Being nostalgic more than practical I like the 3 spd column shift on my FJ55. The problem is that it is very difficult to shift. A local Toyota mechanic never misses the opportunity to tell me how "smooth as butter" the shifting is on an FJ40 that he works on.
So I decided to try to rebuild my linkage. I looked all over for pictures or threads on how to improve the shifting but came up empty, so I am posting this thread in the event that someone else benefits from it.
Long story-short... The problem seemed to be three-part.
1) Bolt corrosion and plastic bushing seized together (required a press to push it out)
2) Flat spots on round portion of linkage arm
3) Wear on the "not sure what you call it" piece that attaches to the column shift shaft
I took it all apart with a lot of wrenching force, heat and penetrating oil. I drilled out the old round portion of the arm and created a new part on my lathe (15.88 mm in diameter) and extending 8.5mm from surface and tig welded it together.
I then added material back to the "not sure what you call it" to replace the portion that had worn away.
Now it's time to put it all back together and see if it works. I am using a set of used plastic bushings from an FJ40 shift linkage but would appreciate anyone who knows if the plastic pieces are still available.
So I decided to try to rebuild my linkage. I looked all over for pictures or threads on how to improve the shifting but came up empty, so I am posting this thread in the event that someone else benefits from it.
Long story-short... The problem seemed to be three-part.
1) Bolt corrosion and plastic bushing seized together (required a press to push it out)
2) Flat spots on round portion of linkage arm
3) Wear on the "not sure what you call it" piece that attaches to the column shift shaft
I took it all apart with a lot of wrenching force, heat and penetrating oil. I drilled out the old round portion of the arm and created a new part on my lathe (15.88 mm in diameter) and extending 8.5mm from surface and tig welded it together.
I then added material back to the "not sure what you call it" to replace the portion that had worn away.
Now it's time to put it all back together and see if it works. I am using a set of used plastic bushings from an FJ40 shift linkage but would appreciate anyone who knows if the plastic pieces are still available.
