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Spinning gear shifter knob

4K views 9 replies 5 participants last post by  Cali Duetto 
#1 · (Edited)
I have a 67 spider that has the push to shift into reverse shifter lever. The "pin" that slides in the slot of the upper shifter lever(near the shift knob) is missing....and the upper shifter lever (collar) sits about 0.5" higher than where the pin would be. The attached picture is not of my shifter but a picture I found on another posting. This shows the upper collar in what I believe to be the correct position. I can machine a new pin and press it in, but I am unclear as to why the collar is sitting too high. I am guessing there is something missing inside of the outer shift lever shaft. My gear shifter knob is able to rotate freely. From what I read I may be fortunate in that there are no rattles in my shifter. Makes me wonder if this pin system might contribute to the rattle.

Any idea what might be emissing that allows the upper section to sit above the anti rotation pin?

Thank in advance.
 

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#3 · (Edited)
Consensus seems to be that a rubber sleeve at the bottom of the internal rod has rotted away by now, allowing the rod to rattle, and the spring to push it and the sliding top section (to which the rod is attached) up further.
Replacing the pin with something will stop any spinning, but dismantling the unit to replace the sleeve has met with limited success, it seems. In any event, no one appears to have identified a source for the sleeve itself.
You CAN disable the lockout: there’s a nut/bolt in the top of the transmission tower which the gear lever ‘strikes’ unless you depress the gear knob. Take that out, and you won’t need a sliding gear knob to get reverse...which then means you can fill the lever with glue or something to stop the rattle. Of course a degree of caution coming out of 5th is required thereafter: a gentle flick to neutral, let the centring spring to do its job, slide down to 4th.
A more radical fix appears to be to replace the rear section of the tower with one from a later model, and use the later, non-sliding shifter.
A (google) search “AlfaBB gearshifter pin” will bring up more discussion.
 
#4 ·
Thank you for the help. Funny you should suggest using google to search the Alfabb. I used the Alfabb search and came up with a few hits for a similar issue with a much older car and wasn't sure if the shifter system had changed during the years. When I used google to search the Alfabb as you suggested....I got lots more information. It seems like there is a rubber bushing inside the shift lever that prevents the inner shaft and collar from extending beyond the pin that prevents the shifter knob from rotating. I am thinking that this must be missing.

It sounds like there are no great solutions for fixing this, and others have defeated the lockout system as you have helped describe. I am going to try to see if I can make a part to replace the missing rubber bushing first and try your suggestion if I cant get that to work.

If others have been successful with getting the inner shaft to sit back down where it belongs, I would appreciate any tips or suggestions.

Thanks again
 
#6 ·
I know some have done it .. I haven't... technically the inner rod has slipped up the shaft past the rubber stop which is moreover unserviceable in my estimation. The solution i have heard is to cut the inner rod from the top and make up the lost rod with additional balls at the bottom.. I guess it just takes balls to do it. Also worth exploring is shortening the sleeve spring. Neither is high on my current priorities. U.
 
#7 ·
Brian, I do not have a copy of the parts manual for my 67. Are they available somewhere? Thank you for attaching the image of the shifter detail. I believe what others have indicated the issue likely is, is with part 106.01.13.631.00. Much like my turn signal switch not canceling....this is a nuisance issue not a physical problem. Fortunately I have no rattling, and all forward and reverse gears work well, I just wish the shifter knob didn't spin. I have done nothing to the turn signal switch yet, and will likely not dig into this until a cold, wet winter day when I don't have much else to do and cant drive the car.

I am likely to try to fix it correctly and not retrofit a new style shifter, defeat the internal lockout or cut the spring. Ill probably just live with it if I cant get it working correctly.

Thanks all for your help!
 
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