B&M Quicksilver shifter help

[vidguy]

I have this in my 75 Formula.. like it lots but had an issue the other day..

I have looked everywhere for this info and cant find a diagram that shows the parts or how to remore/replace things. Plenty of install diagrams I already have.

For the most part it's pretty simple.. But I had an issue after getting it back from the paint shop getting some chips and other issues repainted. I think they couldn't figure out the shifter and hammered on it possibly... Dunno..

Might have been a coincidence.. But after a shift or two after picking it up, I couldn't get it down into Drive.. I drove it home without touching the shifter..So I took it out and apart and got it to go back into drive anyhow.. But now.. The shifter is sloppy loose and It clear I didn't do something right.. (or it is in fact broken, and a part is gone or something..
..
1) How do you get the pin out that holds the Handle / arm on..?

2) It would be super helpful if someone look to see how the big spring on the passenger side is fitted? Seems now that I put it back together I may have not set that spring in correctly/ I took it off and looked again.. And there are not too many options.. There are not that many moving parts, and I do not know what I screwed up. It almost feels like the spring is not on correctly..
Thanks

[NOT A TA]

The problem you experienced is most likely caused by the cable not the shifter. Unless they whacked it with a really BFH it's unlikely its the shops fault from misoperation. You can beat the living daylights out of a Quicksilver and it holds up. A little lube on the moving parts will help if the shifter doesn't get used for a long time and the grease drys up and gets sticky (like after 10 years). There are 2 common cable failures that occur.

The first possible problem is that the cable can not make a sharp bend. It is common for people to want to use the original shifter cable hole through the trans tunnel when installing a Quicksilver into a second gen F body, after all it's a "bolt in" part right? And even has the bezel that fits the console. Unfortunately the curve to put the cable through the stock hole creates a little bit too tight of a bend for the B&M cable and after extended operation (often years) they fail right where the cable attaches to the shifter mount. You'll see the housing looks a bit puffed and may show a crack.

The second possibility is that the shifter cable got welded. This occurs when the cable from the engine block to the negative terminal on the battery does not have a good enough connection. The moment the starter is activated, enough electricty to weld the shifter cable goes to the starter and then seeks the easiest electrical path back to the battery. If the cable from the engine block to the - battery isn't enough it seeks the path of lowest resistance for the remaining electrons. Since the engine and tranny are rubber mounted, the path of least resistance often becomes the shifter cable which has a good ground to the body on the transmision tunnel and the body is grounded to the battery by the short wire from your sheetmetal directly to the negative battery terminal. If the small wire from your battery to the core support looks like the insulation is melted there's a good possibility the shifter cable was damaged.

Don't know if these pics will help but I don't have a closeup pic of the pass side and can't take one (car assembled). If you ever want to install the switches to make your neutral safety switch and reverse lights function save the top pic. You can add extensions to the wiring from the base of your steering column to incorporate the switches that no longer work since the backdrive that rotates the column is probably gone. Without the neutral switch you won't pass tech at a track eventually if you go to them. Bottom pic is a fried core support ground wire resulting from a bad negative battery cable connection.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/05/WheelNutzshifteranddash004-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/05/The14Carinterior140-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/05/002-2.jpg

[vidguy]

John-
Thanks for taking the time to reply with so much detail.
My issue isn't with the cable, I'm fairly certain. I am not having issues shifting from gear to gear. That works fine, and the cable, if I remove it from the shifter, can be moved by pulling on it with pliers.
Rather, I was unable to push the shift handle down into the lower ratcheting position once in the "Drive" position. I took the shifter out and had to lever the notches in the plate apart that the handle pin slides into..If that makes sense. It was probably a matter of a few .100ths of an inch too tight that was causing the handle pin to not drop down into the lower spot. I only had to try to tweak it a little bit with a big screwdriver and it fixed that issue. That's why I thought the body shop might have tried to hammer the handle down in an odd way that might have raised a burr or deformed the edge of the plate just enough.

I have my Neutral and reverse switches properly installed and working and my Backdrive linkage is properly secured in the right position.
What I think I did was re-install that spring on the right side incorrectly so that now it doesn't hold the shifter tightly forward.
I tried to see in your photo where it is installed.. I may need to put Both ENDS of the spring in the upper slot?...

Right now everything works, just the shifter handle is really sloppy loose..And it was not before.
I worked till 8:00 tonight on a shoot so I can't check it now. But I will as soon as I can..
Thanks again for all the advice. I do appreciate it. If you find any other photos let me know.
James
I think I'll give B&M a call and see if they cant help me out.

[NOT A TA]

I should have mentioned that the cable curve issue only relates to the B&M cable not when using a stock cable. If you're using a B&M don't discount the cable as the start of the problem too quickly. Particularly if the stock tunnel opening wasn't opened up to allow a straighter transition. In the beginning stage of the cable failure when the tunnel opening is left stock the cable will function once disconnected from the shifter. You can even put it all back together and have everything functioning only to get stuck somewhere a day, week, or year later. Having the backdrive operational puts more stress on the cable. If you've been driving the car with a B&M cable routed through the stock tunnel opening buy a spare cable, you'll probably need it at some point even if you don't need it now.

[vidguy]

Thanks for that tip. I am using the B&M Cable. I did open the tunnel opening a fair amount to alleviate the angle, I noticed that too when I installed it. I am not having issues shifting though. I can shift fine through all the gears and there is never any hangup. The issue was the handle wouldn't lock down even with it on the workbench and now it flops fore and aft more then it did. I can see the Tang in the front bottom of the mechanism not holding tight against the spring.
I do want to have a spare cable. I like this shifter a lot and agree that it is a tough shifter.
I just need to see how the spring works and I cannot find a photo of one anywhere.

[John Wright]

Something may have happened to the shifter.....I dropped off my V8 S10 to have tires mounted and when I got back they told me they had trouble getting the Mega Shifter to shift it in gear. Turns out they figured out it was a V8 and needed to take a test drive and broke my shifter, even pulled two of the bolts through the floor board sheet metal when banging on it. The place where I purchased the shifter had mercy on me and took my broken shifter back and replaced it with a new one. The tire shop wouldn't come clean and own up, but I saw the rear tires in the pile that came off my truck and when I took it to them the cords were not showing.

Hoping your shifter just needs adjusting, but they can be broken....trust me.

[vidguy]

Turns out I had put the spring on incorrectly. It is not meant to cross over as it does when it is loose and not installed. It is a very stiff spring. It took a bit of effort to spread it and get it installed correctly again. Shoulda noted this more carefully when I removed it or took a photo. 'Im usually pretty good about that..

Thanks for the efforts of help.
47072
I do think the body shop guys hammered on it and tweaked it so it wouldn't drop into the lower position in Drive though.. But I did fix that..