Richmond OD

[Anthony]

well, i know david kee doesn't recommend synthetic for toploaders, as the tranny sometimes doesn't shift right, i.e. block shifts due to synchro issues. He recommends standard gear lube. I know the richmond is the really the doug nash 5 spd, which was at least in the past "old" technology, like the toploader.

call richmond. maybe they can guide you.

[C5GTO]

Ok, while driving yesterday the RG "stuck shift" occurred again. Like the times before, on the shift from 2nd to 3rd gear at about 4,500 rpms, the shifter felt like it seized up and wouldn't allow me to select any gear. This time I allowed the car to slow to about 20 mph and I released the clutch. The trans was still in 2nd gear, it could be driven that way but could not be shifted to another gear until the car was brought to a full stop and reverse gear engaged.

So from this, I deduce that I have a "shifter" issue and thus not a transmission issue per se. The shifter is a Hurst Competition Plus that was bought new when I built the car in mid-90s and now has close to 50K of mileage on it. The car has had this shift issue for a couple of decades now so it started occurring prior to the shifter having much wear on it. The issue occurs a lot more frequently now so it has increased as the shifter has been used more.

Has anyone else had a similar issue with a Hurst shifter and experience fixing it? If so, I'd appreciate any tips you may have. I of course could replace the shifter but I wouldn't mind to give it a try to fix it just for the experience.

[cycleguy55]

Originally Posted by C5GTO

Ok, while driving yesterday the RG "stuck shift" occurred again. Like the times before, on the shift from 2nd to 3rd gear at about 4,500 rpms, the shifter felt like it seized up and wouldn't allow me to select any gear. This time I allowed the car to slow to about 20 mph and I released the clutch. The trans was still in 2nd gear, it could be driven that way but could not be shifted to another gear until the car was brought to a full stop and reverse gear engaged.

So from this, I deduce that I have a "shifter" issue and thus not a transmission issue per se. The shifter is a Hurst Competition Plus that was bought new when I built the car in mid-90s and now has close to 50K of mileage on it. The car has had this shift issue for a couple of decades now so it started occurring prior to the shifter having much wear on it. The issue occurs a lot more frequently now so it has increased as the shifter has been used more.

Has anyone else had a similar issue with a Hurst shifter and experience fixing it? If so, I'd appreciate any tips you may have. I of course could replace the shifter but I wouldn't mind to give it a try to fix it just for the experience.

Does your shifter have steel or nylon bushings? Mine had the latter, and when they wear the shifter gets sloppy. Replace the bushings in the shifter and make sure it's adjusted properly. Use the Hurst Pit Pack with steel bushings. https://www.summitracing.com/int/par...7302/overview/
https://www.shifterdoc.com/productca...ngs-53p336.htm

Hurst owners's manual / instructions: https://www.shifterdoc.com/4070009_Install.PDF

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by cycleguy55

Does your shifter have steel or nylon bushings? Mine had the latter, and when they wear the shifter gets sloppy. Replace the bushings in the shifter and make sure it's adjusted properly. Use the Hurst Pit Pack with steel bushings. https://www.summitracing.com/int/par...7302/overview/
https://www.shifterdoc.com/productca...ngs-53p336.htm

Hurst owners's manual / instructions: https://www.shifterdoc.com/4070009_Install.PDF

Yes. Seems consistent with an alignment issue, either the shifter rods may need to be adjusted , or maybe there's an issue internally with the tranny, with the selector plates/detentes.

[MAStuart]

Joel I have a new unused hurst shift tower. I started to take it apart to see what makes it tick. I need to clean the parts up in the parts washer . Old dried up grease. It has been 20-25 years since I have taken one of these apart. I also need to find the box with my mustang Hurst shifter in it. I made a hybread shifter with some of the parts for my RG 5 speed. OK if I remember right a 4 speed hurst it is spring loaded to one side. The Hurst RG shifter is spring loaded to the3-4 gate. When I get it cleaned up I will see if I can figure out how you and mine shifter is doing what it is doing. Might take a couple of days. You got me wondering!

[cycleguy55]

Originally Posted by Anthony

well, i know david kee doesn't recommend synthetic for toploaders, as the tranny sometimes doesn't shift right, i.e. block shifts due to synchro issues. He recommends standard gear lube. I know the richmond is the really the doug nash 5 spd, which was at least in the past "old" technology, like the toploader.

call richmond. maybe they can guide you.

RG recommends GL4 / GL-4 for those transmissions - particularly their own 80W90. It's petroleum lube, not synthetic. https://www.richmondgear.com/auto-pa...smission-faqs/

At one time there was a note you could use a particular Redline synthetic gear lube, but that's what I have in mine right now and it made the shifting worse - particularly 4-5 where I can easily beat the synchronizer.

Edit: Found it! "What oil should I use in Richmond manual transmissions? Richmond T-Lube, high performance synthetic manual transmission fluid. Richmond T-Lube is designed for extreme load and long duration exposure in high performance manual transmissions. Richmond T-lube is designed to withstand high heat and provide anti-score protection for high speeds. Red Line 70/90 NS is also acceptable." https://www.richmondgear.com/wp-cont...g_Section2.pdf