Shifter Rod Issue - heel / toe shifter
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Cruiser
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 157
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From: Central PA
Shifter Rod Issue - heel / toe shifter
My shifter rod is gringing into my tranny case, the bike is still rideable , but shifting is a pain sometimes and pops into neutral alot. Bike is a 1998 FLHRCI with the factory heel / toe shifter
Here is a pic (not my actual bike but an illustration of sorts) to explain my problem, the inside piece is sloppy / loose and it has allowed the linkage to wear into the case / housing
I am afraid Ill shift one time and the dam thing will snap off / break instead of wearing into the groove. The bike did fall over once on the shifter side and bent the floor board intot the shifter jamming it up initially until the floorboard was pushed back into place - did something else get affected ?
Any ideas what could be causing this ? or better yet how to fix it.....
TIA
Here is a pic (not my actual bike but an illustration of sorts) to explain my problem, the inside piece is sloppy / loose and it has allowed the linkage to wear into the case / housing
I am afraid Ill shift one time and the dam thing will snap off / break instead of wearing into the groove. The bike did fall over once on the shifter side and bent the floor board intot the shifter jamming it up initially until the floorboard was pushed back into place - did something else get affected ?
Any ideas what could be causing this ? or better yet how to fix it.....
TIA
So is the shift rod loose where it attaches to the lever on the tranny ?? Is the lever on the tranny bent ?? Is the lever on the tranny grinding against the tranny ( you say this , but yur picture shows the inner primary ) .. Is the shift linkage loose ??
If nothing is bent , you may just need heim joints tightened up a bit ..
You definetly dont want to wear a hole in the inner primary , tho I dont think that will happen ..
How about a pitcher of your deal here ..
If nothing is bent , you may just need heim joints tightened up a bit ..
You definetly dont want to wear a hole in the inner primary , tho I dont think that will happen ..
How about a pitcher of your deal here ..
Thread Starter
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Cruiser
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 157
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From: Central PA
it's the aftermarket shifter rod "Harley Davidson" pictured in my sig - the concern I have is it didn't do this ever before and appears to be related to being laid over on that side
I'll take a pic of the issue as it sits now tonight and post it
I'll take a pic of the issue as it sits now tonight and post it
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Cruiser
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 157
Likes: 0
From: Central PA
to be a little clearer - the shifter rod end heim joint nut is what is grinding into the primary case, the shifter rod and heims are tight, the play is in left to right on the shifter lever or the connection to the shifter lever, that is the part that is loose / sloppy and moves back and forth into the primary housing. This shifter rod has been on the bike for years without issue - prior to this.
It may be clearer when I post the pic tonight
It may be clearer when I post the pic tonight
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Road Warrior
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 1,823
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From: London, Canada
My experience has been that the lever becomes loose on the shaft where the shaft exits from the tranny case behind the primary. (not visible in your pic). This allows the whole deal to slide in and out. You can't get enough torque on the socket head bolt to tighten it. What worked for me and a few buds here is to remove the socket head bolt and put a normal hex bolt in the lever. Then you can get it tight enough to stop that in and out motion.
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Thread Starter
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Cruiser
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 157
Likes: 0
From: Central PA
yeah - that is exactly what it looks like - everything is tight except the part I can't see down on the actual transmission - thanks for that input, I'll give it a try
here are the pics:
here are the pics:
Tourer
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 411
Likes: 0
From: Reno, NV
My previous bike, 1998 FLHT had the same problem after a few years. What I found was the shift lever is soft alum & since its on a hardened steel shaft, the lever teeth start to grind away... it gets loose & slides out towards the primary.
It is best is to replace the lever with a later model TC thats make from harder metal, or an after market steel unit. But this requires pulling the inner primary almost totally off to get to it.
Heres a repair Ive done on several.
-Remove the allen bolt & push the lever towards the inner primary as far as possible
-Spray / soak the area with brake cleaner & clean it as best as you can - toothbrush
-Let it completely dry
-Replace the lever bolt with a 3/8" longer Gr8 stainless or hardened steel , allen or hex head
-Thread the new bolt into the lever but leave loose
-Apply several large drops of RED Loctite on the splined shaft, smear it around, wipe excess Loctite off. Blue Loctite can be used if Red is not available
-Push the lever back onto the splines & really tighten the bolt down... dont strip it
-Let it sit a few hrs or best if over night
This should hold it for many months but the alum teeth will eventually wear out again & the lever will need replacing ..... mine did.
It is best is to replace the lever with a later model TC thats make from harder metal, or an after market steel unit. But this requires pulling the inner primary almost totally off to get to it.
Heres a repair Ive done on several.
-Remove the allen bolt & push the lever towards the inner primary as far as possible
-Spray / soak the area with brake cleaner & clean it as best as you can - toothbrush
-Let it completely dry
-Replace the lever bolt with a 3/8" longer Gr8 stainless or hardened steel , allen or hex head
-Thread the new bolt into the lever but leave loose
-Apply several large drops of RED Loctite on the splined shaft, smear it around, wipe excess Loctite off. Blue Loctite can be used if Red is not available
-Push the lever back onto the splines & really tighten the bolt down... dont strip it
-Let it sit a few hrs or best if over night
This should hold it for many months but the alum teeth will eventually wear out again & the lever will need replacing ..... mine did.