Aftermarket gear indicator fit

[Raider L]

I recently bought a gear indicator from "Classic Parts" and installed it. After a short while it started sticking at "D" (drive) after putting the shifter in Park. At first I didn't know what to do, nor did I understand what the problem was that would cause it to "stick" like that. So, I acted on the old addage that if something isn't working..."give it a good smack". Well, I didn't go that far but I took my finger tips and poked at the window looking in on the indicator with a couple of hard pokes. It popped back to Park. After driving the truck a couple more times I decided to take it out. This turned out to be quite a job harder than I thought it would be. See, I put this new one in when I was rebuilding my steering column, and it was out of the truck and nothing was in the way. Well, I did get the indicator out out.

Upon close inspection I discovered what "some" of the problems with manufacturing I found.

 

[Goldie Driver]

My LMC hangs up, too. I just pull it down to low then back to park - usually works the 1st time.

 

[Raider L]

And here are the pics.

You must be registered for see images attach

Here's what you get from "Classic Parts", p/n 91-450 for '73 - '79 @ $34.95. It's fairly well made. The paint is correct although it's not painted blue on the back, it's not painted at all. The needle is a rubber plastic, and it's got a good spring. All the holes are in the correct position, and it's got a good type of cable for the anchor clip (whatever it's called, who knows), and the end of the clip that holds the cable is well made where it won't come loose. The clip is good and lines up correctly with the slot in the lower column housing, and clips on fairly tightly which it needs to do.

You must be registered for see images attach

This is the screw hole in the clip. You can see that the metal around the hole is punched through really well and has a thick lipped nipple at the hole opening. Originally this hole was blank, that is the first problem, it's not threaded at all.

You must be registered for see images attach

This is a better close up of the height and thickness of the screw nipple. Looking at that I realized it was more than good enough to hold threads. When it was in my truck I thought I got a screw in it but in actuality the screw was just pushed in not threaded to anything. When it started sticking and I took the indicator out that's when I discovered the hole was actually blank, no kind of threads. This is a short coming on the manufacturer. So I decided to put threads in it. I did try to see if I could get a screw like a wood screw into it but it wouldn't even start. The metal is like spring steel and you just can't force a screw to make it's own threads. Sizing the hole I found it to be just right for a 8-32 tap. So I put the clip in my vice edge wise, being very careful not to crush it but clamp it firmly enough to hold it while I ran the tap down the hole. It's not real easy in that you have to be very careful not to allow the tap to suddenly slant, tearing up the start thread. This clip is almost like spring steel and it is hard. So getting the tap started is going to take a bit.

You must be registered for see images attach

Taking my time I managed to get the tap started and down into the hole well enough to continue to run the tap all the way through well past the end of the hole so that the middle of the taps threads were engaged in the hole. This makes for a better shaped tap of the hole.
Looking at where the cable is swedged, at the end of that arm the metal is thick and it looks like it will hold.
Try not to bend this arm, it will before you know it. If it's bent, you'll be able to bend it back but it may cause the cable to misalign on the clip, where it comes out of that turn down thing you have to thread it through on the white plastic box so it will be in the correct downward angle to line up with the slot where it attaches to the lower column housing. You want the cable to slide easily through that place you have to thread it through so it hangs straight down as it comes out of that part in the white plastic box. If the arm is bent the clip may not be pulling at the right angle, where the clip is on the column.

 

[Turbo4whl]

Back in the day when you bought a new indicator from the dealer, the area where the plastic pointer slides would have white lithium grease on the metal.

You could not buy just the pointer, (which would break) from the dealer, just the complete assembly. Make sure there are no dings or imperfections in the metal slide area.

 

[Raider L]

More pics and explination.

You must be registered for see images attach

Here's how my pointer was hanging. @Goldie Driver since yours was made by LMC it may have been better made but I'll show you where all these aftermarket ones may have a problem. Since I've determined that they made the slot the needle tracks in wider, thus allowing the pointer to shift upwards when being drawn through the slot it hangs here, actually on the other side but in the same place, when you are putting it in gear,

You must be registered for see images attach

And here, at the top. But if you'll notice how slanted the pointer is in the slot. This is the reason why it hangs and that is because the slot is to wide and allows the pointer to shift in the slot as it's being pulled along. If anything else interfers with it, it hangs up, although the pointer needs more support by the slot being closer to the pointer. This would allow the base of the pointer to stay straight in the slot.

You must be registered for see images attach

Part of the problem is, I believed at first was the type of paint used on the front. That may have only been part of the problem.

You must be registered for see images attach

So, I gently sanded the paint off along the track the pointer would be taking through the slot when shifting gears. This made it seem to slide smoother even more. There isn't anything that can be done about the slot being to wide.

 

[Raider L]

Further details.

You must be registered for see images attach

In this close up you can see the difference between the width of the slots in the aftermarket one on the left and the factory one on the right. The piece on the right, that rides on top of the slot, overhangs the track edges of the slot better. Whereas the piece on the left is almost out of the slot on top. And the body of the piece, below the top part, on the right, is closer to the sides of the slot than the piece's body on the left. You can see all the way through the slot on the left to the part that holds the pointer, and part of the cable is visible, where the piece on the right is not as visible, and very little of the front part of the pointer is visible.

You must be registered for see images attach

A better light on the two shows the differences clearer. You can also see the edges of the track that the top part is nearly out of the slot on the left, whereas the one on the right over hangs the edges of the tracks of the slot a lot more. Looking at the width of the slots in the lower part of the pic, you can almost measure the differences. It takes a little tighter machinery to make the factory one, even though the aftermarket one is fairly well made. It must be those sloppy Chinese machinists.

You must be registered for see images attach

A nice screw I found that works with the clip good. And a closer view of the cable clamping on the end of that arm. Also, I'll take that star washer off before I put it in the truck. It was on there and I just haven't taken it off yet. The back of the screw head will fit well into the pan on the front side of the clip.

You must be registered for see images attach

The screw I found has some made on thread locker that may work better to get the clip fastened to the column housing better, and tighter.

 

[Raider L]

@Turbo4whl,

I did try to slip a tiny bit of lube onto the track while the indicator was still in the truck. It didn't help at all and it hung up anyway. Had I left it I felt over time, dust and dirt and whatever would stick to that grease and god knows what would have happened. And I didn't like the idea that every time I stopped I'd have to hit the dash to unstick the darn thing? That's embarrassing.

You know, the thing works or it's not! It's Hot Rodding, if you've got it, it'd better work, or do what you claim it does. It's all about looks! If it looks Hot, it'd better be! That's why most people don't want to fool with hot rodding, there's no faking it. Like years ago when the "Pro Street" craze was taking off. So many guys spent huge money on what "looked" like a drag car, but was it? At first most weren't. But as the craze started dying out a few years later, the ones that were left started making their Pro Street cars haul a**!! They figured why spend the money if you aren't going to go fast. Now, nobody does that "look" anymore, it's just to darn expensive. If you're going to build a "streetable" drag car you'd probably be spending more time on the drag strip than on the street. When was the last time you saw a "Pro Street" car or truck? You don't.

Like this indicator, if I'm going to spend fricking $34.95 on this thing, it'd better do what I expect it to do...slide like silk.
After I've done what I've done I hope it will not hang up anymore. I hate little things like that, not quite working like they're supposed to. Then it's like you either tolerate it, or pull it out and fix the dang thing. With some stuff I don't know which is worse.

 

[Turbo4whl]

@Raider L

That's outrageous, $34.95 for the new reproduction that doesn't even work right! I know back in the day when we had squares in the fleet that part was much cheaper in price. Of course that was many years ago.

About the haul a**, I made that happen. I took delivery on my '82 SBSS in November of '81. The summer of '82 I added Shelby-Spearco turbo kit. The following summer I lowered the truck with 4/6 drop. One of the first lowered late model trucks on the east coast.

The picture is right after I finished the install, and before I dressed up the plumbing and added the wastegate it needed. That did not come with the kit.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[77 K20]

My '77 doesn't even have one of those. Guess the previous owner took it off and threw it away? Never really bothered me in the last 20 years or so.

Then I started teaching my daughter to drive it last year....

"How do I know what gear I'm in?"

Oh.

Well, go down 3 "clicks".

 

[Turbo4whl]

@77 K20

I think you should put the indicator back in for your daughter, if she is going to drive the square. After hearing William's story with the reproduction piece, maybe a used one would be better. Also, maybe someone like @AyWoSch Motors might have a couple he saved.

 

[AyWoSch Motors]

@77 K20

I think you should put the indicator back in for your daughter, if she is going to drive the square. After hearing William's story with the reproduction piece, maybe a used one would be better. Also, maybe someone like @AyWoSch Motors might have a couple he saved.

I think I have an extra one. If I remember correctly, the letters are in good shape, but either the cable or the spring is gone. I can look tomorrow.

 

[Raider L]

@Turbo4whl,

Well, that early of a Pro Mod would have been when it was really happening. See, what started the fad was guys wanting to make theirs "look" like a real drag car. That's what started it all. As early as you started would have been the real thing. Looks good.
Yeah, that $34.95 was the unit cost. Then S&H and tax was added to that. I think it came to fourty something when all was said and done. I did go to the wrecking yard to try and find one but no luck. Our trucks are getting rare. Even as of late I have people going by on the street in front of my house, while I'm working on it, and people will stop and talk to me about it, telling me how much they like that year(s) trucks. Our trucks popularity comes like waves, every so often their popularity comes back.

I have two original indicators but neither one has the cable and both have the needles broke off. One of mine is still in fair condition but I might have to re-write a couple of the letters. I was going to swap over the new spring, cable, and the pointer onto it so it would work smooth if all else fails to get the new one from sticking. And that is still a possibility. But I'll just have to see. They can be a bi**h to get in there.

 

[Raider L]

@77K20,

Ha, ha, ha! That's exactly what I did with my son! Mine was missing the cable for years and didn't show the gear he was in. My son was so paranoid or something about getting it in the right gear after that he refused to drive my truck anymore. That's exactly what I told him, "You can feel it when you're in Drive." He said, "I'll just drive Mom's car. It's easier."
To this day he refuses to drive my truck, even though I tell him it drives "normal". When I ask him, "Why don't you want to drive my truck? I got the suspension overhauled, and the transmission rebuilt. It's drives like a new truck." He says, "You're always working on it. It's broke down all the time. I don't want it to break down on me." What he doesn't know is, it's never broke down. What he see's me doing is all this little tinkering I'm doing to it all the time. I love tinkering on my truck. I'm always looking to improve it somewhere. He doesn't understand that. He's one of those young guys who own a newer car that never has a problem, heck you don't even have to do it's first tune up until a 100K miles! But you don't "tinker" with those cars either. You just drive them and that's all. Where's the fun in that?

 

[AuroraGirl]

My '77 doesn't even have one of those. Guess the previous owner took it off and threw it away? Never really bothered me in the last 20 years or so.

Then I started teaching my daughter to drive it last year....

"How do I know what gear I'm in?"

Oh.

Well, go down 3 "clicks".

its not so bad when the detents are clear. try that in my f150 and oh god its a nightmare. Especially if the needle on the indicator were madly misadjusted or the spring wasnt good like my dads square/my old LTD. Makes someone unsure AND unable to feel confident on the detents. Ive been in 2nd when It should have been D "based on feel" in the F150 and the shift up was a small pressure to slip it into the detent. If you go to the bottom and then push forward and follow the detents that way, you can usually be sure(thats how you usually set the adjustment on gm vehicles at least for the transmissions on 90s-2000s column shifters) so that the electronic "where you at" for the PCM can know your shifter location as much as the transmission knows it to be. then because you adjusted, so does your dash which may be digital or analog in that sense.

 

[AuroraGirl]

@Turbo4whl,

Well, that early of a Pro Mod would have been when it was really happening. See, what started the fad was guys wanting to make theirs "look" like a real drag car. That's what started it all. As early as you started would have been the real thing. Looks good.
Yeah, that $34.95 was the unit cost. Then S&H and tax was added to that. I think it came to fourty something when all was said and done. I did go to the wrecking yard to try and find one but no luck. Our trucks are getting rare. Even as of late I have people going by on the street in front of my house, while I'm working on it, and people will stop and talk to me about it, telling me how much they like that year(s) trucks. Our trucks popularity comes like waves, every so often their popularity comes back.

I have two original indicators but neither one has the cable and both have the needles broke off. One of mine is still in fair condition but I might have to re-write a couple of the letters. I was going to swap over the new spring, cable, and the pointer onto it so it would work smooth if all else fails to get the new one from sticking. And that is still a possibility. But I'll just have to see. They can be a bi**h to get in there.

They do make electronic sensing units that can be adjusted to each detent and perhaps digitally display or just electronically somehow a gear shift position. they are common into custom automatic cars with no original cluster but column shift for sure, floor shift for many.