hit it with some primer and then paint to make it look purdy.
The last step is to cut a slit in the trans tunnel access panel for the shifter to slide forward and aft in. Just lay the panel on a piece of cardboard and trace it, then cut it out. Bolt the cardboard down over the access window and slide the shifter from 2wd to 4-Low to figure out how long the cut will need to be.
Once you have it all planned on cardboard pull it out and lay the cardboard template over the access cover and mark where your slit will be cut. I used a grinding disk to cut my slit, the width of the disk was perfect for the shift linkage. remember, cut the slit too small at first and test fit it, gradually making it longer in which ever direction you need. When the slit is big enough to shift through all the ranges your almost done. Pull out the pivot bolt and cover it with red thread locker to keep it from backing out. Then put your carpet back down and attach your trans shifter if you have a manual.
TaDa! Your done.
This is all the way forward (2wd).
This is all the way back (4-Lo).
4-Hi and Neutral are in between those 2 settings.
To finish it off I'm going to buy some of that rubber coating that comes in a can, you just dip whatever you want coated in rubber into the can and it coats it. I figure that will make a nice looking handle, although you could just leave it as-is as well.
I'm building a linkage for a 1st gen with a manual transmission. The automatic linkage will be just barely different, it should have more offset in the bend (you'll see what I mean, just read on) and the short end of the linkage will be just a hair longer then with a manual trans. But, it's the exact same principal.
If anyone knows if the threaded hole in the auto trans is the same as the manual (1/2"-13) post it up.
Tools required:
Angle grinder with cut off and grinding disks
Dremmel with metal sanding barrel (not necessary, but nice)
Drill with 1/2" bit
Bench vise (or just a c-clamp, that's how mine came about)
3 lb hammer
Socket wrench with 3/4" and 8mm sockets, 11/16" also if you have a manual transmission and still have your carpet
Scissors or box opener
Phillips head screw driver, if you have carpet
Supplies:
3/16" stock roughly 16"x6"
1/2"-13 grade 8 bolt, 1" long if you get your bends right, 1.5" long if you need to space it out with a few washers (like mine)
Two 1/2" washers if you get your bends right, up to 4 more as spacers
Red thread locker
Spray paint
Chalk
Piece of cardboard
Pen
The first step is go gain access to your transmission tunnel. If you have removed your carpet this is easy, if not then you need to remove the kick panels and lower door sill trim, and pull the carpet back. You should be able to get it out of the way enough without removing the front seats and center console, but I can't guarantee it, I don't have carpet to try it out. If you have a manual trans you'll need to remove your shifter to pull the carpet back. Just remove the trim piece, held on with Phillips head screws and roll the shift boot up from the bottom to see this bolt.
It's 11/16". Just remove the nut on one side. Then thread that nut onto the other side of the bolt. As it tightens down it will pull the bolt out, and you can remove the shifter.
Now remove the trans tunnel access plate, it's held on with 4 8mm bolts.
You should now be able to see your transmission.
Climb under the truck from the drivers side, and check out what's going on down there. There are 2 threaded holes in the side of the transmission. One pic I'm pointing them out, the next I've moved my fat hand out of the way so you can get a better view. The stock shift linkage uses both of these holes, but your just going to be using the front, larger one. It is 1/2"-13.
You can also see the transfer case shift mechanism in the back ground of both of those pictures.
The basics of what your going to do it build a handle that goes from inside the cab, through the trans access panel, then bolts to the transmission where it pivots, and turns to run back to the transfer case shift mechanism. Here is mine, now that it's done, to give you an idea of what your goal is.
You need to make a template out of cardboard to get the angle right. I made the handle (the long end) 12" long because that is the length of the stock shift handle. You could make it longer to give yourself more mechanical advantage, or if you have a body lift. The shorter end it about 5.5-6" (remember, you can always cut more off if you need to). If your angle is too tight then the handle will hit the center console when pulled all the way back (4-Low). If the angle is too wide then you'll need to reach all the way down to your feet to grab the handle when it's all the way forward (2wd). My first test handle (bottom) was too close to 90* and would hit stuff in 4-Low, the second handle (top) was just right.
Cut a hole in the vertex of the angle large enough for your bolt to go through and cut a U in the end of the linkage (to fit around the t-case selector mechanism). You'll also need to put 2 bends in the short side to move then end out from the trans, towards the drivers side. Here is a pic of the bend in my final linkage.
Here is a pic to show why exactly you need the bends, the shift mechanism isn't quite inline with the side of the transmission. If you have an auto trans I *think* that the bends will need to be more extreme, i.e. I *think* that the offset is even greater.
Bolt your test arm to the transmission and put the U around the transfer case selector. Now you can hop in the truck and see where the handle will be in 2wd. Crawl back underneath and move the t-case selector all the way down (4-Low) make sure the cardboard is still connected and look in the truck again to see where the shift lever is. If your happy with how it travels and it doesn't hit anything then you are ready to make your lever (out of steel this time, cardboard just doesn't hold up on the trail too well).
Take your cardboard template and lay it out on the sheet of steel. Trace it with chalk. And cut it out with your angle grinder and cutoff disk. Remember to leave the short arm a little longer then needed, it's very easy to remove an extra inch or 1/2 inch once you bolt it in and see how long it really needs to be, but if you need to add an extra 1/2 inch your going to have to start over again. WEAR SAFETY GLASSES, it's just not worth it not too. In fact, I recommend wearing safety glasses while your lying under your truck, it's so easy for a little bit of dirt to fall off the underbody and land in your eye.
Once you cut it out be careful, it will be HOT and the edges will be SHARP. After it cools use a grinding disk on your angle grinder to round all the edges. After the edges are smooth and its cooled off again you can put it in your vise or clamp it down and wail on it with your 3lb hammer to get the proper bends in it. If you want you can pick it up with a pair of pliers and put it in the vise, that way you can hammer it while it's still hot from grinding, which will make it bend easier. After you've bent it up you can drill a 1/2" hole in the center of the piece, at the vertex of the angle. Then you can cut the U out of the short end. I just used my angle grinder and the grinding disk. Afterward I went back with my dremmel and smoother the edges around the U and the pivot hole. Here is a close-up of the U cut in the end.
Now it's time to bolt it up and test fit it. Use one washer on each side and tighten the bolt down. You don't want it so tight that you won't be able to shift it though. In this first pic you can see that I didn't put enough offset in my bends to reach the t-case shifting mechanism. So I just stacked 5 washers on the inside of the arm to space it out more (2nd pic). It works like a charm, but you can only space it out so far before the shift lever is going to reach the edge of the transmission tunnel access panel, at which point you'd have to cut a slit in the floor instead of the panel, no bueno.
Try shifting though the ranges to make sure everything works. You may need to shorten the short arm just a little (remember, you were supposed to cut it longer then needed). Once you have it finalized take the truck for a spin around the block to make sure its shifting properly. If everything works as it should pull the new linkage back out and hit it with some primer and then paint to make it look purdy.
The last step is to cut a slit in the trans tunnel access panel for the shifter to slide forward and aft in. Just lay the panel on a piece of cardboard and trace it, then cut it out. Bolt the cardboard down over the access window and slide the shifter from 2wd to 4-Low to figure out how long the cut will need to be.
Once you have it all planned on cardboard pull it out and lay the cardboard template over the access cover and mark where your slit will be cut. I used a grinding disk to cut my slit, the width of the disk was perfect for the shift linkage. remember, cut the slit too small at first and test fit it, gradually making it longer in which ever direction you need. When the slit is big enough to shift through all the ranges your almost done. Pull out the pivot bolt and cover it with red thread locker to keep it from backing out. Then put your carpet back down and attach your trans shifter if you have a manual.
TaDa! Your done.
This is all the way forward (2wd).
This is all the way back (4-Lo).
4-Hi and Neutral are in between those 2 settings.
To finish it off I'm going to buy some of that rubber coating that comes in a can, you just dip whatever you want coated in rubber into the can and it coats it. I figure that will make a nice looking handle, although you could just leave it as-is as well.
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