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Sat Sep 17, 2011 8:32 pm

Hi all,

I bought a set of shift guide repair parts from Chris at T3Technique, and installed them on a friend's van a few hours ago. They're made by Holman Engineering in the UK, and T3Technique is the US distributor.

http://www.t3technique.com/accessories/shifter-guide-repair-kit.html

They are, in a word, perfect! They're easy to install, and are significantly more durable than the factory plastic ears.

I've taken a few photos, if you'll indulge me:

The old ears were completely missing, so other than a wash in brake cleaner and some scrubbing with steel wool, the prep was easy:

Some relieving of the corners according to the instructions. This is because the milling of the ears was done with a round bit, and the slots have slightly rounded inner corners. Not a big deal, a few passes and it was done.

The kit. 45 bucks for about 10 grams of plastic :) They're extremely well built, though. The little silver things are aluminum pins that mechanically hold the ears in place:

Nice and shiny before the epoxy:

The ears epoxied in place:

A teeny bit of filing on the pins to smooth out the ridges left by the pliers I used, and it's good to go in about 2 hours (the setting time of the epoxy I used):

It feels like a new shifter now. The guides actually hold the shift lever in the correct place. I lubed it with silicone grease, as per the directions.

Thanks very much Chris and Holman Engineering! We;ve needed a product like this for a looong time.

One very happy customer,

Robyn

Sun Sep 18, 2011 4:56 am

NICE! Spendy, but nice!

Sun Sep 18, 2011 4:57 am

Great write up on a fix many of us need. To remove the front shift rod,were you able to slide it out the front fairly easy? I can't for the life of me recall how I removed mine last time.

Sun Sep 18, 2011 8:52 am

My mech. housing box, wing and sliders in the box were destroyed. The wing tip on the short side had been broken off and brazed back on. Needless to say, there was no plastic on the tips. I found an old rusted out front shift rod and washed the wing off and welded it to my rust-free rod. F&R'ed the box and sliders along with Holman's "tips". Took some time to dial it in but I'm very satisfied with the result.
Highly recommend!

Sun Sep 18, 2011 9:26 am

BillM wrote: Great write up on a fix many of us need. To remove the front shift rod,were you able to slide it out the front fairly easy? I can't for the life of me recall how I removed mine last time.

I've slid it out the front before, and it does work, but it's really tight and awkward, especially if your van has the front air dam. I'm too afraid of bending it to do it that way again.

The best way I've found is to disconnect the rod at both ends, slide it forward enough to clear the support bushing, and then move it towards the center line of the van and remove it backwards through the hole in the center cross member, inside the fuel tank saddle on a 2wd, or around the diff on a syncro. You have to rotate it along its axis to get the ears to clear everything.

Robyn

Sun Sep 18, 2011 9:49 am

Yeah, backward is the way to go.

Sun Sep 18, 2011 10:34 am

I was able to do this repair with the parts from Holman with the shift rod in place, no need to remove it, just pull the shifter box to expose the shifter fork. It's been several months and so far so good, really made a difference.

Sun Sep 18, 2011 10:40 am

fairweather wrote: I was able to do this repair with the parts from Holman with the shift rod in place, no need to remove it, just pull the shifter box to expose the shifter fork. It's been several months and so far so good, really made a difference.

Very good to know, thanks!

Robyn

Sun Sep 18, 2011 10:46 am

I have the sloppy into first issue, I see these fixes and I see the ball and socket replacements, just not sure which way to go with it.

To get into first, I have to push down a little, and feel my way in. I almost always get first, although at a light I scared the guy behind me alittle. I always let the clutch out a little to be sure.

How much room underneath do you need to work on this?

Sun Sep 18, 2011 11:40 am

sold !

Sun Sep 18, 2011 1:55 pm

I'm glad there's finally a product for that fix.

I used to melt plastic and dip it in,then shave and carve the whole thing when cooling down.

This kit is way better :lol:

Sun Sep 18, 2011 5:49 pm

Can't really tell from your photos, but it looks like those pieces might be identical?
I thought the originals had a different shape.

All that really matters I guess is if they work well.

Sun Sep 18, 2011 6:12 pm

levi wrote: Can't really tell from your photos, but it looks like those pieces might be identical?
I thought the originals had a different shape.

All that really matters I guess is if they work well.

No, they have the same profile as the stock ones, but aren't translucent, so they look a bit bigger. But they're not :) You can see the profile well in the pic with my hand in it.

Robyn

Sun Sep 18, 2011 6:17 pm

BillWYellowstone wrote: I have the sloppy into first issue, I see these fixes and I see the ball and socket replacements, just not sure which way to go with it.

To get into first, I have to push down a little, and feel my way in. I almost always get first, although at a light I scared the guy behind me alittle. I always let the clutch out a little to be sure.

How much room underneath do you need to work on this?

If you leave the rod in place and remove the shifter box as fairweather suggests, you should be able to work on it nicely with a couple of ramps under the front wheels or good jack stands.

Check the rest of your shift linkage as well if you have sloppy shifting. You probably have worn bushings at the front or back if they're the originals.

Robyn

Mon Sep 19, 2011 1:50 pm

Wow, Robyn...thank you for such a great write-up and review.

I had no idea that these would sell so quickly, but to those missed out on the first round, I do have more on order and they should be here in a couple of weeks at most.

Mon Sep 19, 2011 2:25 pm

Great write up. Just installed my kit yesterday. It is an excellent fix! Highly recommended, easy to do, great instructions.

Previously I had done a couple versions of tubing/epoxy on the shift fork ears. They worked sort of okay and all failed eventually.

This fix is much better, the shifting now is way more precise, much harder to accidentally hit R when going for 1st. Seems like it should last a good long time as well.

Thanks to t3 technique and Holman Engineering for making this available!

Mon Sep 19, 2011 3:41 pm

loogy wrote: Wow, Robyn...thank you for such a great write-up and review.

I had no idea that these would sell so quickly, but to those missed out on the first round, I do have more on order and they should be here in a couple of weeks at most.

I ordered the other day and it went through. Does that mean I will get a set?

Mon Sep 19, 2011 3:58 pm

Just shot you an email.. I wanna be on the list when you get them back in stock!

Mon Sep 19, 2011 5:42 pm

BillM wrote: loogy wrote: Wow, Robyn...thank you for such a great write-up and review.

I had no idea that these would sell so quickly, but to those missed out on the first round, I do have more on order and they should be here in a couple of weeks at most.

I ordered the other day and it went through. Does that mean I will get a set?

Hi Bill,

Everyone who placed an order will receive a kit. All of the kits sold out within a few hours of Robyn's posting, so I was able to remove the "Add to Cart" on the site before things got out of hand.

For those waiting for the second shipment, I will post here when they arrive and are packaged for sale, so keep checkin' back.

Tue Sep 20, 2011 12:06 pm

Hi All,

Just wanted to chime in as the owner of the van that these little beauties went into. The fit and finish are really very good, and only required a little bit of filing the tabs to get them to fit perfectly. It was by far the easiest job we had on the van that day.

The gear shift is incredibly solid and precise now, to the point that I really have to get used to it!

Also a big thanks to Rob for his constant technical help, his shop, and his beer consumption abilities ;)

Cheers,

Chris.