I've owned and driven quite a few Evos, but never experienced a severely sloppy shifter in one until my most recent purchase of an 03 with 97k miles. It seems to go into every gear just fine, no tranny noise, no whines and groans, but it's just a sloppy shifter. If you put it into any gear, there is an inch or two of freeplay movement in almost any direction. I'm sure there are worn out bushings somewhere, but I'm not sure which ones would cause this. The car drives really good otherwise, but this problem is annoying. Any ideas?

 

Replace the front and rear Bushings. That stopped mine from being "sloppy". deff made them easier to shift also at high RPM.

 

My 04 had shifter bushings and it made a huge difference. It was a little too sharp in some cases, so I wasn't sure if I wanted to make it that firm again. I just need figure out what bushings to get now I suppose.

 

I also noticed a shifting improvement when I replaced the rear diff bushings with ES urethane bushings. But I would start with shifter bushings first. Rear diff bushings can be... A bit of a chore.

 

You'll need shifter bushings. There's metal ones (rifle bolt action as some had suggested) and polyurethane ones which is more like stock feel. Though I haven't tried any but have read much about them.

There's also base bushings in both as well.

Works sells hybrid shifter bushings as metal ones, some say, tend to be harsh on the tranny though not proven. Gl.

Sna

 

huh?? how does replacing the rear diff bushing help with shifter play?

OP- have you checked the underhood shifter bushings? this kind of sounds like worn out bushings (on the shifter cables)
i've done both underhood and shifter base and it makes it pretty sturdy.

i wouldnt wiggle the shifter around in gear, this will move the shifter collars in the transmission. yes i've torn apart a transmission before and rebuilt it, not fun.

 

You are right. My bad.

 

In more recent news, I replaced the underhood bushings and the base bushings and it did NOT fix the problem. I'm starting to think it is a problem with the linkage, but I'm not sure what would cause it exactly.

 

Where did you hear Works Hybrid bushings are harsh on tranny. Actully Works claims they are less harsh on trans.Hence the name Hybrid they Have a metal insert and polyurethane to absorbp vibrations.if someone with the hybrid shifter cable bushings could care to comment about this much appreciated as I bought the torque solution ones but then i read that solid aluminium bushings lead to premature trans wear/possible faliure so I removed TS underhood bushings and I'm looking into Works Hybrid ones.

 

Check and make sure you haven't lost or broken the small plastic piece that goes on the shifter.

 

I'm going to go ahead and bump this up.

I'll check the small plastic piece like someone said. Another concern is that the shifter doesn't like to go into 1st or 5th. It goes into 2-4 just fine. When I say it doesn't like to go into those gears, I mean it feels like something is catching during the shifting process. It doesn't grind or anything when you get it into those gears (or any of the gears). I don't know how to describe it better than it feels like something in the linkage might be broken or worn. It doesn't feel like a transmission problem (I've driven Evos with messed up trannies and they feel different).

 

damn bushings, my old car had the same issue, replaced and it worked

 

Bumping this thread up instead of starting a new one.

So, I replaced all the bushings and it didn't do much. Put a short shifter on the car, and it helped a little bit.

Has anyone ever had problems with the shifter linkage? I'm starting to lean towards that as being the culprit. Not sure where to find them for a good price. I don't want to buy them brand new and have it not be the problem.

 

bump. has anyone found a solution to this? did the shift linkage resolve the problem? ive replaced both underhood and base bushings just recently and it still has the same play. its indeed stiffer in shifts but when in any gear it has that play where i can wiggle it from left to right thats about an inch or 2.

 

You need to remove the center console and play with the shifter. See if you can isolate the play in the shifter.