# 1970 GTO Hurst Shifter problem



## MJ1970 (Jun 23, 2014)

Hello to all, I am new to the Forum and recently purchased my dream car. A 1970 GTO Convert, 4 Speed. I haven't driven a manual shifter in a while, however I think I am having some type of issue with the shifter and or transmission. At times the hurst shifter is difficult to get into reverse and first. There are times when i move the shifter into first and it goes into what should be first and when I release the clutch, the car is obviously not in gear. There are also times when I am in neutral and I let the clutch out and the car will stall as if It was in gear. The difficulty shifting into first and staying in neutral are more pronounced after driving car for a while and it heats up.


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## rickm (Feb 8, 2012)

start with the basics. get under there and check to see if the rods are adjusted correctly. replace the bushings n clips if they are worn out. is the shifter sloppy? are the stops still on the shifter?


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## PontiacJim (Dec 29, 2012)

Agree with rickm on the bushings. Year One and Summit sell them. Summit sells a kit for $11.97 called the "Pit Pack", item number HUU-3327302. Get the steel and not the nylon -my opinion & what I would use.

The 1970 GTO has a rod that locks the steering column when put in reversefor parking conditions. This might be worn or sloppy? Year One sells the rod and what looks to be some other parts if needed.

Any way, I scanned a shifter/linkage/trans set-up from a 1968 GTO. The 1970 drawing did not provide linkages or the details.

Here is what you want to do. Jack the car up so you can get underneath it, chock and block it up REAL GOOD for safety sake! You want your car in neutral to do this, so you don't need it rolling or dropping on you.

Mark your shifter rods so you know what is what. 1 pc of tape, 2 pcs of tape, 3 pcs of tap work good. Remove the spring clips from the linkage rods by prying them out or pulling them. Take each rod off. The bushings should be in the shifter levers or on the trans levers, don't recall which or if both. If by chance there are no bushings, check the holes where the rods go through to see if elongated. If so, new levers are in order. 

The diagram shows you the 1st-2nd & 3rd-4th lever assembly on the transmission. They should be in neutral as you put the shifter in neutral. They should both be in the same position. However, you can check this if in doubt. Lever forward is 1st, back one click is neutral. Back one more click is 2nd. Same goes for 3rd-4th. You want both levers in neutral

With the shifter in neutral, you will see in the diagram a hole just above the shifter lever on the side. The diagram shows a 1/4" Gage Pin (use a drill/hex wrench/nail, etc. to fit). You slide the drill bit into the hole which will lock up & line up all the shift levers in the correct neutral position.

Install your bushings. Put the shift rod end that does not have the "trunion" on it in place and secure. Now place the "trunion" end onto the shifter lever. It should slip right into the bushing/hole with no difficulty. If it will not fit, or seems a little off, then you loosen up the nuts on each side of the "trunion" and move it left or right to align it perfectly with the shift lever hole/bushing. Once perfect, attach it on. Do this for the other 2 shift rods.

Once all back together, remove your drill bit. Your shifter is now aligned in its correct neutral position and the linkage rods to your transmission correspond to this setting. It should shift smooth and no binding.

However, shifters do wear out if you still have a problem. You can have the shifter rebuilt as I believe Hurst does this. Cheaper than a new one and you keep your original. 

You may have a transmission problem, but do the shifter/shift rod alignment first and go from there. Also look for the reverse lockout rod to make sure this is not creating a problem. It may have been removed, but you should see it attached to the reverse lever on the transmission. You might even want to take it off temporarily to make sure it is not the problem.


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