PROBLEM Fitting quick shift linkage!

[beavy69]

Hey all bought a quick shift gear linkage and have two concerns:

For reference I have a 1.3L which means I should have F10 box but I cant find anywhere that says it.

1) centre hole is too big. But my tube that forms my hole fit perfectly inside, should I just cut it out and use that to mount the new linkage?:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d149/beavy69/P1030026.jpg

2) Secondly, as shown below, my old lever has a bend in it near the ball of the joint on the left and the new one is straight.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d149/beavy69/P1030027.jpg

Does this matter?
Do I have the wrong linkage or should I go ahead and fit it bearing in mind I would have to sacrifice the old one!?

thanks, 7im.

[Stuart]

the centre "hole" requires a bushing in there.... you might be reffering to this as a "tube"

the linkage is SUPPOSED to be different hence the "quick shift" lol

[beavy69]

OK OK just checking lol I thought it was just the extra length that did the "quick shifting"

Thanks as always Stu. Do you think I could just chop my old tube and bushing out to use it as the bushing for the new one?

[Mike]

Where you get that? Me want me want! lol

[chimp007_uk]

you can buy them new on ebay :) think they're about ?35. i was looking at one.

[beavy69]

I'd check back on here to see how I get on first! lol But mine is the same as (and same seller) as ebay item:150007505252

[Adam]

Rally Design sell them too iirc.

The gearbox should have its type stamped on the top of it, right under the linkage.

[Mike]

top man! Never ever saw these on eBay before!! lol

[sr-rompa]

you need to put the bend on it other wise it pops off sumtimes i have 1 an i have this probelm untill i put the bend on it

[db_1.2]

What does this linkage actually do? As i thought they make the gear change simply up or down like in an old rally car? Or do they simply shorten the shift length like a short shifter?:confused:

Im gonna have to get one but also i need to know what one to get, i got a 1.2i with 5 speed box, anyone know if it will fit, also where do you get the rubber bush's for it from?

SORRY FOR HI-JACKING!:)

[novamadman]

you need to put the bend on it other wise it pops off sumtimes i have 1 an i have this probelm untill i put the bend on it

wtf :confused:

ive used one for a lifetime and it has never gave bother

they bolt straight on

shane

[novamadman]

What does this linkage actually do? As i thought they make the gear change simply up or down like in an old rally car? Or do they simply shorten the shift length like a short shifter?:confused:

Im gonna have to get one but also i need to know what one to get, i got a 1.2i with 5 speed box, anyone know if it will fit, also where do you get the rubber bush's for it from?

SORRY FOR HI-JACKING!:)

it shortens the shift i.e when you go to pull 2nd from 1st gear you get there quicker. All the nova "quickshifts" you buy are the same. As far as im aware all nova gear linkages are the same(correct me), all the bushes can be bought from vauxhall for a few pence, i advise to get these as theres little point having a quickshift with everything sloppy. I used new bushes and it combined with the quickshift made a great difference and gave a nicer feel to gear changes.

shane

[mowgli]

I think it is not the right one for your car. Get in touch with the seller & see what they say. If needs be, mention the 'sale of goods Act' that states that goods sold for a purpose should be fit for that purpose. try to get them to swap it first, cos getting trading standards involved usually upsets people

[Stuart]

you can replace the crappy rubber bush with a piece of machined brass to sharpen it all up

[beavy69]

SORRY FOR HI-JACKING!:)

Thats cool at least you apologised lol


wtf :confused:

ive used one for a lifetime and it has never gave bother

they bolt straight on

shane

Maybe i'll just bend mine a little then lol

I might just do that Stu if it proves to be a suitable linkage . Do you have one and what does it look like? (npi)

I'll hopfully hear back from the seller and see if he has a shim to offer as his feedback is very good.

[beavy69]

Have just seen this on ebay (item: 250005398042 for anyone interested as its cheaper than the one I got - second hand) It has the remote control rod connector and universal joint connector already there:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d149/beavy69/QuicKsHiFT.jpg

Good news for me and anyone else thinking of getting one, it seems to be the same as mine and just has the plastic shim required.

[novamadman]

They Are All The Same

[R1CH]

Make your own !!

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y221/ricmetcalf/QuicKsHiFT1.jpg

:thumb:
Rich

[Mike]

i though the gap had to be longer?

[beavy69]

The quick links are longer Rich. If you think about it like this, the longer it is the closer it is at the distal end to engaging the gear. In fact if it were too long you would probably be stuck in gear! lol

[beavy69]

Does anyone know where I can get right the bush from?

[Stuart]

Measure the bush up, then call tweeks/rally design and ask about their off the shelf line of bushes with the given sizes.... OR go to a machine shop and get them to make some out of brass ;)

[beavy69]

Oh yeah they use brass on some rotating parts on Webbers.

I didn't think it would be a good bush though as its metal on metal?

I think i'll use the pivot tube of the original linkage as a spacer between the orignal bush inside and the pivot tube of the new linkage as its a perfect fit inside. And then add two brass washers at the top and bottom of the pivot tube to protect the ends as the linkage pivots about that point.

What do you think? I'll post some pics when done.

[R1CH]

The quick links are longer Rich. If you think about it like this, the longer it is the closer it is at the distal end to engaging the gear. In fact if it were too long you would probably be stuck in gear! lol

Not at all, the shorter the distance between the 2 pivots (A & B) the shorter the throw will be ....
Pivot C moves back & forward a set distance, on a standard linkage pivot A moves 'say' 60mm back & forward, but if you move pivot A closer to pivot B then pivot A will move back & forward less than it did as standard which means less throw on the lever which then makes it a quicker shift ?????
It ain't rocket science !! I done it on mine and it works !!

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y221/ricmetcalf/QuicKsHiFT2.jpg

Rich

[beavy69]

You are correct in your understanding. But non the less, an after market linkage is longer in general as length B-C is longer and A-B is the same. You have done the opposite and shortened A-B but kept B-C the same.

Both work to shorten the throw however, there are two reasons why they lengthen B-C as opposed to shortening A-B:

1) The gear lever (inside the car) is fixed in one place. It connect to the linkage via a remote control rod. Shortening A-B means you are moving the point at which the remote control rod connects to the linkage off course meaning you will have to adjust the linkage to get acurate shifts. However, moving the location of the connection at point C does not matter as it is connected to a univeral joint.

2) Shortening A-B increases the force needed to actuate the linkage and stresses the components there which are now in a different position to what was intended thus increasing the stress.

[beavy69]

OK so I spoke to that guy selling the linkage above and he said that he used his original bush from his GTE. Can anyone help me out?

[Stuart]

its nto a wacher... its a turned piece of bar that has a diameter change at some point etc.

brass/bronze is self lubing so it wont wear as fast...

anyway its not like your going to cover many miles with it... (eg not really breaking into the 100's of K's.. dan has a bronze bushed linkage and hes done about a 20K on it no probs)

[scott.parker]

Stu i bet your trying not to chuck things at the pc screen!! lol lol

[Stuart]

I throw you

[scott.parker]

I throw you

You best watch out..if im spectating at llandow then me and lee will double team you..lol

[beavy69]

Ok so here are the pictures of what I have done to fit it:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d149/beavy69/P1030072.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d149/beavy69/P1030074.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d149/beavy69/P1030075.jpg

Reference to mainly 1st pic:

The inner most part is the pivot shaft from the original linkage with it's bush. The black ring is a piece of bicycle carbon fibre handlebar as a spacer and I added a shorter one at the top end as well. These are to set the linkage at the right height.

Lubed, fitted and adjusted now it seems great. All gears engage fine with clutch in while idling and 1st and 2nd move the car forward as normal. Havn't tested on the road yet as I am lacking a drivers atm that I have to fit tomorrow.:D The throw is much shorter though.:thumb:

[Adam]

Can you really tell the difference with it fitted?

I've heard that a quick shift will shorten the life of your gearbox, putting more stress on it etc.

[CP]

No fitting a short shift will not in itself shorten the life of the box. All you are doing is shortening the throw of the gear lever. You can damage the sychro ring assemblies by abusing the gear changes but this is probably very unlikely in a helical cut std synchro box. I have damaged the synchro assemblies between first and second in my straight cut box.

A general point about making up your own or modding up a short shift linkage - dont go too mad else you find that the linkage may foul the speedo assembly etc

[Adam]

I heard something about, because it shortens the gear throw, you can change gear quicker, so it doesn't give the synchro's the same amount of time to equalize speed as a standard linkage does?

[beavy69]

Yes it does make a difference. 1st is only a little shorter (which is good as first shourdn't be forced) and the rest are much shorter. I keep thinking I havn't got it in gear properly. Need only move it about 2cm from neutral to whatever gear!

Ok drove to work yesterday and like SR said it pops off in second as it doesn't have the bend.

What Nova do you have SR and Shane? and did your original have a bend in it? Mine did and this means that without the bend, the ball and socket joint at the end of the remote control rod is connected too high up. The socket wants to go downward and gets pushed forward (to front) when going for 2nd and 4th so I need the bend. It may be different in GTEs or somthing?

[SRlew]

Ok drove to work yesterday and like SR said it pops off in second as it doesn't have the bend.
?

i dont like the sound of that, thats putting me off buying one, or is it sortable?

cheers lew

[beavy69]

Im quite sure it needs a bend in it like the original. and I think the old bust is a little worn as well as the bush has com out of the housing and that shouldn't happen. So I'll add the bend and change the bush and let you know.

May be different for GTEs as thats what the guy said they were for but should work with all f10 boxes, however, I needed to modify it. So if you've got a GTE go for it. if not wait and see if I can sort it iiwy

[SRlew]

the one i was going to buy said it fits all novas.

but yer let us know what you do buddy!

[beavy69]

Will do asap

[beavy69]

OK I have finally got the ******* to work! Yes! Its really good. OK it did need the bend in. You can do this and compare to the old one, you are aiming to have the remote control rod ball in the same place as the old one and aiming in the same direction.

I also needed to shave off a corner on the plate as arrowed in the picture below as it would not turn enough in the housing to engage 2nd and 4th properly:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d149/beavy69/P1030074chop.jpg

[craig green]

Does the connector rod (that connects either side of linkage) have to be shortened too?

I'm assuming it does but how? I cant see any spare threads on the rod itself to thread it along.

[beavy69]

It would have to be lengthened if anything as the new linkage is generally longer. BUT you don't need to do anything to it just use the old one as is and adjust the whole setup as per the Haynse manual.

[SRlew]

oh god not more adjustment!! lol

iv had enough adjusting linkages for a while lol