[LeoGSVT]

I have a serious problem with the shifter in the car, its a stock shifter. The previous owner said he had the shifter bushing done not too long ago, im hoping its just the bushings..it feels like the shifter is loose, and broken..if i put it into gear and let go of the shifter it moves back to the nuetral position, and i can move it back and forth from left to right, but the car is still in gear and will go right down the road..i try to shift to 5th and it goes to 3rd no matter how hard i push it over to try for 5th, it goes to 3rd, i can get into 6th either it will go to 4th..There is tremendous amounts of play and im not sure what is wrong here..is it a bad shifter or just needs new bushings?

 

[Boost Junkie]

I'm guessing that you have something broken, worn, or loose on the shifter support bracket, shifter linkage, or the shifter itself, but I don't think it's possible to diagnose the problem for certain without just taking a look to check out the mechanism.

Did it suddenly start doing this, or was it messed up from the time you got the car?

BTW, if you need to buy a new shifter for some reason, the 93-95 shifter is a lot shorter.

 

[LeoGSVT]

it started doing it on the drive back up from buying the car, then it all of a sudden fixed itself, for a few days, now its back to broken : ( would it make more sense to buy a short shifter or just a stock one? also where can i find stock ones for sale?

 

[supratter]

take it out and check it before you do anything else, it's easy ... maybe the bolt that holds the shifter to the shifter linkage is loose/missing ?

 

[Boost Junkie]

it started doing it on the drive back up from buying the car, then it all of a sudden fixed itself, for a few days, now its back to broken : ( would it make more sense to buy a short shifter or just a stock one? also where can i find stock ones for sale?

Hmmm.... weird that it'd do it intermittently. I'd recommend taking a close look at the entire exterior shifting hardware to see if you can spot a missing bolt or bushing.

I'd first check the mounting bolts and bushings that hold the shifter base to the transmission. IIRC, there are 3 or 4 of these, and I think you can see them pretty clearly from under the car. Here's a photo that shows the mount. You can't quite see the shifter base, but you can see the mounting points.
http://www.turbomagazine.com/tech/0403tur_project_toyota_supra_part_1/photo_08.html

I'm not sure if a missing bolt from one of the side mounts could cause what you're describing, but it'd be worth a check since it's so easy. If not, then the next thing to check is the external shifter components.

It's been a while since I've had mine off, but I think you'll need to remove the shifter boot inside the car to get a good look at the shifter base and all. Just unlatch the velcro and slide the boot up over the shifter as you remove the plastic shifter surround -- don't try to remove the boot by itself -- remove it along with the shifter surround (the plastic console piece that is between the console box and the lower dash). First remove the ash tray and then gently pull up on the shifter surround, working it back and forth to wiggle the retainers out without breaking anything. IIRC you can pull the rear up about a half inch, then pull the front up, but I'd have to actually do it so it'd come back to me to be sure. Once you get that out you can check the linkage and the shifter. You should probably print the Service Manual page so you can see where all the bolts, bushings, and spacers are supposed to be. Hopefully you find an issue with some of these external items and the problem isn't inside the transmission. By the way, if everythign is right, there won't be any slop or looseness in any of the componets. If anything is loose, sloppy or floppy, it's probably messed up somehow.

 

[exvelocity]

Leo, take the shifter bezel out , few bolts and the rubber shifter boot, that will expose the other end of the shifter, that is the first place I'd inspect, just hope and pray it's not a tranny, if you have to replace the shifter tripod, it's not that bad,also stay away from ebay junk shifters,C's is the only shifter after the OEM

or stop by, I'll check it out