WRX/STi gear stick wobble

[Neil Levine]

Had my Type UK STi since August. At some point, I noticed that the
gear stick, in any gear or in neutral, has a certain amount of lateral
movement to it ie it wobbles left/right. I am sure it didn't use to do
this but after taking it to a dealer, he showed me it was the same in
another car and "normal" and suggested I just suddently noticed this.

Can anyone else confirm?

Neil

 

[Ragnar]

Had my Type UK STi since August. At some point, I noticed that the
gear stick, in any gear or in neutral, has a certain amount of lateral
movement to it ie it wobbles left/right. I am sure it didn't use to do
this but after taking it to a dealer, he showed me it was the same in
another car and "normal" and suggested I just suddently noticed this.

Can anyone else confirm?

Neil

How much wobble is there? Are you talking 1 inch side to side, or 1/8
inch side to side?

Some wobble is normal. I've driven nothing but sticks for the last 25
years and they all had some wobble.

 

[mulder]

Some amount of play is normal, and they do tend to loosen up over time.
You can check the shifter pivot bolt (under the shift boot) to be sure
it's not too loose and allowing extra side play, although that bolt
isn't supposed to be very tight to begin with (about 8 ft-lbs, or just
past snug), and if it's too tight it will make the shifter too stiff.
A set of Kartboy hardened bushings (or any equivalent available in the
UK) will help remove some play in the shifter mechanism although that
will be mostly in the fore-aft direction. The bushings will also improve
how the shifter feels and give it more mechanical feedback.

 

[kevin wallis]

I have a late 2003 wrx I have approx a quarter of an inch movement on my
stick, like you I only noticed it recently,never went back to dealer with it
,I had a couple of other problems that the dealer had to look at, steamed up
back light clusters , wiper arms that would not clear the wind screen, three
sets were changed ,now they are talking about putting in a new wind screen
in, full set of alloy wheels the first set the paint was bubbling off,a very
bad knocking sound on the front off side,we are on the second visit for that
fault,there has been a lot bolt tightening and head scratching on that
one,and today while I was washing it I noticed another light cluster ,back
near side has started to steam up,if the car was not such a buzz to drive I
would have traded it in ...

 

[Neil Levine]

How much wobble is there? Are you talking 1 inch side to side, or 1/8
inch side to side?

Some wobble is normal. I've driven nothing but sticks for the last 25
years and they all had some wobble.

It's about 2 inches I would say

N

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------------------------ |o| <o> |o| -------------------------------
Neil Levine Claranet Group
levine at uk.clara.net http://www.clara.net
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[k. ote.]

Had my Type UK STi since August. At some point, I noticed that the gear
stick, in any gear or in neutral, has a certain amount of lateral movement
to it ie it wobbles left/right. I am sure it didn't use to do this but
after taking it to a dealer, he showed me it was the same in another car
and "normal" and suggested I just suddently noticed this.

Can anyone else confirm?

Neil

Canada-spec STi confirmed here: there's been some slight lateral wobble
since I bought it. It shakes just slightly when in gear and I'm driving
around, also. I don't think it's a quarter of an inch, but it's
definitely there.

 

[k. ote.]

It's about 2 inches I would say

N

2 inches is nowhere near my Canada-spec STi. That's some pretty big play
going on there. But still, that could just mean that U.K. spec is looser..
especially if he showed you another vehicle and called it normal..

 

[BlueSTi]

Canada-spec STi confirmed here: there's been some slight lateral wobble
since I bought it. It shakes just slightly when in gear and I'm driving
around, also. I don't think it's a quarter of an inch, but it's
definitely there.

U.S.-spec STi here. It does move very slightly but nothing
significant. If anything it is still a little stiff. But, this might
be due mostly to the cold weather.
BlueSTi
"Scary-Fast"

 

[kevin wallis]

British spec wrx confirmed here,I have some slight movement more noticeable
when in gear and moving ,like you did`nt notice it until I had owned the car
for 6 month or so ,about quarter of an inch but yes defiantly there.