Thread: Shifter return spring doesn't work when hot

My shifter when the car is really hot (like driving for 1.5 + hours) the shifter gets really tight and the return spring no longer works. Has anyone came across a fix for this?

_info: B&M short shifter, ES bushing, CS bracket, No CAT, Heat shield installed, OEM Shifter return spring, 99 P11 tranny, And stainless exhaust.

after putting the heat shield back on it prolonged the time before it would happen but after long drives it still does it.

also it is a swapped car, so i cant tell you what it was like before the short shifter b/c it was and auto.

any help would be greatly appreciated.

When the return spring snaps, the shifter gets like a floppy, lifeless chicken leg. It doesn't get "tight".

What do you mean when you say it gets tight?
And what do you mean when you say the return spring no longer works?

Try to describe it better for us.

ummmm isn't there a piece of rubber inside of the return spring to dampen it? could that be melting/expanding between the coils of the spring?

When I say it's tight I mean that when in the neutral range it takes more effort to move left and right (like pulling out of third to stop and move into first)
When I say that the spring doesn't work I mean that if you place the shifter in neutral and wiggle it to the left or right and leave it it won't return to center.

I hope this I better put I'm on my phone right now so I apologize if it isn't clear.
And yes I did notice a rubber dampner in the oem spring.

Again once the car sits for a few hrs to cool it acts 100% normal so it's only when it has been driven for a long time.

I think cause4alarm is on to something then. My car didn't come with a return spring when I bought it used so I got one from a hardware store and put it in there. I've never seen the rubber piece so I didn't know it was there. That could be deteriorating and causing your problems.

I know when I had my cat installed and no heat shield and was running on 2 cylinders (the other two were just dumping fuel into the cat) I had the urethane shift bushings get very soft and it made the shifter feel like the transmission was filled with molasses or something. The cat was glowing red hot. After letting everything cool down they completely recovered and I never had the problem again. I don't think you're having heat problems. It takes a lot of heat to mess up those bushings. I think your answer is probably in the return spring. I'd get a replacement and see what happens. Hell, it might even have snapped on you.

Kk I'll try that then and post an update in few days.

Maybe check for loose bolts, worn bushings on the trans mount too. The heat thing might just be a coincidence and the trans might be mis aligned.

Forgot to add that it has prothanes. Btw what do you mean by misaligned trans.
Today i took the rubber out of the spring. Added another spring and lossend/tightend all the bolts and lubed everything up. It's not my dd so when I get the seat time done I'll post up. If need be I can take some pics.

Thanks for all the help you guys are great

I took off the heat shield above the cat. I removed my return spring years ago. I have no issues, but that is weird. I dont need no stinkin' spring!

See if your rubber is worn out or any loose bolts as previously mentioned.

No cat? I dunno how it is getting so hot to agitate the rubber there. Get new rubber, maybe?

my shifter was doing that all the time, I found that the heat shield was rubbing on the bottom of the shifter I bent it down and dont have a problem anymore