Hello, guys. 

I'm continuing the restoration of my breadvan and currently am at the gearbox stage. The issue is - the shifter itself has a lot of play when in gear. I don't know if that's normal or not since the car is older than I am and perhaps I'm asking too much of it. But still, it has a lot of play when in gear and the shifting accuracy is balls. By that I mean that you don't really ever know if you shifted into reverse or first, or first or third because of that play. (the reverse plastic "wall" on the shifting rod is broken this is why you can mistake it for the first)

So if it is normal please let me know and if not - what would I need to replace? It's my first car and I'm still learning. 

Thanks a lot you guys. 

If needed, I can supply videos and photos, cuz I understand that "a lot of play" can mean a lot of things. But maybe it's a know issue or what not. 

Edited 17 September, 20214 yr by fabzee

id start by replacing everything i can 

 

ball and cup kit on the bottom of the gearstick , another bush where it leaves the gearstick "box"  , new ball on the shift finger 

 

see how that goes...theyre not as tight as a decent modern car , but should feel decent enough when in good repair

28 minutes ago, steveo3002 said:

id start by replacing everything i can 

 

ball and cup kit on the bottom of the gearstick , another bush where it leaves the gearstick "box"  , new ball on the shift finger 

 

see how that goes...theyre not as tight as a decent modern car , but should feel decent enough when in good repair

Hey I actually did that. I was hoping it would solve the issue, but it really didn't make a difference. I replaced the entire stick unit with all that bolts onto it and the cup below that box. Then on the other end there are two separate parts that move sideways when shifting, I didn't replace those because they are impossible to find but also they are in decent condition. The only thing left in my mind is that something inside the box itself can be faulty, but with my level of expertise there's no way I could find out. 

Thanks for the answer!