# Broken shifter? Linkage?



## Red2005Goat (May 22, 2013)

Hello everyone,
I am new to the forum and I have a bit of a problem. My goat is a 2005 M6. For the past two weeks my shifter has felt loose while in gear (quite a bit of play up and down) but the car still drove and shifted smoothly. I thought that it might be a bushing or something along those lines but didnt really think much of it. When I left work yesterday i shifted from 1st to 2nd fine. When i went to shift into 3rd, there was nothing. Something had definitely came apart. The shifter was dead loose and the only gear i could get it into was 1st. It does have a short throw on it but im not sure which brand it is (came with the car when I bought it) Im going to take a look at it this afternoon after work. Has anybody had this issue or any similar issues?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

Red2005Goat said:


> Hello everyone,
> I am new to the forum and I have a bit of a problem. My goat is a 2005 M6. For the past two weeks my shifter has felt loose while in gear (quite a bit of play up and down) but the car still drove and shifted smoothly. I thought that it might be a bushing or something along those lines but didnt really think much of it. When I left work yesterday i shifted from 1st to 2nd fine. When i went to shift into 3rd, there was nothing. Something had definitely came apart. The shifter was dead loose and the only gear i could get it into was 1st. It does have a short throw on it but im not sure which brand it is (came with the car when I bought it) Im going to take a look at it this afternoon after work. Has anybody had this issue or any similar issues?
> 
> Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!


The stock shifter is not very good and will not hold up to hard use. The positive stop on it is higher up on the shaft. The issue is when you shift hard the whole gear shifter flexes front. The bottom of the shaft kicks out as the top is stopped. This is a very poor design. What will happen is one day while shifting the shaft will snap and the whole gear shifter will go limp.

Aftermarket shifters like the GMM have 2 positive stops one top one bottom. Its very solid feeling when you shift hard not "spongy" like the OEM one. Did your shifter break or crack perhaps as a result of this? You'll find out once you look at it.

Aftermarket ones: Thread lock MUST be used on threads or in time the nut will back off and likely fall in the transmission. The gear shift will become loose and will do what you describe.


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## Metallifan (Jan 6, 2013)

To take the bottom part of your center console out, there's 1 screw in the front of the rubber tray area. Take that out, then lift up the arm rest and just pull the console up, it's clipped in. Disconnect the window switch and T/C switch. Remove the console, lift your shift boot up, and take a look.


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## Red2005Goat (May 22, 2013)

Thank you both for the help! The screw that holds the shift knob to the actual shifter snapped in half (cheap stuff) gonna have to extract the screw and replace it with a better one. Fortunately it wasn't anything more serious. I discovered that the aftermarket shifter is a B&M


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## BWinc (Sep 21, 2005)

Replace the B & M with something better.


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## Red2005Goat (May 22, 2013)

I'm definitely considering buying the GMM.


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## Metallifan (Jan 6, 2013)

Yeah, the B&M is a pile of crap. I have the GMM and love it. Can't beat the 3rd gear shift on it. The MGW-P is also a good choice. And if you want help with installation, You're about 30 minutes away from me.


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## Metallifan (Jan 6, 2013)

I also have SNL's GMM adapter for Hurst shifter arms. I adore the setup.


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## svede1212 (Nov 1, 2005)

Red2005Goat said:


> Thank you both for the help! The screw that holds the shift knob to the actual shifter snapped in half (cheap stuff) gonna have to extract the screw and replace it with a better one. Fortunately it wasn't anything more serious. I discovered that the aftermarket shifter is a B&M


I was going to say from your post count you're a second or third hand buyer and your shfiter is aftermarket. B&M and Hurst are two shifters it's best to stay away from. GMM, MGW-p and Billet Pro are the only three I'd consider.


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