Transmission Shifters & Parts

Since the inception of the automobile, there have been many ways for a driver to select transmission gears. The 2 forward gears and reverse gear on the Model T Ford’s planetary transmission were engaged with foot pedals. Floor shifters were standard on vehicles with conventional manual transmissions until the late 1930s when column shifters, which created more room for front seat passengers, supplanted them. Manual transmission floor shifters saw a resurgence on performance models in the 1950s and 60s, which has continued, and manual column shifters disappeared by the 1980s. There was a brief foray with dash mounted push-button automatic transmission shifters in the 50s and 60s, but column mounted shifters were the norm for decades. Today, automatic transmission column shifters are only found on pickups, while cars and SUVs have floor shifters that are perfect for their bucket seat and console interiors.

The first manual floor shifters were levers mounted on top of the transmission that directly controlled the shift forks inside the transmission. The shift forks engaged the sliding collars, or sliders, that locked the gears to the main shaft. The shift lever, sometimes called a gearshift, projected through a hole in the floor into the passenger compartment and was configured for easy manipulation by the driver. The shifter hole was covered with a leather or rubber boot, and a shift knob was mounted on the end of the gearshift lever. When manual column shifters were developed, transmissions were redesigned for external shift linkage. The linkage rods connected the shift levers at the base of the column in the engine compartment to levers mounted to the shift forks at the side of the transmission.

While column shifters were great for passenger comfort, they didn’t provide the positive feel of a floor shifter, and many racers modified their cars with aftermarket floor shifters. When vehicle manufacturers developed their own performance models with manual transmissions, they were equipped with floor shifters from the factory. The typical externally mounted floor shifter has levers that pivot inside the shifter body in response to the gearshift lever. The levers are arranged in horizontal gates that form the familiar H-shifting pattern. The shifter body is mounted to a plate that is attached to the transmission tailshaft case and the gearshift lever for the driver mounts to the top of the shifter body. Linkage rods connect the shifter levers to the transmission shift fork levers. On modern 5 and 6-speed manual transmissions in rear-wheel drive vehicles the gearshift lever mounts directly to the tailshaft case and manipulates internal shift rails to operate the shift forks. Shifters on front-wheel drive vehicles with manual transaxles are mounted to the floor and shift the transmission via shift rods or cables.

When the first automatic transmission debuted in 1939, column shifters for manual gearboxes were prevalent, so it was natural that an automatic would be controlled in the same manner. A selector lever attached to the column was connected to linkage that was attached to the manual lever on the transmission case. A shift range indicator was mounted to the column showing the gear mode arrangement, with a pointer indicating the gear selected by the driver. There was no standardized gear mode order until the Federal Government established the now familiar PRNDL layout – Park, Reverse, Neutral, Drive and Low – in the mid-1960s. Floor shifters also employ a pivoting selector lever alongside a shift indicator, connected to the transmission manual lever with linkage or a cable.

On modern vehicles column shift levers are pulled forward to engage another gear, while floor shifters have a button on the handle that must be pressed when shifting. These features ensure the lever can’t accidentally bump the transmission into the wrong gear. Newer vehicles also have an electronic shift interlock that prevents the shifter from being taken out of Park unless the ignition is in the On position and the driver steps on the brake. Many newer vehicles also incorporate an overdrive lockout switch and/or manual shift buttons in the gearshift lever. The latest automatic transmission shifter innovation is electronic shift-by-wire control, where there is no mechanical connection between the shifter and transmission. Sensors activated by the shifter communicate the gear position selected by the driver to a control module, which commands a shift motor on the transmission to move the transmission manual lever to the desired gear. This technology has freed vehicle manufacturers to become inventive, substituting traditional shifters with shift buttons, rotary shifters, and other space saving designs.

Most manual transmissions and some automatic transmissions use mechanical linkage rods and levers to converter shifter movement to transmission gear changes. These linkage rods and levers commonly have bushings at the connections, which can wear out over time, creating excessive play that can cause shifting problems like loose shifter feel, popping out of gear, and not going into gear. The rods and levers can also become worn from metal-to-metal contact that can elongate mounting holes and wear away shafts. External manual transmission linkage that is exposed to the elements and road dirt and debris is much more susceptible to damage than internal linkage, but the latter can also exhibit problems like broken shift rail springs and dislodged detent balls that can cause jumping out of gear. Transmission cables can stretch or break and the transmission shifter bodies on externally mounted shifters can become worn if not periodically lubricated.

Whether your vehicle has a manual or automatic transmission, we have the right transmission shifter and related components needed to restore or improve shifting performance and vehicle operation. We offer shifters and components that are manufactured according to original equipment specifications, so when repairs are completed you can count on the performance your vehicle was designed to deliver. In addition to complete manual and automatic transmission shifter assemblies, we have shift levers, shift handles, shift lever knobs, shift lever buttons, shift boots, shift linkage, shifter cables, shift rods, shift indicators, shift indicator lights, shifter plates, shifter housings, shift bushings, shifter clips, shifter bezels, shift interlock solenoids, manual control detent levers, and rebuild kits. And besides shifters and components for late-model vehicles, we also offer reproduction shifter assemblies and parts for classics and muscle cars that are authentic in every detail.