Is shift lever supposed to spin?

[brian c]

When I bought my car the plastic nut had come loose from the inside of the factory wood shift knob causing it to spin and come off. I reglued the plastic nut to then discover that the whole chrome shift lever spins on the lower shift lever. Is this normal? I couldn't figure out what keeps the two parts of the lever together and what could be done to affix the parts together to stop the lever from rotating. If this is the way things are, I was wondering how to get the two parts apart so I could tap in a set screw or loctite or something.

 

[Stevehose]

there are some rubber bushings in between the 2 halves. You have to mount the piece in a vice or some other secure device and pull like heck on the other piece. With new rubber it will spin but with much resistance.

 

[brian c]

Thanks for the exploded diagram. Wow, who knew there were 6 different parts involved in holding the shifter on the shifter. Nothing is simple. Let the disassembly begin.

 

[Tierfreund]

I´ve replaced every rubber and all. Improves the shifter feel no end (much more precise shifting, do the linkage bushes under the car and the rubber blocks that hold the shift arm to the transmission as well)

But the shift knob still spins (the upper chrome lever), albeit with some resistance...