Transmission shift lever assembly

A shift lever assembly capable of being operatively linked with a transmission, for manually operating the transmission, comprising:

• an elongate shift lever including a handle portion by which the shift lever may be manipulated, and a spherical coupling portion by which the shift lever may be universally supported;
• a support including two halves in the form of a pair of support sheets which have respective adjoining surfaces substantially parallel to a plane in which a direction of elongation of said shift lever extends, said pair of support sheets cooperating with each together to provide a spherical support portion which engages said spherical coupling portion of said shift lever for universally supporting said shift lever, each of said pair of support sheets having an outer surface opposite to the corresponding adjoining surface;
• a pair of statinary retainer plates disposed in spaced-apart relation with each other on opposite sides of said support, so as to hold said pair of support sheets via said outer surfaces thereof;
• and
• a plurality of bolts, each of which penetrates through thickness of said pair of support sheets and said pair of retainer plates for fastening said pair of support sheets to each other via said pair of retainer plates.

A shift lever assembly capable of being operatively linked with a transmission, for manually operating the transmission, comprising:

• an elongate shift lever including a handle portion by which the shift lever may be manipulated, a spherical coupling portion by which the shift lever may be universally supported, and an abutment portion, said shift lever being pivotally supported about said spherical coupling portion for movement in an operating plane between a first and second position;
• a support inlcuding two halves in the form of a pair of support sheets which have respective adjoining surfaces substantially parallel to a plane in which a direction of elongation of said shift lever extends, said pair of support sheets cooperating with each other to provide a spherical support portion which engages said spherical coupling portion of said shift lever for universally supporting said shift lever, said pair of support sheets including a pair of stopper portions against which said abutment portion of said shift lever is abutable when said shift lever is pivoted to said first and second positions, respectively;
• and
• retainer means for retaining said pair of support sheets so that said support sheets are held in abutting contact with each other at said adjoining surfaces.