Building a racecar from Menards. Vol. 45. Remote Shifter

[Miekk]

I understand how your getting it to work, but there are stresses that may catch up to you and show up in extreme wear.

Loosten the nut in the linkage joint to the factory shifter a couple of turns and see what happens when you move side to side. It should twist in two directions, the same angle as your new shift arm vertically and horizontally. I'm just saying that the joint on the factory shifter is critical. You could help this by making the link end with a larger vertical surface area by making that end a "T" shape. That wouldn't remove any horizontal swing angle however.

[ScotWithOne_t]

I understand how your getting it to work, but there are stresses that may catch up to you and show up in extreme wear.

Loosten the nut in the linkage joint to the factory shifter a couple of turns and see what happens when you move side to side. It should twist in two directions, the same angle as your new shift arm vertically and horizontally. I'm just saying that the joint on the factory shifter is critical. You could help this by making the link end with a larger vertical surface area by making that end a "T" shape. That wouldn't remove any horizontal swing angle however.

I was thinking about making it more of a "T" shape (as shown in my AutoCAD drawing), however after test fitting the rearward end, i determined that it was not necessary. There is very little slop in the rear joint, even with NO nut on it. The front joint will be the same sandwich design, I just have not completed it yet.

[Miekk]

The front joint will be the same sandwich design, I just have not completed it yet.

ooooHHHH... I see says the blind man as he picked up his hammer and saw.

Not finished with build make difference.

[ACRucrazy]

Like ACR always says, you cant beat hard wood

[ACRucrazy]

Throw some rod ends on it and call it good.

[ScotWithOne_t]

Throw some rod ends on it and call it good.

Depends what kind of rod end you use. A heim-joint (ball-joint) type rod end won't work at all, but a solid rod end might work.

I considered using one at first, but I wanted a joint with more meat on it to be able to support the axial moment with less slop...hence the original flat "T" end link design.

[mnstang]

i'm not talking about twisting the bar you have going to the shifter.

what is going to make the stock shifter move side to side? if you move the rear shifter side to side, what's making the stock shifter move side to side and not just twist a little instead?

[Miekk]

i'm not talking about twisting the bar you have going to the shifter.

what is going to make the stock shifter move side to side? if you move the rear shifter side to side, what's making the stock shifter move side to side and not just twist a little instead?

Extremely good joints. You can see if you bolt everything completely solid or weld it, for the sake of argument, it will work. Any twist or slop and it's all over.

[ScotWithOne_t]

i'm not talking about twisting the bar you have going to the shifter.

what is going to make the stock shifter move side to side? if you move the rear shifter side to side, what's making the stock shifter move side to side and not just twist a little instead?

The rear shifter moves in an arc. The horiaontal link moves along the path of that arc. When the rear shifter is in the neutral position, the horizontal link is vertical. In 1st, it is roughly -12 degrees, and in 5th, it is roughly +13 degrees. Since the horizontal link and its joints are torsionally rigid along its longitudinal axis, this 25 degrees of rotation is translated into the stock stub. Since the bottom of the stub is in a fixed location, the 25 degrees of rotation results in a swinging motion.

So the horizontal link does not actually push side to side at all...it twists, and just follows that arc.

[Miekk]

The rear shifter moves in an arc. The horiaontal link moves along the path of that arc. When the rear shifter is in the neutral position, the horizontal link is vertical. In 1st, it is roughly -12 degrees, and in 5th, it is roughly +13 degrees. Since the horizontal link and its joints are torsionally rigid along its longitudinal axis, this 25 degrees of rotation is translated into the stock stub. Since the bottom of the stub is in a fixed location, the 25 degrees of rotation results in a swinging motion.

So the horizontal link does not actually push side to side at all...it twists, and just follows that arc.

Adding a ball jount to the bottom of the new shifter to allow 2 ranges of motion adds horizontal twists to the stock shifter, thus the need for a good joint.

[ScotWithOne_t]

Adding a ball jount to the bottom of the new shifter to allow 2 ranges of motion adds horizontal twists to the stock shifter, thus the need for a good joint.

No. There should be no twist in the stock shifter if the geometry is accurate.

Pretend there is no rear stick, and it's just the front stub and horizontal link. Now grab the horisontal link and twist it. What happens? The stub will rock side to side, and therefore, the horizontal link will also move side to side, even though you are not applying any sideways force.

[Miekk]

No. There should be no twist in the stock shifter if the geometry is accurate.

Pretend there is no rear stick, and it's just the front stub and horizontal link. Now grab the horisontal link and twist it. What happens? The stub will rock side to side, and therefore, the horizontal link will also move side to side, even though you are not applying any sideways force.

OK, Grab that link at the back where it's now not attached. move it side to side, your twisting about the vertical axis of the stock stub. If there is a good joint and the tranny is good inside, you'll be ok. It's just like putting a long open-end wrench on the stub. If you wanted to twist the stub on purpose, you'd put a big pipe wrench on it, and torque away...

[ScotWithOne_t]

OK, Grab that link at the back where it's now not attached. move it side to side, your twisting about the vertical axis of the stock stub. If there is a good joint and the tranny is good inside, you'll be ok. It's just like putting a long open-end wrench on the stub. If you wanted to twist the stub on purpose, you'd put a big pipe wrench on it, and torque away...

Ok...if there was no rear stick, and I moved it side to side, you would be right. But there IS a rear stick, so it is impossible for it to move perfectly horizontal. the rear stick causes the link to move in the path of an arc, so by the time it gets from the left position to the right position, it has twisted 25 degrees about its longitudinal axis. Since it has twisted 25 degrees, so has the stock shifter stub (about the same axis). Since the stock shifter stub has rotated 25 degrees about the longitudinal axis of the horizontal link, then the connection point of the link and the stub has moved itself over to the right. Since both ends of the horizontal link have moved over to the right (in the path of the arc), then there is no axial twisting going on in the stub.

[Steve]

Depends what kind of rod end you use. A heim-joint (ball-joint) type rod end won't work at all, but a solid rod end might work.

I considered using one at first, but I wanted a joint with more meat on it to be able to support the axial moment with less slop...hence the original flat "T" end link design.

I like the idea of mounting these in double shear instead of that flat bar you have. This will give you adjustment for fine tuning. It would be a good idea to throw some nylon/delrin washers on each side of the rod end to help the rod end rotate more easily, since this will need minimal side to side slop to work well.

I like these designs





I did mine like this, but I have much shorter legs than you...

[ScotWithOne_t]

I like the idea of mounting these in double shear instead of that flat bar you have. This will give you adjustment for fine tuning. It would be a good idea to throw some nylon/delrin washers on each side of the rod end to help the rod end rotate more easily, since this will need minimal side to side slop to work well.

Actually, if you use a threaded rod with the intent to be able to adjust its length, then you will lose all torsional rigidity of the horizontal link, which i have been preaching is key to making this work without stressing the stock shifter's internal joint in a way that it is not designed for.