shifter issues with 90 vs 91

[DSM's 4 life]

I just purchased a 1990 dsm 1st gear was engaging and then popping out like it wasn't fully engaged. I spent $200 on new oem 90 shifter cables solid bushings, and a 90 trans cable mount I installed the the 90 shifter base that was in the truck to replace the 91 installed in the car. I then looked at the numbers on the trans and found out that it was a 91.... I have heard that you can use 90 cables on the 91 but is there a way I could change the mounts on the transmission?
*another thing I noticed is that the trans selector seems to be welded.

 

[kchaazz]

Judging by the picture, someone has extended a 90 style selector lever to the length of a 91+ selector lever, for whatever reason. Assuming that the length of the lever is absolutely correct after its been extended, the solution is to:
1.Put a 91+ shifter and shifter base back into the car
2.Make sure youve got both cable brackets from a 91+ on the transmission (One bracket bolts to the bellhousing, the other bracket bolts to this bracket and holds the cables in place and they are different between 90 and 91+)
3.Unfotunately, your brand new 90 cables have got to go in favor of 91+ cables, theres just no way around this, but hopefully, they will allow you to exchange the cables for the one you need.

Edit: Looking at your new cables in the picture, it would appear that youve already got new 91+ cables, so just swap the 91+ shifter and base back in, and swap the brackets at the transmission and you should be good.

 

[DSM's 4 life]

The 91 cables are are mangled up they can't be re used. I would rather use the 90 base the 91 seems to short of a throw I have a new oem 90 trans bracket. Can't you remove the pin on the trans selector and swap them out for a unmolested 1990?

 

[kchaazz]

Regarding the cables, the new ones in your picture are without a doubt 91+ cables, so just leave those- if that picture is of your cables, I am 100% sure they are 91+ cables. Return that new 90 bracket and put the 91+ brackets on your tranny and reinstall the 91+ shifter and base and it should work perfectly. Regarding the shifter, the 91+ had more throw than the 90, this is due to the selector lever on the 91+ trans being longer than the 90 lever.

That selector is a royal pain to remove. There are two ways to do it.
1. Remove the transmission from the car, disassemble the transmission to pull the bell housing, remove the roll pin holding the rod to the #$%^, toss the rod with the selector, disassemble a 90 trans and pull its lever and rod and put this into your bell housing.
2. Get a punch, hammer, air hammer and prepare to cuss like a WW2 trench soldier. Remove your battery tray and related components, intake pipe, upper ic pipe, cable brackets, and whatever else is in the way. You must knock out the tapered pin that holds the lever to the rod. THIS PIN ONLY COMES OUT ONE WAY AND ONLY GOES IN ONE WAY, IT COMES OUT TOWARD THE RADIATOR.

Honestly, the odds of you getting that pin out are not good at all, trust me on this. And you dont want to drop and open the transmission, do you? I certainly wouldnt. This is why I suggest the easy, simple solution for you to get her working properly and it will work. Ive done everything I just listed above and I can honestly say it was not worth the fight

 

[DSM's 4 life]

The cables and shiter base pictured are both 90 the right cable won't allow room for the colder pin with the 91 shifter base and I'm not cutting the shifter cables I bought them for jnz in the oem package

 

[kchaazz]

I can tell the shifter base in the pic is a 90, but those cables are not. I can tell because the 90 to early 91 cables had two adjustable eyes, and the later cables only have one, as yours does. I dont understand what you mean about not being able to get a cotter pin in with the 91 shifter and base, could you explain further?
Edit: Regarding the cotter pin, are you perhaps referring to the white, plastic bushing in the eye of the cable end that attaches to the bottom of the shifter covering the hole for the cotter pin on the 91 shifter? If so, that is a bit strange, and perhaps the eye wasnt on all the way? You can try using sandpaper to get the rust off the little rod and lube the rod before sliding the eye over the rod if that is the case. Ive got all the different cables, shifters and transmissions at home, so if you need pictures of the differences, I can try and get them up for you, but Im at work right now and Im not sure if I can get to it tonight but just let me know.

 

[DSM's 4 life]

The length of the pin that the end of the shifter cable slides onto is shorter on the 91 and the pin that goes on to hold the cable from falling out wont fit

 

[kchaazz]

Ok, Ive got one thing you can try. Put your 90 cable bracket- the one that holds the cables to the tranny- onto the transmission. Next, you will see the lever on the transmission that is vertical, and is held to the bell housing by two bolts. Remove this lever, and swap this lever for one from a 90 transmission and it may work for you.

 

[DSM's 4 life]

What shifter base? And that lever is fine that's the left and right on the shifter. it's the forward and back that's giveing me issues

 

[kchaazz]

Im referring to the vertical lever on the transmission, and the bracket that holds the cables to the transmission. Swap the vertical lever on your transmission with a vertical lever from a 90 transmission, and swap the bracket that holds the cables on your transmission with a bracket from a 90 transmission and see if that works.

 

[DSSA]

I can tell the shifter base in the pic is a 90, but those cables are not. I can tell because the 90 to early 91 cables had two adjustable eyes, and the later cables only have one, as yours does.

You are partially correct. The cables used until 6/90 production date did have adjustments on both cables. For at least the last 6 years Mitsubishi has done away with that. So it can be deceiving that from a distance 90 & 91-94 look that same.
Hope that helps!

 

[DSM's 4 life]

I put all the 1990 parts in the car and took it for a spin 1st engauges and the car rolls an inch and when you rev up it goes nowhere. All the other gears are a lot more solid than before.do you think the synchros on 1st are shot?

 

[kchaazz]

I think that youre just not getting enough throw to fully engage the slider to the engagement teeth on the gear. Ive gone through all this before when I swapped a 91+ trans into my 90. The following is of course to be done with the car off:
Throw can be checked by taking the cable eye off of the lever on the transmission (the one in your picture thats got that funky weld on it) and then push that lever toward the firewall to engage 3rd gear. Now, put the shifter into the 3rd gear position, all the way to the stop, and see if the hole in the cable eye on the transmission is lining up with the pin on the lever. If the eye of the cable is lined up with the pin, youve got enough throw and this isnt your problem. If the eye is not aligned with the pin, and the eye is closer to the front of the car than the pin, you dont have enough throw to engage the gears.

 

[EclipseOwner95]

This doesn't exactly pertain to your situation, but I'll post it anyways and hope that it helps.

You need to determine what year transmission you have, more importantly, what year the gear select lever is. A shorter lever is a 90, the longer lever is a 91+.

When you determine what lever you are working with, swap EVERYTHING to whatever year that it is. I've seen tons of people say oh you can just swap brackets, or cables, or some variation of that. The only way to truly have a proper shifting car is for EVERYTHING to match.

I put a 90 trans in my 91+ car and fought this problem for an incredibly long time the ONLY way I've come to beat the issue was to put a 90 shifter base, 90 cables, both 90 cable brackets, and the 90 arm (the removable one). Car shifted like butter after that and I never had a problem again.