i have an EXTREMELY floppy shifter, Is there any way to tighten it up or anything? i can move the shifter in gear as if it were in neutral. It's hard to find fifth if i have a passenger because my had pretty much goes on there lap, it's pretty weird when your riding with another dude....

Sorry can't help. But thanks for making me laugh.

 

I suspect it could be the ball joint at the bottom of the shifter but I have no experience with you model. Access to mine is from the top.

The Shifter Links has some Bushings that Trend to Wear with Use... Just Replace 'em and it will be Tight Again.

Kind Regards.

shifting with a dude.... heh

You will have to dissasemble the shift linkage and replace the bushings. They wear out and you probably don't have any in there anymore. Once you put new bushings in it will shift like new.

What transmission do you have? Im assuming 4 speed Dual Range? If so new bushings will help but this is likely also a cause.

 

http://ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=86901&highlight=shifter+slop

I have the same problem with my 86 GL 5spd d/r. Crawled underneath and saw the the bushing are basically gone, allowing all of the slop in the linkage. It annoyed the hell out of me for years because the stick shift would knock the plastic console sideways everytime I shifted. I went to the dealer and ordered parts on Friday last week. It takes at least 12 bushings for a total of about $65. You have to order one bushing for each side of the connecting bolt instead of one set that includes both. That is why you need so many. I can give you the part numbers if you have the same model.

So here it is, $65 worth of 25 cent plastic and rubber.

I must say though, it made a world of difference.

Doesn't really take much to hold them in place eh? Might have to do mine at some stage as well!

 

Can you flick me those part numbers there mate? I get a discount through Subaru dealers around here

Okay, keep in mind that I have an '86 GL 5spd with dual range 4wd. The part numbers, price and quantities that I needed:

 

633124170-4 pcs-$3.80 each

633124180-4 pcs-$6.82 each

633011330-2 pcs-$4.77 each

 

There are actually a few more bushings in there if your 4wd linkage is loose, but mine wasn't. I returned two other bushings and that saved me $12. Just using these 10 pcs made one heck of a difference. The Haynes manual actually has a very good exploded view of the linkages.