durdzz-suzuki-redtop Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 hi, iv ben away for a while workign on my project and someones had a play in it, this is somthig i though was abit slack, and was like driving an old david brown when you changed gear. they suggested putting rose jointed gear linkage in. iv not even looked in to the gear box to see what needs to be done, i was hopeing someone might of done it and could tell me what size rose joints to use, and mayb a how too, as well. hope you can help michael its a manta b 1.8 gear box Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mantadoc Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 On the bright side they will be talking about the ball joint on the lever mounting plate which is outside the gearbox casing and easy to get at (assuming you are using a 1.8 box to go with the red top) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
durdzz-suzuki-redtop Posted May 22, 2011 Author Share Posted May 22, 2011 I most certainly am. Yeah when I said look in to I mean look at, is it under the rubber cover at the back? Is it just a case of getting it of and replacing with 2 rose joints and an equal length bar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulmanta Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 If you pull the inner gaitors away from the tunnel hole and look down onto the selector ball joint you will see that it sits in a plastic bush, these can wear out but you can get new ones if you know where to look, I don't have any spare ones anymore but OCP might. Making your own metal socket might be good but you would need to keep it greased as this joint moves a lot and it's under the car in quite harsh contitions. There are no other points in the gear linkage mech that need any upgrading, the link bar is hard jointed anyway with a steel bush and 2 pin system under a spring steel cover shroud, this almost never gives trouble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monzta Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 Thats true. But they also have another issue sometimes. And that is the gear shifter itself. It is in 2 parts. The top part can also get a little wobbly in time. If you take this off you can actually fit a gearknob directly on the short metal one that is connected directly to the plastic joint. I have often done this myself as i like a short stick (in this case the girls often fancy a shorter stick than most has) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
durdzz-suzuki-redtop Posted May 22, 2011 Author Share Posted May 22, 2011 So I cant convert it to rose joints?? Quick shifts what I want essentially. I'm useing it in a 4x4 on a redtop and it's just like having a massive gear stick round in the cab I need it to be more sturdy, faster, etc etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monzta Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 (edited) So I cant convert it to rose joints?? Quick shifts what I want essentially. I'm useing it in a 4x4 on a redtop and it's just like having a massive gear stick round in the cab I need it to be more sturdy, faster, etc etc First of all remove the top part of the gear lever. You will have half the length of the gear lever with this modification, Q.E.D you will also have half the way to move the gear lever when changing gears. If that is not enough you may need to make the gear lever longer again (weld an extension perhaps) as the next part makes a real short shift! You can do modifications to the gear lever console (the entire bracket must be cut and welded several ways) and quite simply highten the plastic joint level. You will of course need to extend the gear lever belov the joint too. This will reduce the travel in forward and backward motion considerably but will not do that much to the sideways motions. However this should be attempted with an extra console, preferrible one from a Carlton or Monza as theese dont fit anyways in the Manta´s. It involves alot of welding and quite a bit of work but i have seen it done on several Opels and BMW 2002´s. I have done modifications like theese myself on 4 speed gear boxes, but that is quite simple as this only requires you to drill a couple of new holes in the linkage system Edited May 22, 2011 by monzta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monzta Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 This is a very simplified illustration for the theory. X is the amount of travel the gearbox require to change gear. Z is a fixed level. Y is the distance required to move the gear lever when changing gears. As you can see Y is much shorter on the picture on the left. What you need to do is a combination of rising the Z level up and making the gear shift lever longer so that the X position is fixed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
durdzz-suzuki-redtop Posted May 22, 2011 Author Share Posted May 22, 2011 (edited) Yeah I get you. Iv not even looked at it so I think it will make more sence when iv seen it. I will have a butchers tomorrow. I have 2 gearboxes anyway so I can play with one with out worrying about buggering the linkage up Edited May 22, 2011 by durdzz-suzuki-redtop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monzta Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 Yeah I get you. Iv not even looked at it so I think it will make more sence when iv seen it. I will have a butchers tomorrow. I have 2 gearboxes anyway so I can play with one with out worrying about buggering the linkage up Exactly my thoughts to do the build to a different bracket. The bracket itself can be dismounted if you take off the cross member holding the gearbox and engine in place. You will need to disconnect your exhaust, then you should be able to tip the entire engine and transmission down enough to dismount the bracket, and mount the new modified one. It should make more sense when you see it hopefully. It´s quite simple, just a matter of simple mathematics. Lifting the gear lever socket (plastic joint) lets say 1 inch, you will of course need to lenthen the gear lever 1 inch as well. This i think will give you some very good results. I would however try it on one of the gearboxes you have. The shortshift is of no use if you only need to move the gear lever 3mm to change gears Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rutts Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 (edited) if you take off the top half of the gearstick you can put a thread on the lower selecter m10 put a threaded insert in the top half ( after removing rubber) and you have a solid mounted stick with no play. if you do the quick shift modification to compliment the gearstick you get a good positive change . Edited May 23, 2011 by rutts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamchop77 Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 if you take off the top half of the gearstick you can put a thread on the lower selecter m10 put a threaded insert in the top half ( after removing rubber) and you have a solid mounted stick with no play. if you do the quick shift modification to compliment the gearstick you get a good positive change . [/quot Agree with what Rutts is saying, worked on the grasser box no more "stick in a jamjar" feel. One thing you do have to watch though is making the quickshft too quick. Had one on a Mk1 Cortina and had to take it off as i was beating the syncro rings and crashing the gears. Think there is an article, pics as well, on Opel Gt forums. The yanky boys have to muck about with the gearstick position to fit the 5 speeds into the gt's they run. HTH Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monzta Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 if you take off the top half of the gearstick you can put a thread on the lower selecter m10 put a threaded insert in the top half ( after removing rubber) and you have a solid mounted stick with no play. if you do the quick shift modification to compliment the gearstick you get a good positive change . X2 That is absolutely right, the gear lever is very wobbly pr definition, and removing the rubber part of the lever and extending the bottom part with something solid like Rutts suggests by threading the top and screwing something nice on there (i have seen some very nice ones made from aluminium at the tracks) or you can simply weld an extension to it as well . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mantasrme Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 For a quickshift i cut the gear lever between the pivot and bottom link then weld a length of steel rod in to lengthen it (13mm rings a bell for how much i add) Combine that with a replacement nylon bush and its a lovely change Only tricky bit is making sure you keep everything lined up as the manta lever has a bend in it to bring it back to the driver. If you don't get it right the gear lever can end up at odd angles Whilst you can't use rosejoints on the standard manta gearlever if you have the skills it pretty easy to replace the whole assembly with a nice rosejointed setup. Here's one done in a Vauxhall Viva running the 1.7 TD isuzu engine Build thread on RetroRides As your not running the gearbox in a manta this might be the best option for you as you can make the gearlever to sit it just where you want and have as little movemnt as you desire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
durdzz-suzuki-redtop Posted May 24, 2011 Author Share Posted May 24, 2011 That's defiantly more like it! What's been used for the other two bushes there then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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