1" Lift Now Won't Shift

[psea17]

Hey guys,

Feeling pretty defeated right now. I did a 1" body lift to my truck and installed the rag spacer that was included. Now the truck will only shift into 1st & 3rd. 2nd, 4th & reverse are a no go. (didn't even try 5th now that I think about it).

Could use some help here. I love this truck!

Thanks,
psea

 

[4Reak Show]

So was it a body lift or a suspension lift? A body lift would indicate to me that the actual shift level is contacting the body somehow since the transmission and body are spaced out. And since all gears are on the lower half of the H, that would mean it's hitting the rearward portion of the hole in the flow. Take off the console, see what's going on. Good luck.

 

[psea17]

Sorry, it was a 1" Body Lift. Just updated my first post to clarify. Thanks for catching. I was with the understanding that with a small lift, I wouldn't have to deal w/ this problem.

 

[JohnMc]

Just pull off the leatherette shifter boot to reveal the rubber/steel plate bolted to the top of the trans and all will be revealed.

I did a 1" lift on mine and had to modify that a little because the shifter hit the metal portion when pulled back into the 2 and 4 gears.

This might be slightly exacerbated by a sagging trans mount.

You could trim the metal portion o that a little bit where the shifter hits. Or what I did was drill a second set of holes in it so it would mount about 1/2 inch further back, same end result.

EDIT: Looks sort of like this:

 

[mtbtim]

A short shifter kit from LCE Performance would fix this issue as well.

 

[psea17]

Removed the shifter cover as recommended. I see the problem. Going to redrill wholes and slide it back 1/2" as recommended earlier.

...and I see another problem. lol

Does anyone know what this boot is called at the base of the shifter? Perhaps a part number?

It doesn't appear to just peel off or maybe I'm not trying hard enough. Has anyone else replaced this? Can I just replace the boot or do I need to replace the metal base plate that it's attached to as well. If so, anyone have a part number?

Much thanks for the guidance guys!

 

[psea17]

Did more digging. For anyone in need of the part, it's called a ....wait for it....wait for it.... shifter boot. lol p/n 33555-04040 ;-)

 

[4Reak Show]

Glad you found the problem. Good thing it was simple. Can't complain much about that.

 

[rkntoy]

You can also heat the shifter up and bend it forward a bit.

 

[MaineRunna]

Just pull off the leatherette shifter boot to reveal the rubber/steel plate bolted to the top of the trans and all will be revealed.

I did a 1" lift on mine and had to modify that a little because the shifter hit the metal portion when pulled back into the 2 and 4 gears.

This might be slightly exacerbated by a sagging trans mount.

You could trim the metal portion o that a little bit where the shifter hits. Or what I did was drill a second set of holes in it so it would mount about 1/2 inch further back, same end result.

EDIT: Looks sort of like this:

I have been able to get my 5 spd into 2nd, 4th & reverse since installing a 1" body lift last November, but it always felt like it wasn't all the way into gear and might pop out, though it never did. Just returned from the shop after re-drilling the holes about 1/4" forward of the original ones and it's back to the way it used to be before installing the lift. Thanks!

 

[psea17]

glad this thread helped someone else too.

 

[psea17]

Ok, just got the boot to replace the ripped one at the base of my shifter. See pic above. I feel like an idiot but how does this come off? It looks like the shifter gets too thick as it gets closer to the shifter knob.

Does the shifter unscrew into two halves where it tapers? Or.......is my only option to remove the 4 bolts attaching the shifter to the transmission? Just want to make sure I don't unscrew those 4 bolts and the whole transmission drops. lol you're laughing....but that's my luck.

 

[psea17]

Anyone replaced this boot?