Shifting effort increased when driven 50 miles

I had a similar problem. There is a bush that the gear linkage goes though that is mounted to the chassis, close to the exhaust manifold. as the engine and exhaust heats up it seems to shrink around the gear linkage makeing it harder to change gear. Try a little oil to see if it eases the prob.not sure what else to do. Good luck

I would place this post in the ZF forum and ask the ZF GURU, Mr. Lloyd Butfoy. If he doesn't know, no one does.

One thing that comes to mind is, try lining the console and floor from underneath with a heat-reflective layer. IMHO, changing the 2 water pipes to copper or aluminum is a non-good idea, just because of the extra heat radiated into the console and cockpit area. Stainless steel, due to its less heat-conductive nature is a better choice here. If you really need the small extra amount of engine cooling that one gets from copper or aluminum water pipes, your cooling system needs attention. Finally, you can try removing the secondary detent in the shifter, just behind the shift stick. Since there is a primary detent in the ZF itself, this one is redundent and sometimes slows or fouls up shifting, even without the extra heat your car pours in there. Be sure to plug the exposed hole with duct tape or something, to keep dust & dirt out of the shift mechanism

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Originally posted by cab:
Hello all,
I have been restoring my new Pantera this spring. I just had it out for a nice ride and found that the shiffting effort increased after driving down the HW at 80mph. I searched the past conversations on this form and found only one that partially explained the problem. I have copper tubing in place of the original cooling lines under the car, and this may heat up the shifting mechanism. Also afer the ride shifting out of reverse was difficult. It shifts fine when cool.
Thanks

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If it grinds going into reverse the clutch is not releasing all the way. If it goes in ok, then follow the other advice. FWIW

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Originally posted by jack deryke:
One thing that comes to mind is, try lining the console and floor from underneath with a heat-reflective layer. IMHO, changing the 2 water pipes to copper or aluminum is a non-good idea, just because of the extra heat radiated into the console and cockpit area. Stainless steel, due to its less heat-conductive nature is a better choice here. If you really need the small extra amount of engine cooling that one gets from copper or aluminum water pipes, your cooling system needs attention. Finally, you can try removing the secondary detent in the shifter, just behind the shift stick. Since there is a primary detent in the ZF itself, this one is redundent and sometimes slows or fouls up shifting, even without the extra heat your car pours in there. Be sure to plug the exposed hole with duct tape or something, to keep dust & dirt out of the shift mechanism

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Are there pictures available to show how to do this procedure?

No; its so simple that the first to notice this, Dennis Quella, routinely does it to Panteras that he services, free of charge. It was well-described in the POCA news some years ago, but briefly, remove the upholstered surround, boot & the gearshift knob. Berhind the stick is approximately 1" round disc held in with a snap-ring. Remove the snap-ring and disc. Underneath is a spring and a hollow plunger; pull the spring out and stick your finger inside the plunger. Work it out of the hole (difficult because its coverd with hardened grease). Put the removed parts in a baggie for posterity and plug or cover the hole in the shifter casting to keep out dust. Replace the rectangulat upholstery, boot & shift knob. Enjoy smoother shifting!

YES! I TOO, TOOK THE DETENT, AND ALL RELATED PARTS OUT! AND I'AM GLAD I DID! IT DOES FEEL BETTER! I ADDED A "GLOP" OF GREASE INTO THE HOLE, TOPPED IT WITH A CLEAN QUARTER (IT FITS PERFECT, AND EVERYBODY GOT ONE) THEN PLUGGED IT WITH A RUBBER STOPPER. THE WEIGHT OF THE QUARTER WILL KEEP THE GREASE "OOZZING" ONTO THE SHAFT FOR SOME TIME,(THE DETENT PIN HOLE CAN'T BE BIGGER THAN 3/16")! THE STOPPER WILL KEEP ALL DIRT OUT. YOU'LL NEED A PAIR OF SNAP-RING PLIERS, UNLESS YOU'RE HANDY WITH NEEDLE-NOSE'S. JUST TAKE OFF THE CENTER CONSOLE, THEN, YOU CAN'T MISS THE QUARTER SIZE BACKING PLATE AND SNAP-RING. REGARDS, MARLIN.

Thank you all for the advice. I have taken out the dedent prior to this problem. I drove the car 350 miles and the shifting did not get any worse. The copper tubing was installed by the previous owner, not broke won't fix it. I will lube all the shifting mechanism parts and see if that fixes the problem.

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Originally posted by jack deryke:
No; its so simple that the first to notice this, Dennis Quella, routinely does it to Panteras that he services, free of charge. It was well-described in the POCA news some years ago, but briefly, remove the upholstered surround, boot & the gearshift knob. Berhind the stick is approximately 1" round disc held in with a snap-ring. Remove the snap-ring and disc. Underneath is a spring and a hollow plunger; pull the spring out and stick your finger inside the plunger. Work it out of the hole (difficult because its coverd with hardened grease). Put the removed parts in a baggie for posterity and plug or cover the hole in the shifter casting to keep out dust. Replace the rectangulat upholstery, boot & shift knob. Enjoy smoother shifting!

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ALL THE BOOKS! EVEN THE SIMPLE "OWNERS" MANUAL STATES THAT YOU MUST PERIODICALLY SQUIRT LIGHT WEIGHT OIL INTO THE CENTER (JUST UNDER/NEXT TO THE LEFT HEADER) SUPPORT BEARING/BUSHING. IF THIS HAS GONE DRY YOUR SHIFTING WILL REALLY BE TOUGH! I USED A BASIC OIL SQUIRTER, AND IT HELPED A LOT! MAKE SURE YOU SHOOT IT IN FROM BOTH SIDES! ALL THE BEST, MARLIN.