We just spent about 4 hours on my car trying to get the old roll pin out with zero luck. I think we managed to move it a total of about 1/16 of an inch. Having a friend hold the shift arms at the transmission you can feel the slop reduce by a HUGE amount leading me to think my roll pin is crushed to some degree. No way it will budge though...

Has anyone seen the slop and still had the roll pin lodged in there so tight that you can't get it out? If so has anyone actually removed a stuck pin in there?

Very irritating...

Nick

 

Kwik1 I have, not sure I went about it the "right" way but I had to remove the Trans to Frame mount that's in the way kinda diagonal to the linkages. It had a total of 7 bolts pretty easy to remove I just supported the Trans with a jack then removed it I think the four frame bolts were 15mm and the 3 Trans bolts were 17mm not positive on sizes those are off the top of my head. Just watch out for the back up switch it's really easy to break off removing the mount because you have to do some wiggiling to remove it so you might want to take that out before the mount...that's pretty much how I got my pin out that was stuck.

 

this writeup was very nice and saved me alot of money... thanks man

 

Subscribing cause like everyone elses' my is a little sloopy and sometimes when I hit 4th gear under WOT it feel like the gear was not engaged, and the RPMS just go up. then I put it in 3rd(foot still on the floor with the clutch)and I feel the gears engage, then I put it in 4th agein, and release the clutch, and poof 4th gear it back then I can step on the gas agein???

 

where can you get a roll pin pusher? is that a specialty tool made only for this job or are there any other names that the tool goes by?

 

lots of good info here . . . . saving for sure. . .

 

pin pusher, you can get it from napa. Just tell him you need a roll pin pusher. If they look at you like your dumb, then explain that you need something to push the spring roll pin out of your linkage so you can replace it. If he still looks at you like your dumb, talk to his boss and get him fired.

 

lol, thats exactly what they did to me, ive gone to napa, autozone, and pep boys....they all gave me the same look

 

I don't know what to tell ya man. It's amazing the idiots they let work at parts stores nowadays.

 

I performed this modifacation yesterday with decent success
i used a allen head 10-24x1.5" bolt of hardended steel(grade 8 or better)
I will say the how to was spot on, with the exception of removing the wheel... was not needed in my case.

the clearence between the two arms would suggest not being able to use a bolt thru the lower pin, only the top has room for it between the two arms

had a hard time hammering the pin out, but eventually got it to budge
did remove the trans mount and pulled the reverse switch for a little better clearence.

the gears do feel a bit better on engagement however a hair looser side to side while in gear

the linkage arm still can slide up and down but not as easily anymore which is good,

will say worth my time, only time will tell if it fixed the 4th gear miss but definatly feel like more positive engagement into gear

 

LMAO, if you have to explain this to someone working at a parts store then I can understand it. If you have to explain it to the manager of the store, then he needs to be fired. I wonder if this could be the reason why my car hesitates to go into gear sometimes. And maybe why it grinds into 2nd sometimes.

 

subscribed just in case.

 

Your experience is just due to these transmission acting funny. We all experience this problem.

 

humm...probly why my wifes redline shifts like butter , but my cobalt feels like im tring to stir broken glass . i find it hard to get into first sometimes ...think this could be it?

 

I went to about 7 auto parts stores looking for roll pins, and no one had any idea. All the murrays said basically the same thing, when I told them I needed a roll pin, they asked what it was for, and when I said transmission linkage, they said they don't have very many trans parts....

I ended up at Home depot, where I found both the pin pusher and the roll pins. The roll pins where in the bolts and screws aisle, labeled as tension pins. They were pretty cheap and come in packs of two. I plan on replaceing this with a bolt like stated by several people above though soon

 

Just stretched the dog snot out of mine tonight at the track. If you want to tell when it is just starting to get bad, the hint is that you really start missing 2nd gear. I made a total of 9 passes tonight, and missed second on 3 of them when normally I never miss a gear. I will be going with the bolt option in the morning.

 

Can someone post a pic of a roll pin next to a bolt that can be used for this? That would be great, thanks.

 

I will if I remember to take the camera to the garage with me.

 

Thanks. I just installed the B&M and I wanna make sure the shift linkage pins aren't counteracting it's improvements.

 

it seems to be a common problem if you are a shifter. the only bad thing about beefing one part up is that it exploits another weaker part.

 

especially with this car, lol

 

I can't believe you had that many problems at the auto stores. LOL. At least you found a fix.

 

The tool is actually called a Punch. That is probably why you were getting the goofy looks.

 

Awesome write up....not sure if I need this part replaced yet....anyone have the definitive answer on that yet?

Is the parts list updated for the more snug roll-pin size? Why is the car jacked up with the front drivier's side tire off?

Again subscribed for an awesome how-to...can we sticky this?

 

updated with a vid

car was jacked up with the drivers side tire off in order to make it easier to get to the linkages.

as far as roll pin size, that is the correct size.