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Sloppy shifter?

Discussion in 'Subaru Sambar' started by clsmooth, Mar 9, 2014.

  1. clsmooth

    clsmooth New Member

    Hey gang, so I'm still looking here and there for the right Sambar and test drove my 3rd one today and I'm wondering if it's a common issue in a Sambar or not.

    1st test drive: 19?? Sambar truck, carb'd, 4WD, 5 speed. Condition: ~40000 km, abused and not taken care of obvious work truck.
    2nd test drive: 1991 Sambar van, carb'd, 4WD, 5 speed. Condition: ~125 000 km, complete beater. Incompetently maintained by high school kids. Borderline unsafe.
    3rd test drive: 96-98? Sambar van, fuel injected, S/C, AWD, 5 speed: Condition: A fully maintained ~157 000 km, everything I'm looking for in a Sambar short of needing new tires.

    Of all 3 Sambars in conditions that go from one end of the spectrum to the other, in all 3 cases the shifter was, well, terrible. At first I though the first two were the result of their condition, but this last one that was immaculate and perfectly maintained had the same issue.

    Had a hell of a time finding 2nd and 3rd gear predominantly. Shifter was really sloppy and all over the place. Unsure which gear I was in at times and would get hung up in neutral. I would have such a hard time first finding 3rd, then trying to get it into 3rd, that I would loose forward momentum and have to resort to going back into 2nd and trying again.

    I'm just curious if this is a chronic problem with Sambars? Is this something up front by the shift or at the back by the transmission? Is this something that can be fixed or modified? I'd almost be willing to carve out new bushings out of a block of urethane as an upgrade (if these vans use rubber bushings in their shifters). Would anyone happen to have an exploded diagram of the shift linkage?
     
  2. clsmooth

    clsmooth New Member

    I called a local shop where the mechanic is originally from Japan and specialized in Kei vehicles when he worked there. He'd naturally would need to see the vehicle, but said a Sambar shouldn't be hard to drive...
     

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