How to Rebuild Hurst Shifter

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4spdragtop

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How to rebuild Hurst shifter

Hey all, I did a search looking for a "how to" on rebuilding Hurst 4 spd shifters...didnt find much, but I did find a video on youboob posted by someone doing one for his Ford Falcon. Similar enough, so I used his as a reference.

It was pretty easy actually, BUT I will say that I did not take the "stick" apart, springs and all seemed good so I left it alone. If anyone wants to add some advice, feel free.
I have a couple shifters, but the one I chose to document is a Hurst Competition Plus(no stop bolts??) Pretty grungy/greasy though!

Sorry I dont know how to put text between pics. So text then pics.

Tools were all basic hand tools, vice and a bench grinder with wire wheel.

1st I soaked it in parts cleaner, then once some of the grime was off it, I dried it and then soaked for a day in rust remover.

Remove lower thin inspection plate with a thin screwdriver. There's 2 slots, 1 in the case and 1 in the plate that hold it in place. **careful its sharp**

I then used a large screwdriver and pried out the rear plate from the case. There is a tab on each side of the plate to hold it in the case. You may have to bend the case a bit, to get the plate out, but you can bend it back later.


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Once plate is out, there is a large spacer that the upper bolt goes thru/in. Once the spacer is knocked out the rest of the assembly can be removed from the case. Knock the spacer so it comes out the side “Hurst” is stamped on.

** before removing any of the shims and plates, be sure you pay attention to the order that they come off in. **

The 1st shim to come off is the "wavy washer"
Short shifter lever (3rd and 4th gear)is removed next.(outwards bend)
Next is the slightly longer lever(I believe 1st n 2nd gear and it has an inward bend)
**note no shim between those 2 levers**
Next is the thickest of the 3 shims, then the reverse lever(longest one with inward bend)
In the below pic the order they come off starts at the top and goes left to right.
As I mentioned I didn’t disassemble the stick on this one as once it was cleaned it looked good. Although I did disassemble one on another shifter...BUT it’s a bit of a pain and still in pieces LOL, so we will skip that part.

The new shims I got from Brewers Performance appeared different from the originals (see pics), so I contacted Wayne n Dan and they said its all good. Hurst changed levers and shims a few times thru the years and they state they will interchange.
Cleaned all the plates up and sprayed them as well as new shims with a dry lube from Dupont.

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I put the spacer/pin in the stick to help align everything, but it will be removed after all shims plates are on stick.

I installed plates/shims in reverse order of how they come off. Once installed on stick with the button I sprayed a little more lube.

I noticed my case had spread apart a bit from me prying the plate out earlier, so I put it in a vise and gently squeezed back together.
Remove the spacer and slid as an “assembly” in the case. Once plates, shims n stick were in case, I used screwdriver to help align the holes for spacer install. Remember to install spacer/pin from the “Hurst” side. I put the bolt thru the spacer and held in place with a zip-tie.

I used another long screwdriver to align the shift levers. Weird the reverse lever didn'’t have a hole for the screwdriver, but I was able to align them. I'm not sure why this is done, but it is what I have seen/read, so I did the same.

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Front plate and bolt was installed and another zip-tie to hold the bolt in place.
Last was the bottom inspection plate. I then coated everything with more Dupont Teflon.

That & #8217,s pretty much it, hope this makes sense and it helps some out. As I said feel free to ad to it. I will be redoing the stick on another shifter later on.


Cheers
Steve

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Look's good, Ive done probably 50 of these myself would be nice to make a dvd I guess. All the shim's and shift arms are available too. Again, nice work!
 
..............Good job buddy...............kim......

Thanks for your help with it too Kim. Notice I left out the PITA stick part?? LOL
As I mentioned that bugger is back home and still in pieces!

Look's good, Ive done probably 50 of these myself would be nice to make a dvd I guess. All the shim's and shift arms are available too. Again, nice work!

When I got the shims etc from Brewers I emailed them the pics with showing the differences...I got a reply back in 5 minutes. Quick reply/ great service from them. Entire rebuild kits are pricy and I could have probably reused the originals, but I figgered Id spend the $ as it wasnt too pricy for the parts I used.
 
Looks good Steve. Done quite a few of them myself.
 
Looks good Steve. Done quite a few of them myself.


Thanks Rob, you ever seen a "Plus" without the stop bolts?? I know I started a thread a while back about differences in 2 shifters I have and apparently the "Plus" has stop bolts?? Also the reverse rod doesnt have an "alignment" hole??
 
I cannot remember on the reverse adjustment hole but all of them I have done had the stop bolts. Seen a few Mr Gasket and Sparkomatic that did not.
 
I put the spacer/pin in the stick to help align everything, but it will be removed after all shims plates are on stick.

I installed plates/shims in reverse order of how they come off. Once installed on stick with the button I sprayed a little more lube.

I noticed my case had spread apart a bit from me prying the plate out earlier, so I put it in a vise and gently squeezed back together.
Remove the spacer and slid as an “assembly” in the case. Once plates, shims n stick were in case, I used screwdriver to help align the holes for spacer install. Remember to install spacer/pin from the “Hurst” side. I put the bolt thru the spacer and held in place with a zip-tie.

I used another long screwdriver to align the shift levers. Weird the reverse lever didn’t have a hole for the screwdriver, but I was able to align them. Im not sure why this is done, but it is what I have seen/read, so I did the same.

question.. in the first picture, there is a square hole towards the top of the shifter on the side. the other side is circle i believe, do you by chance have a picture of the bolt that goes into that hole? i am missing mine and cant get the shifter to go into reverse without sticking something in that hole..
 
Here are some pics, sorry I dont have one of the bolt removed....It is a smaller version of a carriage bolt. I believe its 1/4" or 5/16" with nylon lock nut then plate, really thin washer and the bolt.

Actually there it is in the 2nd pic with nut n plate attached. Not sure if this will help the reverse issues though. Lemme know if you need more pics.

Oh yeah, call Brewers Performance, they have everything you need.

Hurst Shifter 13-1.jpg


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Hurst Shifter 13-7.jpg
 
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Yes thats exactly what I'm missing. Thanks for the pics, looks like I can get that bolt from the hardware store.
 
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