This may sound wierd but its driving me nuts. I have a 91 firebird, 350 EFI and a 5-speed transmission. It shifts fine......but for some reason my shifter can turn...not just the **** but the bar that goes down into the shift boot. I have tried rotating it right in hope of tightening it but no difference....i cn also pull up on it but i dont give it too much in fear of removing it, therefore crippling my car temporarily which i cant afford to do.


.....any idea or suggestions...or anything?

 

take the consol shifter plate off and see whats the matter. I dont think the handle screws together, so im unsure of whats loose.

 

You'll have to take off the lower shift boot too, there are like 9 screws holding it onto the transmission tunnel.

Sounds like the bushing/isolator for the shifter is worn, the thing that separates the shift handle from the "base" that bolts to the transmission and holds it in place. It's been a while since I had my shifter out so I don't remember it perfectly, but if I'm imagining it correctly it sounds like that's been worn a lot, and is allowing much more play than it should.

Take the shifter off, and check it out. Has it gotten worse over time?

 

No i dont believe it has. It doesnt effect my driving but i knoow that its not supposed to do that n i hate wen things dnt function. If i remove the console i should have access to that rubber boot with the nine screws in it right?

 

If I remember correctly you should. 6 torx head screws to remove the console plate, and 9 screws below that for the boot. Then four 13mm bolts holding the shifter on.

You'll probably want to take the shifter **** off, so you can move the console plate out of the way and all