the shifter on my 81 5speed is sloppy. thinking that it is a worn ball at the end shifter going into the trans. couold i unbolt those 4 bolts and replace that shifter or would i be better off finding an 84 or 85 trans. to swap in??? 81 sr5 4bi.

 

try this first
http://www.marlincrawler.com/htm/tra...rans_parts.htm

 

And don't unbolt the 4 bolts, you don't need to for the transmission. T-case, yes, but the transmission shifter comes out different. You just have to get the rubber boot off, then get plyers and kind of push down and turn the metal piece in there that the stick goes into. I think you turn it counter-clockwise...it should pop out and you can then pull the shifter out. While you're in there replace the shifter seat, too.

 

Looking down at the shifter there is the outer ring that is the piece that the 4 bolts belong to, it is the inner ring that needs to be removed. A little wd-40 (or the likes) helped with mine. Push the ring down and turn counter-clock about 1/8 turn. It should pop up from the spring below. It’s not a hard job just a pain. Low Range Off Road (http://www.lowrangeoffroad.com/4rundrivetrain.htm) has the parts in stock and I got them the next day. It took me about 15 minutes of work time to replace mine. WOW what a difference!!! There is a breakdown with pictures on line at one of the off-road mag sites.

Bru

 

hopefully its just the shifter ball seat. i had one that wore the entire seat and the piece the seat goes into. which i was told they don t make anymore.

 

Yeah exactly, getting that thing out isn't hard, especially once you've done it before, but I spent 20 minutes trying to get it out once, gave up for a day, went back & got it in 5 minutes. Once you see how it goes in there, it's pretty simple. Just a pain getting something out when you don't have a clear picture in your head of how it's in there in the first place.

 

cool thanks a million!!! going to buy a seat from marlin this week. i have unbolted anything yet (4 bolt plate) so im good there. thanks guys!!