1996 eclipse GS with sloppy shifter. my side to side action is fine but i have play in my forwards/backwards direction and that makes it feel clunky when going into gears. Its been like this since i've bought the car. Its plenty drivable, but it just feels like shit and if I have someone else drive the car they have a hell of a time trying to change gears. I tightened some the nuts on the shifter assembly and Im going to do the skateboard bearing thing for the worn out bushings under the hood. Im sure thats gonna help but the main reason why i have so much slop is because the bell crank lever that connects the linkage to the trans is floppy. it has play up and down as well as side to side like its not on there tight or something. Theres a hole in the bell crank and I imagine that theres a setscrew in there but when I stick my allen wrench in there it feels like its stripped. heres some pics to better explain. http://img848.imageshack.us/g/39778869.jpg/

I thought that was just a roll pin as opposed to a set screw. You might feel around 180 degrees from there and see if the end of pin goes to the other side. I would replace the bushings first and then see how it shifts. You might also check to make sure the clips that hold the shift cables to the transmission are secure. I had one come partially out and cause me to miss gears.

Corbin
'95 ESI-T

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What Corbin said. Swap the bushings at the cable ends and the shifter plate. Check the horseshoe clips. I think Corbin is right about the arm having a roll pin and not a set screw. Usually if a set screw is gone the whole thing will come apart rather easily.

Erik P.
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yes i agree about replacing the bushings, i said in my original post that im going to replace them. I think it would make sense for there to be a pin securing the bell crank instead of a setscrew. Maybe that hole im sticky my allen wrench in is the actual pin and its just hollow. Its hard to tell when everything is rusty as hell.