Pro 5.0 Install SPF BB

Karl Muller · #1 (**permalink**) 03-05-2004, 08:29 AM

Can the Pro 5.0 shifter be installed from underneath instead of removing the seats and trans tunnell in a BB SPF.
If not...are the seats easily removed ? How about the tunnell?
Thanks
Karl

Goose · #2 (**permalink**) 03-05-2004, 10:08 AM

Karl,
If I'm not mistaken, all you should need to do is, from the cockpit, remove the four screws holding down the trim ring of your shifter boot, unbolt the shifter handle and, voila, you should have complete access to the shifter mechanism on top of the transmission.

Mike Simard · #3 (**permalink**) 03-05-2004, 10:36 AM

There may not be enough room to put the new shifter in from the top hole or up from the bottom beside the transmision.
No need to remove the tunnel though, remove the 4 allen screws that hold the 5.0 together. The main 5.0 body will then fit beside the tranny from the bottom. The 5.0 can then be re-assembled from the top hole.

NROTOXIN · #4 (**permalink**) 03-05-2004, 10:44 AM

Karl,
I took mine apart and put the base in from under the car and put it back together from the top. The base is larger than the hole cutout on the tunnel and I did not want to cut anything. The hardest part for me was getting to the two front bolts on the old one to remove and then to reinstall becouse I have an alum. trans tunnel shield on 1/3" standoffs that essentially put a tunnel closer to the trans makeing it harder for the shifter swap. The stock shifter handle bolted back up with no proplem. Make sure you adj and even loctite the 'over' shifter stop bolts on the foward/back part.

curtis

Karl Muller · #5 (**permalink**) 03-05-2004, 11:06 AM

Thanks...
How did you remove the "old" shifter(top...bottom)
Karl

Lowell W · #6 (**permalink**) 03-05-2004, 02:20 PM

I just installed a 5.0 by taking out the tunnel. Disassembling the shifter is a great idea but, even so, it's a tight place to work. Also, I'm coming to really dislike lying on a creeper and working on my back (the next big garage item will be a lift). Following a discussion with Randall Thomas of Cobra Valley, from whom I bought the shifter, I decided to take his advice and yank the tunnel. Taking out the tunnel was a real b!tch but now that I've done it, it'll be MUCH easier the next time. To elaborate a bit on the procedure outlined on the SCOF website: The seats come out with 4 bolts each, then remove the two nuts which hold the parking brake handle assembly and disconnect the parking brake rod. You'll need to peel back the carpet around the edge of the tunnel. Remove the 11 flat head Allen screws which hold the tunnel, then, from under the car, work a putty knife into the joint between the tunnel and the surrounding body. Carefully separate this joint which is sealed with some awful, sticky, gooey tar-like stuff. As the joint pulls apart, the tunnel becomes easier to lift. With the tunnel out of the car, most of the transmission is exposed; also the driveshaft and the front of the differential. This is a great opportunity to grease the driveshaft, paint it if you're so inclined, and upgrade to the new emergency brake if your car doesn't have it. Now you can carefully heat the sealer with a heat gun or hair dryer and scrape it off. WEAR GLOVES! To seal the tunnel back on, use foam stick-on weatherstripping on the body. To keep the weatherstripping from sticking to any residual sealer on the inside of the tunnel, I ran 2" wide aluminum tape (available at home centers for sealing gas heater flues) around the inside edge of the tunnel. This was a LOT of work, but...the next time I have to remove the tunnel, I'll be able to just unbolt the seats and the e-brake, take out the screws holding the tunnel and lift it out. Another advantage to removing the tunnel: If you're upgrading the e-brake, the rod is much easier to fit if you can see where both ends go at the same time. There isn't anything hard about this; it's just tedious and filthy, but I think it's worthwhile. I'd much rather do it now than have to maybe do it in the middle of July sometime when I need to get at something under the car. Randall also made the point that it's much easier to change the clutch someday down the road if the tunnel is removeable.

NROTOXIN · #7 (**permalink**) 03-05-2004, 03:24 PM

Karl,
Remove the four bolts from the top, pull the shifter mechanism out from the top then the six bolts from the main body to the tranny out, drop it down to the side.

curtis

Jack Zupan · #8 (**permalink**) 03-07-2004, 03:47 PM

Hey you guys. How did you get your 5.0 apart. Those Allen head screws are really in there. It's is just a bit too wide for my vise but I could put it upside down and clamp the flat part of the shift lever but I couldn't break those puppies loose. Am I missing something? Also the bolts for the big plate had LocTite or something on them. Do you put LocTite on the bolts when you put it back together? I hope someone is on line as I have the shifter out now and would like to finish tonight.

Jack Z.

SnakeBitt · #9 (**permalink**) 03-07-2004, 10:05 PM

I know a guy who purchased a SPF from someone that installed a PRO 5.0 himself prior to selling the car. My buddy drove the car before the 5.0 was installed and it drove fine. Now that the 5.0 is in, it doesn't shift worth a damn. I don't think it's a linkage problem because it shifts fine when cold / off. Once you start the car and it gets warm, it becomes very difficult to get into the gears (especially 1st and reverse). The previous owner said that he thinks he may have introduced air into the lines when installing the 5.0 and that he should bleed the lines. I've never installed a 5.0, but I can't see how / why any air would get into the lines. Anybody with any ideas? The car is pretty much undrivable the way it is. My friend is waiting for spring and is hoping to get it fixed at a place near by. No one seems to know what the problem is. I think he got the SHAFT from the previous owner. Too bad, because it would be a nice car if he could only get it into gear.

Gordon Claunch · #10 (**permalink**) 03-07-2004, 11:03 PM

I just installed a pro 5 in my car, I removed the carpet where I could get to the shifter, no way I could get to it from the bottom, it was very easy, shifts great!!! I will go out on a limb here and risk showing my ignorance{again

} but what lines could you get air in???

Randy Rosenberg · #11 (**permalink**) 03-08-2004, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by SnakeBitt

I know a guy who purchased a SPF from someone that installed a PRO 5.0 himself prior to selling the car. My buddy drove the car before the 5.0 was installed and it drove fine. Now that the 5.0 is in, it doesn't shift worth a damn. I don't think it's a linkage problem because it shifts fine when cold / off. Once you start the car and it gets warm, it becomes very difficult to get into the gears (especially 1st and reverse). The previous owner said that he thinks he may have introduced air into the lines when installing the 5.0 and that he should bleed the lines. I've never installed a 5.0, but I can't see how / why any air would get into the lines. Anybody with any ideas? The car is pretty much undrivable the way it is. My friend is waiting for spring and is hoping to get it fixed at a place near by. No one seems to know what the problem is. I think he got the SHAFT from the previous owner. Too bad, because it would be a nice car if he could only get it into gear.

This reads to me like air in the hydralic (sp?) clutch line. Trying bleeding the clutch...

YMMV,
Randy R...

Mike Simard · #12 (**permalink**) 03-08-2004, 09:52 AM

Jack, yes those 4 screws are just extremely tight. They are also long and in aluminum, I wouldn't bother with loctite imho. BTW, when you screw the handle on using a 6mm allen wrench, you may need to cut or grind the wrench shorter to get in there.

Jack Zupan · #13 (**permalink**) 03-08-2004, 04:38 PM

Thanks Mike,

I broke them loose tonight. I was able to get a good purchase on the shifter in my vise and used a deep-well socket and 6 inch extension for leverage. They geve pretty well. Yesterday I couldn't use the vise because I didn't have any soft jaws around.

Jack Z.

Lowell W · #14 (**permalink**) 03-08-2004, 05:38 PM

Jack,

I was going to suggest that you screw the shifter down to the bench (or to a piece of 2x4 and clamp it to the bench) with some wood screws or lag bolts but didn't bother since you said you wanted to finish the job last night. Just be careful not to burr up the edge or it may not seal properly.

Good luck.

SnakeBitt · #15 (**permalink**) 03-13-2004, 10:17 AM

Randy: Thanks for the info. I passed it on to my buddy with the car and he said the guy that sold it to him told him to bleed and adjust the clutch as well (that must have been where I got "air in the lines" from). It gets harder to get into gears after the car has been driven for awhile and is warmed up (that's why he thinks it's fluid realted). He said he thinks it could be 1 of 2 things: The clutch needs to be bled (he thinks he may have introduced air into the system when installing the 5.0) because after the fluid warms up, the clutch may not be completely disengaging. Or, the Hydraulic slave cylinder is failing and needs to be replaced.
My friend with the car said the guy that sold it to him gave him a nice discount off the price so he could get it taken care of, so now I don't feel so bad for him. He's a member here (he's the one that turned me on to this forum since he knew I was in the market for a car) and he said that the guy that sold him the car is a member also (so he told me not to mention any names!). He's happy with the car and feels like he got a fair price, so I guess that's all that counts. I just hope he can get it fixed for spring! I can't wait to go for a ride - then shop for one of my own!