4 speed shift pattern?

-

KeithB

New Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2022
Messages
3
Reaction score
1
Location
Morgantown WV
Hello A Body fam, I just recently purchased my 1974 Plymouth Duster, bear in mind this vehicle was born a 318 with a manual transmission, previous owner swapped motor and trans from a 69 Dart so now its a built 340 with 4 speed. my question is this what is the proper shift pattern considering what I was told is correct?. I believe mine is wonky. Reverse is left and back. 1st,2nd,3rd and 4th are all normal locations. where should reverse be? and how is it fixed if it is wrong?
Thank you
 
your reverse linkage is on upside down. Should look like the pic below

DSCN0186[1].JPG
 
Linkage rod is on upside down at trans. The tab needs to be down if its currently up or it needs to be up if its currently down. The position where the rod connects to the tab on the bottom most position(Reverse) on trans.

linkage.jpg
 
this is the best shot I could get until I get it on a lift or jacked up and put on stands. to my untrained eyes they look the same
Your pictures do not show the reverse rod on the trans. The linkage on the side cover are forward gears . The one coming out of the bottom of the case is reverse

1667352135300.jpeg
 
Grease zerk an add on???
Nope, it's factory. It's a square nut welded to the side of the shifter that accept the zerk; seems to be an A833OD thing. I've only ever seen it on trucks and Hurst-equipped F-bodies. I have three of 'em, two from trucks and one from a '77 Volare Premiere 4-door, of all things. Top-tier Volare, Super Six 4-door with a friggin' stick--a Hurst, no less.
 
@KeithB

I manipulated your photo to show you where the issue is. At the extreme lower right the reverse lever is just barely visible. I enlarged it in an inset for a little better detail as to the part everyone's mentioning.

Make sure the car is secure (won't roll) and the transmission is in neutral. Note and keep track of any washers during disassembly so it goes back together the way it came apart.

Remove the linkage rod's retaining clip or cotter holding it to the transmission lever and drop the linkage rod out of the way. Remove the nut holding lever to the transmission and flip or rotate the lever 180° and reinstall the nut. You'll almost certainly have to adjust the linkage rod's swivel. Thread it whichever direction is necessary until it easily goes back into the lever with the three shifter levers aligned. Make sure they're aligned!* It should now look like the lowest rod in @Oldmanmopar's photo. Reinstall any washer(s) and the retaining clip/cotter. Done, and reverse is now forward as it should be.

It'll be obvious once you're under the car, and should take maybe 10 minutes. It's literally one nut and one clip to remove and reinstall and a bit of adjustment on the swivel.

22Hg1o.png


*Hurst shifters have a built-in alignment pin setup, which consists of notches in the shifter and holes in the levers. Most, but not all factory Mopar shifters are drilled through all three levers. If yours are, use an appropriately-sized drill bit (snug, I don't remember the size) and push it through the slot and all three shifter holes to keep them aligned. Wiggle the levers a bit until you feel the bit go through the notch on the transmission side of the shifter. See below.
If your shifter is the oddball and you can't use the drill bit, get it close and check the action of the reverse gate (not reverse gear, just full leftward travel in neutral) sitting in the car. There should be a firm detent but it shouldn't be hard to engage. Unless you have the Miller special tool, getting it right can be a bit of trial-and-error. If you have to put forward pressure on the handle to get into the reverse gate (again, not reverse itself, just that part of the shift pattern) thread the swivel toward the shifter and try again. If you have to pull back a little, go the other way with the swivel. On my two A-body shifters, the levers are aligned along their back edges with the drill bit in place, so that's a fairly good indicator that you're close.

100_4693.jpg


I hope this helps!
 
-
Back
Top