Re: Off with its head !

[lotec]

I’ve done that job so many times, and on salty boys just like yours. There’s no easy way to go if you want to remove it, you need to drill out the broken screw. The alternative is to just leave it alone, but I’ll venture a guess your o-ring inside the shift hole is probably long gone and you are leaking water and exhaust out by the handle…

To try and get it off you’ll need to lock off the shift handle in the neutral (straight up) position so it won’t move – vice grips or squeeze clamps (or a combo of the two) can work. I’ve even seen people use an old frozen shift cable cut to the right length and clamped to the carry handle in front. Then carefully dimple the center of the broken screw to help keep the drill from walking – use a clicker-punch or a Dremel, a regular hammer & punch may split and destroy the bell crank. (Not to say that the pressure of drilling may not break the bell crank anyway….) Start with a small drill, lots of oil and work your way up until it is fully drilled out.

Unfortunately the 376922 bell crank is now obsolete – even before it was obsolete it was horrendously expensive. I’ve cut the shifter apart on parts motors to get that bell crank off intact, they are harder to find than the shift handle.