Hi Thanks for the response. The car is a 87 4cyl, 5spd Isuzu. I am in the process installing a 3800. I have installed the motor and am in the process of installing new shift cables. I have located the shift lever timing holes and installed pins to lock the shift leve My problem is that I do not know the proper location of the two trans levers in relationship to pinned shift lever position. I have disconnected the shift cables from the tranny lever. Now, in which location should the levers on the tranny be when I attach the cables to the tranny? Thanks amos
It's pretty easy to figure out with a helper. First have a look at the two levers and notice that one of them causes the shift shaft at the transmission to either push further into or pull out of the transmission case and the other rotates the shaft. The first thing you have to do is grab the lever that makes the shaft rotate and place it in the middle of the three possible positions. Once it's in the middle position the shaft will automatically pop into or out of the transmission and settle at the middle depth position as well.
Once you've found that spot, that's equivalent to having the console shifter in neutral between the 3-4 shift gate. So now you have to figure out which way to turn the rotating shaft so the transmission goes into 3rd. The best way to describe how to figure that out is to have a helper sit in the car and simply move the in-car shifter fore and aft while watching one of the cables in the engine bay move. When your helper pushes the shifter forward (as if he were shifting from neutral to 3rd) one of the cables should stick further out. Now just imagine if that cable were attached to the lever that rotates the shaft. Grab that lever and rotate it in the same direction as the cable would push it, just make sure not to push down or pull up on the shaft at the same time. Once you've done that, the transmission is in 3rd gear so you can reattach the cables to the levers with the guide pin in place and tighten them.
The top lever should be up and to the rear. That puts it into First Gear, the position of the shifter. You can move the top lever forward and backward to find the neutral gate. Once you do, lift up on it then push it back toward the rear bumper. It should click into position of First Gear. Insert the cable end ball stud and tighten.
Hello many thanks for the shifter cable note. Of the two levers on the tranny the top one rotates from it's pivot front to rear and has 3 stop points and is located on the driver side. Should this lever be rotated fully to the rear of the car? The other lever rotates up and down, is under spring tension and is located more on the engine side of the tranny. I can't detect any notch points with lever or possible locating point. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks Amos
The smaller of the cables is the selector cable. It operates when you move the shifter side to side. It operates the lever under spring tension. That selects the 3 gates; 1-2, 3-4, and 5-R. Each of those 3 gates has N in between them. That's the center click you feel in the other lever.
Leave the cable nearest the driver, inside the shift console attached to the shifter when you are installing the lock pin. Also leave it attached at the transmission end. Then move the other lever on the transmission downward toward the back of the car. Let it click into it's position and install the remaining cable. Sorry for the confusion. I was originally thinking of one of the other transmissions.
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