[LizzyStone]

So I'm not a mechanic, I'm not car savvy at all. My Saab 1991 900 busted the gear shaft (Shifter thingy?) and my shop says that there is an '87 at a pick-a-part, but they don't know if they'll match. So my question is can I take a shift stick from an '87 and put it into a '91 with out too much issue?

Any help is appreciated!

 

[dmgb5]

Any 5sp shifter should work for you. Also I have one from a '90 if interested.

 

[LizzyStone]

You're in portland, OR? Price? Do you know if a driver's seat would fit as well? (It also snapped in half.. I SWEAR, I'm not that mean to this car!)

 

[nutcase]

They did change the centring from in the gear lever to in the box. Putting a centring lever into a car with a centring box may cause them to fight. The change was brought in ~86-88 so best to be careful. There was also a design change for 1991 model year so you'd probably need the whole gearchange assembly, not just the lever.

 

[dmgb5]

Interesting/good point...I totally forgot about the differences in the centring mechanism between the gearboxes over the years.

 

[LizzyStone]

Centring? What does that mean?

 

[dmgb5]

The gear shifter and gearbox have a centring mechanism. The earlier gearboxes have an external centring mechanism while the later gearboxes had an internal setup. I think the change occurred in mid-'86 but I'm not sure.

 

[bobsverts]

Seats

The seat mounting and design changed in 1991. '91 thru '93 are the same. A '87 seat will not interchange with a '91.

 

[jwandhistools]

Centering basically means when you put the shifter in neutral, it "centers" and stays there, instead of falling into a gear.

On your car the centering mech is in the trans.
On an older one like an 87, it is in the shifter on the floor IIRC.

 

[900power]

Yes, I think 1987 parts will be fully compatible. There are several components related to the shifter, so make sure you know exactly which parts you need. Your car, and the 1987 car at the salvage yard, most likely have the newer style shifting parts (for transmissions with internal centering).