CGT shift linkage upgrade

[J. Lyons]

Hello all,

I rebuilt my shift linkage on my 84 CGT turbo this week. I determined
that the reason my support rod kept popping off the ball socket on the
end of the linkage was due to too much side play in the bushings in the
rest of the linkage assembly. Fortunately, no more roadside repairs due
to not being able to shift  in my immediate future.

Something you CGT or fwd 4K owners may want to know is that despite
there being no evidence of this part in the ETKA there is a redesigned
support rod available which eliminates the seperate ball socket bushing
in favor of a one piece design. I don't have the P/N# handy, but it is
the same P/N# as the original support rod. It has a one piece molded
ball socket bushing attached to the link rod itself rather than a
seperate pressed in bushing. Not only does it fit much more snug, but
the molded end appears to fit in much closer tolerances to the rest of
the linkage (it would be my guess that it does not leave enough room to
pop off  without disassembly) which could help eliminate your roadside
fixes if you've ever suffered from this issue. For me, 6 times in the
last 2 weeks was enough! It seems now that I can bang gears again
without the worries! Another side benefit is the new rod seems to have
shortened the throw (minimally, but noticeable) by approx 1/4" due to a
slightly different bend in the rod itself.

Thanks to Todd at Diablo Audi in Concord for getting this part for me.

Hope it helps,

J. Lyons
84 CGT turbo
86 4KCSQ
79 5KS