Notchy shifter..what fixes available?

[Guest jjohart]

Hi..I've an 83 280ZX Turbo, and I was wondering what the likely cause and solution(s) would be for a shifter that is sometimes difficult to get in gear (seems to not find the "notch", leaving me ending up in 4 instead of 2 for example), especially when the car is cold, i.e W-I-N-T-E-R. Is this a sign of tranny trouble, and would a short shifter, if mounted, compound the issue? Incidentally, I'm having a racing/street/organic clutch put in due to some slippage in certain gears, and cranky noise when put into reverse after driven a ways..is there any point in mentioning the shifter issue to someone changing the clutch/turning flywheel, or is it a different part of the car/tranny? Thanks-John

[Tim240z]

Maybe try changing to some redline synthetic fluid. Since you seem to be haing the most problems in cold weather, I bet the fluid in the 'box is too thick in the cold.

Tim

[jonzer12]

When I first bought my daily driver the shifting was really poor when I first started the car in our cold Canadian winters. I put in some Redline MTL synthetic oil and I was amazed at the difference. It still needs to warm up to feel nice and light but you will notice the difference.

[Mike C]

If you still have the Nissan shifter attached to your T5, immediately throw it away! Buy one of the many fine 83-93 Mustang T5 shifters on the market. I bought a Competeition plus from Hurst, the Pro 5.0 has a good reputation as well. BBK makes one and so does B&M. The Nissan one is crap...