Post by: Henry Magno on June 16, 2005, 10:44:58 PM
I think the car was converted to floor shift. Note that the steering column has the full jacket tube of the column shift design. I think the DS was introduced around the time of 170 Sb which got the column shift. Every reference I looked at says the DS has column shift, including the service manual and the technical data book.
Post by: mislav on June 18, 2005, 06:30:47 AM
Henry you are right, all the literature that I have, says DS has lenkradschaltung.
But during the past, many people changed it to floor shift. There are many 170 DS and 170 S-D in Croatia, and I know about 20. Everybody seems to change it to floor shift.
But originally they had column shift. Personally I like it better with original column shift, it is more fun to drive it that way.
Post by: Henry Magno on June 18, 2005, 10:26:27 AM
There does seem to be a desire to change these back to floor shift. On the Sb I restored the owner had changed it, I talked him into putting it back to original, and now it's being sold and the new buyer wants a floor shift. I guess it's the charm although I also think the column shift is easier to drive. Also a factor is that on so many cars the column shift is out of adjustment or needs some other repair, the common opinion is that they don't work well.
Post by: Henry Magno on January 13, 2006
change in transmission synchronizers in the 170 S ? They are same as the 170 V at least at first; I believe they did not change until the 170 Sb.
You hear opinions that the 170S column gearshift was poor; I take issue with this. When repaired and adjusted, they work very well, and there should be no need to hunt around for the right gear. Usually they have been neglected and abused, so it's understandable that they have a bad reputation. The problems can be: disintegrated rubber washers that locate the guide pin at the top of the shift rod (frequently overlooked), the bushing at the shift lever pivot, and the bushings on both ends of the shift rods.
