My shifts have been getting very rough lately with the stock shifter. Will the hurst competition plus shifter smooth the shifting out and/or shorten the throws?
Also can i run the linkages on the transmission now with the new shifter?(so i wouldnt need to buy an installation kit)
thanks

 

Rough?? Smooth???? Iunno. Never heard of such a thing.

Yes it will DEFINITELY shorten the throws.

No, it will not work with the stock linkage. You wouldn't want it to anyway; that's as crappy as the stock shifter itself. You will need the installation kit.

Go ahead and do it. You won't BELIEVE the difference.

 

what i mean is that locating the gears (especially the 2-3 shift) have been really difficult. It feels like the shifter is getting caught on something and i have to jerk the stick around to get it moving freely again.

So the hurst shifter will make the shifts easier and decrease the chances of getting "caught" on something? And it will also shorten the throws.
Is this right?

 

Rough shifting is a sign of a clutch linkage (z-bar, I'm looking right at you...) starting to wear out or break. I've had both happen to me. Basically what happens, is either something breaks or one of the rods or holes wears out, and there is too much slack in the linkage, but you wont feel it at the pedal. The linkage works well enough to disengage the clutch enough to be able to (roughly) shift gears, but doesn't disengage all the way. I would check the linkage if you have the mechanical linkage.

Feel for cracks on the Z-bar first... its right below your brake booster, under the steering shaft. theres a lever that goes up off the bar right by the firewall under the brake booster, and one that points down right near where the bar mounts to the engine block. Feel up the sides of the levers for cracks. If its cracked, pull it off and either replace it, or weld it up.
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I just saw this post after my last post, but I'll leave it for future reference...

I know the old 4-spd trannys with the external shufter linkage had issues with getting stuck between two gears, usually 2nd and 3rd. I've heard of it happening many times from guys I race with, and even saw it once. They all said that installing a Hurst made it go away. It was a shifter problem (problem being that the GM shifters are shat).

 

oh that is exactly what is happening with mine. I usually get stuck on the 2-3 shift. Looks like a hurst shifter and install kit is in my future.

 

It could be a number of problems........
the shifter mechanism itself is worn out, the rods are binding where they connect to the shifter or the trans, the forks are worn, the synchros are shot..........any one of these or maybe a combination could be your problem.
A new shifter may fix it or may not.
You might be able to adjust your shifter to comensate for the wear and that may help out a lot.

 

If you have the stock shifter, thats likely whats happening.. the rods and the holes in the levers are worn out, and have too much slack on top of the sloppiness GM already engineered into your shifter. Changing to a new shifter should solve your problem.