[DeTomaso] Trunion support

[Christopher Kimball]

One more bit of advice:  The bolt holding the shift rod turnbuckle to the transmission needs to be completely removed, not just loosened, before it will come off the splined transmission shaft.  Don't loosen it and assume the reason it won't slide off is because it's just stuck, and then pound on it with a hammer trying to get it to come off, almost causing irreparable damage to the transmission until you finally figure out the splined rod from the transmission has a groove through which the bolt runs and that's why it won't budge.

 

Don't ask me how I know.

 

Sincerely,

 

Chris

#3846 
 
> From: JDeRyke at aol.com
> Date: Fri, 4 Dec 2009 14:00:19 -0500
> To: gaino at earthlink.net; detomaso at realbig.com
> Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Trunion support
> 
> In a message dated 12/4/09 7:22:41 AM, gaino at earthlink.net writes:
> 
> > I have a new trunion to install. What is the easy way?  can I just loosen 
> > the shift box and get enough space so slide out the splines in the 
> > universal in front of the trunion?
> > 
> There really isn't an 'easy way', Bill. You need to get the end of the 
> central section of your shift shaft loose from the u-joint- at either end- so as 
> to be able to slide the old trunnion off and the new one on. The whole job 
> is much easier with the engine out, naturally. Once the old one is off, look 
> closely at the shift-stick section that slides back & forth for excess 
> wear. The stock setup was designed for periodic oiling, but most Panteras have 
> NEVER had any oil there, so the shaft wears badly. Careful filing or rotation 
> of the shaft 90 degrees might make a badly worn one still useable. Once on, 
> expect to fiddle with recentering the shift stick in the cabin, too. The 
> height of the trunnion somewhat controls the shift-stick centering as well as 
> the length. On some Panteras, there's very little room to adjust the height 
> before the center u-joint hits the fwd edge of the inner fender, or the 
> shaft hits the upper motor mount. This all happens during shifting when things 
> are hot, not while the trans is cold & in neutral.
> There are two different trunnions available: the stock one is steel, 
> rubber-mounted with a steel sleeve that needs periodic grease or oil, while Hall 
> sells an aluminum one with a teflon insert that needs no further greasing. 
> Due to the header radiating lots of heat and the expansion ratio of aluminum 
> and teflon, the teflon sleeve often comes loose from the single setscrew 
> provided, and slides out. If your shifting suddenly goes all loose, this is 
> probably what happened. Some guys add two more setscrews and Lock-tite them all 
> in. Good luck on a truly picky little job- J Deryke
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