Manual shifter front yoke bushings

[PeterPortugal]

Hi gents,

I decided to do the shifter bushing replacement today. Some excellent posts out there already but I seem to have a new problem.

The two bushings which fit in the gearbox end of the shifter are my issue. If I put them in the gearbox shaft I have found it impossible to fit the yoke over them, they just seem to too thick.

I tried soaking them in hot water but it didn't soften them up. What is the technique to install them?

Picture attached.

Thanks

Peter

[PeterPortugal]

OK, I searched again with new terms and found some relevant posts. I will try the 15 min soak in very hot water and pliers.

[PeterPortugal]

Gents,

Trying to add to the forum knowledge I decided to opt for a slightly less elegant solution as per the picture.

Nice and easy and using a bit of trial and error. I opened up the yoke by approx. 1mm and that just about gave me enough to get it on with an acceptable amount of struggle.

I also enclose a picture of the old versus new bushing !!

Now relaxing with a well deserved beer.

Regards

Peter

[DaveB]

That is a little rough. Better to skim a little from each side of the bushing in my opinion.

[PeterPortugal]

Dave,

I agree but it depends what sort of car you have. I have a driver quality version. There was no way in a month of Sundays that the yoke was going to fit over the new bushings as it was. Hot water, heat gun, grease, mole grips, combination of all of the above - I tried the lot for half a day.

The yoke did not look noticeably different afterwards and it still took a lot of effort to fit over the bushings. My old bushings were completely worn out. I figured it was possible that the yoke might have been overtightened to compensate at some point in the cars past as the bushings started to wear out.

For anybody who isn't overly concerned about doing this it will help get the job done.

Cheers

Peter

[ja17]

It will not hurt to spread the yoke a bit if necessary. Most likely it compressed inward during previous tightening and stayed in. In any case when you tighten down the bolt again it will move inward to the prescribed width. Be aware that the bolt hole in the yoke is a larger diameter on one side that the other to accommodate the special shoulder bolt. In fact, if the shoulder bolt has been replaced with a standard bolt, that may be your problem. Use of a non-original standard bolt will result in the yoke being squeezed together too far.

[PeterPortugal]

Hi Joe,

My car did have the correct bolt and it is worth mentioning this warning on the forum. I also had to use a little bit of force (not the lump hammer !) to get it to fully engage up to the shoulder.

Also for the forum record, badly worn bushings at the gearbox end of the yoke put a lot of play in the gearshift when moving the stick left and right in neutral.

Regards

Peter