sloppy gearchange

[sc1962]

hi all,my matra 1.6 gearchange has always been very sloppy and i suppose due to the nature of the mechanism i just accepted this.iv read the various posts on the subject and yesterday i decided to check the ball joints on the end of the rods.i cant really say theres that much wear on them but i did notice that the gearchange relay had a hell of a lot of play up and down.almost like a washer was missing ?? there was one washer and then a circlip(does anyone know the size of this ) but i decide to eliminate the up and down play by adding an extra washer and refitting the circlip and iv got to say what a difference.its no longer sloppy and is now quite precise.im going to change the ball joint on the end of the main rod and the bushes in the relay as a matter of course and i think that this will improve things,hopefully,even further.

thx

steve

[Jon Weywadt]

Hi Steve.
I found that a thing that made my gear change a bit loose was that the nylon ball on the shifter was worn so it had a lot of play. I wrapped it with teflon foil and the play went away giving a more firm feel when shifting.
Regards. Jon

[sc1962]

hi john,forgive my ignorance as i dont know what Teflon foil is ? however,i haven't got that much play at the gearstick but i will be looking whenever the weather improves at the gearstick ball to see if i can make it tighter.iv seen the cardboard gasket method on here but have to say does that last ?? its got to be something hard waring i think yet smooth in finish.im checking out Teflon foil on ebay.or is it available elsewhere ??

thx

steve