Outer Limits 4x4 Board

I've seen a fair few questions asked about this over time, and suddenly a few days ago I go to grab 1st and it was like trying to stir a bowl of cold porridge with a wet noodle. So I get on the phone and order some parts (check end of this post for part numbers).

It's a pretty simple fix but some pics and a few soothing words might help out the newbs, so here goes.

OK, we'll start out simple. Here is the shifter


Unscrew the shift knob (it comes off anti clockwise), and undo the four bolts that hold the shifter boot to the transmission tunnel.


Once you have removed the shifter boot you should be presented with something like this


Carefully peel the rubber boot from the flange and move it out of the way like so. You can see the 3 bolts holding the flange to the transmission housing. Make sure you have the transmission in neutral and undo these bolts.


Pull the shift lever out of the box. When doing so make sure that you pull it straight up (eg, vertically) to avoid putting the box into gear. This will make it easier to put back together . Once you have removed the shifter you should see something like the following pic. In my case the bolt had fallen out all together , so all I needed to do was to put the new one back in and replace the shifter. You might also want to take the opportunity to replace the shifter sheet at this time. The shifter sheet sits at the bottom of the shifter housing and gives the ball part of the shifter something to sit on. Mine was OK so I did not replace it.


Here is the new shifter locating bolt in place. For reassembly just do things in the reverse order. Just be careful putting the shifter back in, if you have the box in neutral it's pretty easy.


There are 2 different sizes of bolts. I am not sure if one size suits NT zooks, and one size suits WT zooks but I suspect this may be the case. For the record, mine is a 90 model WT and it used the smaller size bolt. Part numbers are 09135-08006 for the small bolt and 09135-10005 for the large bolt. You can get these from your Suzuki dealer as a genuine item, they are not expensive (around $10).

Good stuff Damo, I've also seen it mentioned quite few times but pictures and a detailed explanation helps heaps - maybe this could go into the bible?

Can you further explain the symptoms - my shifter wobbles from side to side in gear, but I'm assuming that yours was the case where it could actually twist the shifter 360* when in gear??

Correct me if i'm wrong, but there are two common problems that both have an easy fix, but my problem would be different?

Thanks

Nick.

nickw86au wrote:Can you further explain the symptoms... ...I'm assuming that yours was the case where it could actually twist the shifter 360* when in gear??

Yep, that's what mine was doing.

nickw86au wrote:my shifter wobbles from side to side in gear

Worn shifter sheet I'd say. Considering the low cost of the parts get the bolt and the sheet and do them both at once. That should tighten it right up.

No dramas. Thanks for that mate. Like I said, good job with the write-up, it makes it easier for people to see exactly what's going on

Nick

Damo wrote:

nickw86au wrote:Can you further explain the symptoms... ...I'm assuming that yours was the case where it could actually twist the shifter 360* when in gear??

Yep, that's what mine was doing.

nickw86au wrote:my shifter wobbles from side to side in gear

Worn shifter sheet I'd say. Considering the low cost of the parts get the bolt and the sheet and do them both at once. That should tighten it right up.

just a word of warning the shifter sheet is not available as a seperate item, but it does come with a complete new gearstick. all because ya cant get the gearstick apart unless ya cut it up and weld it back together.

Damo wrote:
Pull the shift lever out of the box. When doing so make sure that you pull it straight up (eg, vertically) to avoid putting the box into gear. This will make it easier to put back together . Once you have removed the shifter you should see something like the following pic. In my case the bolt had fallen out all together , so all I needed to do was to put the new one back in and replace the shifter. You might also want to take the opportunity to replace the shifter sheet at this time. The shifter sheet sits at the bottom of the shifter housing and gives the ball part of the shifter something to sit on. Mine was OK so I did not replace it.

Is that not the shifter sheet; just the bit down the bottom; not on the actual gearstick??

Or do you have to just replace the whole gearstick ~$120 I remember someone saying....

Nick[/quote]

bazooked wrote:just a word of warning the shifter sheet is not available as a seperate item, but it does come with a complete new gearstick. all because ya cant get the gearstick apart unless ya cut it up and weld it back together.

You got me thinking now. Might have to go pull it apart again and have a look!

there should be a half round plastic thingthat comes out with ur gearstick.

Dude sells it as part of a kit on Ebay.

Here!

Thanks for that Damo! Im ordering the bolt now and will try it tommorrow!

I'll put this in the bible.

Layto....

you dont have to get a whole new gear stick as you can get the top bush non genuine (and bottom). The slot in the ball was so thrashed out on mine i had to weld it up and cut a new slot with a cutting disk. This may also contribute to a sloppy gear stick.

Thanks for that damo no doubt i'll need that in the future!

yeh mine had a snapped locating bolt and worn bush making it very bad some time ago. I got both for a few bucks and it made a huge difference. Have heard in the past that if you can move the gear stick from side to side its the locating bolt and it you can twist the shifter slightly (ie. in a circular motion) then its a warn bush. Word of warning, the tip of my bolt had broken off and was just sitting there but when i took out the shifter it fell into the gearbox...be very careful of this. I got lucky as i found it snug up against one of the shifting linkages.....took a long time to find though. Well done on the write up!

Psst try suzi sport at stafford or springwood , if they still exist , thats where i used to get most of my odd bits and pieces , or mike street automotive in WOODFORD

Did the job today, took me a complete novice around 20mins. Thanks damo for the write up. Why isnt it in the Bible though?

patzuki wrote:Did the job today, took me a complete novice around 20mins. Thanks damo for the write up. Why isnt it in the Bible though?

IT is.

Layto....

ahha i should have read this before i did mine. i didnt even notice that bolt ey. i just pulled the shifter out, noticed it had a big gap between the top plate and where the ball section of the shifter was and i headed to the lathe and made a steel spacer with a bit of a bowl like section to fit nicely over the top of the ball and under the top plate. then i just bolted the plate on, checked to see how tight the shifter was and just machined the washer down untill the gear shifter had a nice comfortable play. worked for me! was free aswell

OK guys doing this today but mine is stuck in 5th, how the buggery do I get it out of gear? I've removed the whole shifter assembly

Still can't get it out of 5th, I can get the shifter assembly all bolted in place but cannot get it out of gear. My shifter will move side to side in a bit of an arc that is all. I tried moving the shift rails with a screw driver but they will not move forward or backward.

Is my box ruined?

Could it be that the locator bolt has broken and is now jammed in the linkages somewhere? Just a guess. Otherwise there could be tension on the gears?

That's what I am wondering, does anyone have an idea if this could be it. I have about 5-7mm of non threaded section on my bolt past the thread, is this normal?

Yes, that's normal.

Steve.

Sooooo any reasons why I can't get it out of gear?

This is a couple of pics with the shifter assembly off. Both rails on the right will no bidge forward or backward. The only thing that will move is what I assume is reverse gear on the far left, the big square shaped bit will rotate and I assume it then slips forward but I havn't pushed it that far yet.

Ok seeing as nobody has any idea what's wrong with my gear box, does anyone know of somewhere I could buy another gearbox and have it frieghted here?

I can't view your pics at work but here's some pointers.

A) Work out what gear it is in when you think it's in neutral. Jack the back wheels up and start the car. you should get a pretty good idea from revs/speedo.

If you then try and pull a gear and the ar stalls, you've got a rail engaged when you think you're in neutral.

B) If the box is jammed, it's possible you've pulled 2 gears at once. I've had this happen to me. From memory "neutral" was 4th and I couldn't get anything except reverse which just jammed the box and stalled the car. Seen it happen with a cruiser too.

C) The pattern is reversed on the rails compared to the lever, so the right hand rail is 1st/2nd, the left had rail is 5th/reverse. fore aft is reversed too, so left hand rail forwards is reverse/right had rail backwards is 1st.

D) It will take a surprising amount of force to move the rails without the lever installed.

E) All three slots in the rails need to line up to get neutral.

Hope this helps.

Steve.

It looks to me like the right and middle rails are in the forward position (engaged). I would have another go at trying to shift one or both rails. Try using a large flat blade screwdriver or pry bar to lever them. If you can't get any of the rails to budge then I guess the only option is to remove the box and split it.

Fark, I have put a fair bit of force into it, I will keep trying when I have a little more time and another person to help. I tried moving the car back and forth by pushing with it in low range and in gear, maybe if someone else did this while I am in the car trying to move the rails perhaps....

dont rock it in low, put it in high and it will be less work.

don't use a screw driver( i bent 2 last time my shifter sheat died) find some thing bigger. i ended up using a old wheel brace that has a flat end on it and a pipe as low as i could get it.