(1) what shifter do you have on your t-56?

(2) if you push the shifter to the left (into the 1-2 gate) .. does it spring back to the center?

(3) if you push the shifter to the right (into the 5-6 gate) .. does it spring back to center?

(4) with the shifter off the tranny.. if you manually rock the "shift rail" to the left or right..is it supposed to stay in whatever position you ratcheted it to, or should it spring to center?

The reason I ask, is i have a t-56 in my '91 now...I have used both a stock hurst shifter, and an aftermarket pro 5.0, and both shifters spring to center ok from 1-2 (the hurst was stronger), but neither shifter springs from 5-6 to center... i find this annoying!! I like the shifter to spring to neutral.

 

1. Pro5.0

2. Somewhat

3. Somewhat

4. It returns to center. It should return to center pretty well since there is no load on it from the gearbox.

You don't want super stiff springs in there as they will interfere with the synchronizing of the shifts, or at least so I have been told and it makes perfect sense to me.

Also, there is a bunch of grease down in the shifter that likely provides some resistance. You might be able to clean all of that grease out of there that Pro5.0 put in and put something a little lighter weight in there. I don't know what kind of grease it is, but it is pretty heavy stuff.

My Pro5.0 returns a little bit to center but not all the way usually. I really don't have any complaints about it though - awesome shifter .

 

re: #4 ... what about the shift rail inside the trannY? that is to say..remove the shifter, put it aside. reach into the "hole" in the tranny, and move the little arm inside there left and right. does it "ratchet" left to right, and stay left or right, or should it spring to neutral?

I guess my pro 5.0 is like yours, it doesn't return to center, but I can't see how that is drivable! well, maybe ok for a van...but probably 1/3 the time if i push forward from 2nd, it goes right back into first, because there is almost no reason for it to go to third...i have to push forward and to the right (at least the "1 oclock position") for it to go to third. even the shifter in my 4cylinder fiero isn't that bad!

does anyone know if the B&M ripper or the hurst billet plus (or any other t56 shifter) has stronger centering?

 

can answer one question...
I have the B&M short shifter.

the others... never really noticed.

 

1: Stock OEM plain from the factory not special regular shifter
2: yes
3: yes

4: no clue, never took it off.

 

It's been a while since I had access to that shift rail but I remember it being self-centering.... It makes sense that it will want to self center when not engaged in a gear as the shift rail is on the very top of the transmission with the shift forks hanging down from it. So when you move the shifter side to side you are making the weight of the shift forks work against the direction you moved the sifter. This makes the rail (and shifter) want to twist back to neutral (centered shifter) so that the shift forks are hanging straight down and "balanced".

I reviewed some exploded views of the T56 from the service manual I have for it and I don't see any sort of springs in there that would center the shifter.

And if you are having trouble with it shifting from gear to gear it is most likely a synchro problem, not the shifter. I've never had a problem like the one you describe but then again my synchros are in pretty good shape (not perfect - it is a little tight going down into 2nd from 3rd but othwise shifts perfect). How old is the fluid in your gearbox?

FWIW, I think I have heard that the Hurst shifter has some stronger springs in it.

 

i have the hurst billet plus on my t56 and i love it.
it does spring back but i believe you can remove one spring from each side to change the feel of it, i opted to leave mine how it was.


Matt87...
where are you talking about that has a bunch of grease it it?

 

1. B&M Ripper shifter
2. Yes, firmly but not harshly
3. Yes, firmly but not harshly
4. The self-centering mechanism is part of the shifter base. If you pull the shifter off the tranny the lever inside the tailhousing will NOT self-center from 1-2 or 5-6. Reverse will try to push you out, but that's just the reverse lockout solenoid doing it's job. The shift forks have nothing to do with it...the only thing they ever do is slide front-back to push the synchro rings over whichever gear you're selecting. If you want to see the blowup diagrams let me know...I have the T-56 service manual in .pdf format and can email it to you.

 

Bahh... Yeah, I dunno what I was thinking there. The forks only move forward and back, not side to side...lol.

Anyways, yeah, there is nothing in the gearbox that makes it center itself.

In tha base of my Pro5.0 there is a silicon grease that they lubed it with during manufacturing. That grease is pretty thick so I was thinking that a lighter weight grease would make it "lighter" so it would allow the springs to center it better..... I have no idea if that will do anything at all though, just an idea .

I have the same pdf..... Just was thinking about it wrong.