I will never buy another lokar shifter.

I love my Gennie.

Yeah, they need to do something about that website. Try this one:

http://www.hotrodhotline.com/gennie/

 

None of you would have problems with Lokar shifters if you ran a standard shift transmission as God intended.

 

I've never bought a Lokar shifter and now I know I won't in the future either. I'd be on MAD MF'r if I bought a POS that made me take the tranny apart, the instructions were worthless, but worst of all, nothing telling me beforehand that the trans. mod was going to have to be done. While I, like everyone else usually don't even look at the directions unless the thing is unexplainable, there's NO excuse for company as big (or as big as they appear to be) as Lokar to not have a 10 page instruction manual with glossy color photo's, for as long as they've been around. As much as they spend for advertising... how 'bout they spend a measly $1000.00 out of their what, $20,000.00 or more a year in advertising, to make legible instructions.

 

AMEN!!!!!!!! Couldn't have said it better. And in regard to earlier posts here, if I pay out over $200 for a shifter, I shouldn't be doing the fabricating, the company ought to have done it. If I'm fabricating a shifter, I sure don't need their's, there are many almost free ones in the "recycing yards I can modify!

 

YES!!!!!! Some one else who thinks the best solution is to loose the slush box and get three pedles like a real hot rod.

 

This one...

 

HA HA HA HA HA

Auto's are for girls,old ladies, girly men.....

and supercharged and injected Hemis.

HA HA HA HA HA

 

I have never installed a LOKAR on a Powerglide [would not use that tranny myself]-before but have installed many on 350 and 700R4 trannys.
I personally would not buy or use a Gennie myself-I like the positive OEM feel of the Lokar and their close tight shift movement.
But then on the other hand there is that knob......It may have had some thick lube in the handle that got stiff in the cold of Montanna.....
While on that knob subject- I aint gonna stick some freakball object on my shifter as a knob anyhow so I like em!
I can verify the need for a positve shifter/ operation and Neutral safety switch...My Roadster[47 Lincoln shift on the column] almost killed me -while at speed I hit a bump then knee hit shifter-you guessed it -hit reverse at 65MPH!

 

about the knob, we've got a guy RIGHT HERE ON THE HAMB that can "fix" the ugly knob problem.

Tingler does nice work (thanks again,tingle)i can vouch for him....
and fwiw, i've put in quite a few lokar shifters, not 1 fucking problem BUT never one on a PG....
had one once but never used it.....
the one thing i WILL say about Gennie is that they return e-mails, unlike Lokar(lokar, U listening?)

still looking for one for a late model mopar 5 speed auto....
Gennie don't make 'em...

 

I have had both the Gennie and the Lokar both are good shifters. I have never had a problem with either, of course I have never used one on a power glide before either..... As for the Shifter knob choice for the Lokar "Richards stuff" makes an adaptor so you can use any knob you want!

 

try www.hotrodhotline.com/gennie/

 

I found another Gennie Shifter site that _worked_!

http://www.hotrodhotline.com/gennie/#shifters

 

As for the knob issue, Lokar is also coming out with, if not already available, an adapter to run any knob.

 

most rodders i know hate them..they are always locking up in park???

 

www.richardsstuff.com they have been making the adapters for Lokar for couple of years already

 

So glad to be planning a GM 5 speed in my next build! I'll simply eliminate the huge "watermelon thick" ugly-ass factory shifter, & fab a nicer curve & design for a new one! Sometimes I can't help but wonder what some of these factory designers were thinking with a lot of the production stuff they put out! A lot of it's just butt-ugly! However,I am quite fortunate to have the good taste to recognize these errors! Gotta' admit, I've never had a Lokar. Always thought they were awfully expensive!



...HUMOR: never leave home without it!

( Time to pause for that 200th Post! )...wondered if I'd ever live this long!

 

My next one will be a genie. I do not like the Lokat shift Knob because it can not be changed for under $55.00 or so .

 

when you buy something that is seen as much as a shifter. ask around. talk to the manf. I have had good lu ck with my lokar. just a drop of wd 40 on the knob will keep it working fine. just my 2 cents.

 

I think RF and those in support are saying:

Call their Tech Support line, before griping.

They are not saying you didnt get poor instructions. They are not saying your shhifter isnt fucked up or that it is not possible that you got a peice of crap.

They are just saying, give the business a CHANCE it make it right is all.

-----------------------------------------------

The other side of the Argument:

I would be upset too at poor instructions. You paid for the product and their engineering, you shouldnt have to sit and engineer it yourself, you should be able to just use it.

Their Paticualr product they sent you required more to make it work that advertised.

The particular one they sent you is now messed up due to too close of tolerances.


-------------------------------------

Moral of both sides............sometimes people get less than they hoped for. Give them a chance to fix it. If they dont fix it, they suck ass. Future buyers: DO BE AWARE that there actually has been problems with particular product and that has been good things with it and happy customers.

 

I have the locar in my 50 ford and it works well. It DOES not freeze up on my durring cold Reno winters... My beef is that if you hit a bump hard enough it throws it down into 2nd gear.. It prob needs a lil adjusting but all in all its a good product for me.... my .02

 

YA.....What he said.

 

thirtyfive
Not to stir shit so don't take it that way, please.

I would have called some sort of a tech line to start with. But bitching on the HAMB or the Internet is as good a place to start as any. There is fun and a lot of us here. We are the consumers.

My experience with manufacturers is this, you can call on the phone, send letters even show up and talk to some one who is genuinely concerned (for a living) but the most you will ever get is your money back and some kind words ment to make you feel about 3" tall.

One consumer is nothing in the the whole scheme of things, now if you are a magazine person or you are say 6,000 plus consumers then you have clout. They might just listen.

This is actually a good place to voice your concerns (or whine if you will) there are a lot of magazine folks here, there just might be one or two who cares for more than a pay check and get with the sponsor and say, gee the other day I was over here at this place and this is the feedback I'm getting about your product. I wonder if this is something you might look into?

Well I'll get off my soapbox now, that's just my .02 on it.

 

I've had a Lokar shifter on my '53 chevy truck for 15 years, and have had a love/hate relationship with it for just as long.

After having the lockout tooth busted off four different times by some moron at the muffler/alignment/oilchange/ or whatever shop, I finally made a drawing of a big finger pushing the button down with a note "push button to shift". I put the drawing on the dash whenever someone else needs to drive the truck so they can get it through their thick skull how it works.

I replaced the grease inside the shifter and button because the button wouldn't come back up when it was cold.

The only other "issue" I had was the damn thing rattled to beat hell no matter how well adjusted it was. I spoke to Lokar on half a dozen occasions, and finally gave up trying to keep the button push rod inside the shifter from rattling. My solution was to remove the shifter mounting braket from the tranny and bolt it to the floor of the truck. No more rattles.

Pete

 

I stopped in Lobeck's in Springfield, OH today and they have ALL their Lokar stock on sale! Shifters cut to 50% off. Go figure.

Vance

 

No problem, I can see this side of the equation. I know that the factory reps always tell us (the warehouses) to have the consumers call with problems. That is what I recommend. If you have an upset person talking to you, you are more likely to help them than when talking to someone who is two steps removed from them (ie: warehouse and speedshop)

I took the original post as he tried to install it, and when he saw he had a bad part, he jumped online to complain rather than call the factory, thats all.

I'm still willing to make a call to Lokar if this issue is unresolved...

 

It gets cold in So. Cal. It was a chilly 63* today. I had to wear a jacket this morning. Brrr. Really, I like tips like this, I can do more research befroe a purchase. Thanks, Mike

 

Dakota has a point. I helped him install the shifter. The instructions were lousy and some of the illustrations were completely unusable due to poor photo copies. The trans was a fresh rebuilt powerglide. I know you guys think that three pedals is the way to go,but we had good reasons for what we did. When we started the installation of the shifter I really couldn't believe that we had to remove the pan and disassemble the shift selector shaft and detent assembly to install the shifter. We got it done and it is working. A week ago we were moving the car and it was about 40 degrees in the garage and the release button could not be depressed to get it out of park. You could feel the push rod inside the handle flex a little qwhen you pressed but it wouldn't release. After sitting there idling for awhile we finally got it to release. Probably a little heat from the engine warmed the grease enough to let it release. Just based on the hassle of installing it and the lousy instructions I wouldn't buy another one. I was there,my2 cents.

 

I bought a Lokar for my A-bone because I had heard so many fellow rodders downgrade the Gennie. Mine is the floor mount type (no tranny bracket) and installation instructions were clear, concise, accurate and legible. Following instructions the shifter went together flawlessly, and it has worked ever since, with no problem...of course it doesn't get too cold here (I've been in ND - it's a major chill-hole). Matter of fact, when I swapped a new 700R4 into the coupe when I change to my 383 stroker...Lokar sent me a kit with the exact parts I needed to use the original shifter (just the detent plate, and a couple of extra parts) - I just can't complain - 'course...I'm old...we used to have to MAKE our shifters...

Vah! Denuone Latine loquebar? Me ineptum...interdum modo elabitur...y'all

 

I have a Lokar shifter in the roadster pickup, and I like it. I have had no problems with it. The starter lockout switch is finicky as Hell to adjust, but once its done, its done. The instructions that came with mine were quite clear. My tranny is a turbo 350, and there were no modifications required.