Has anyone replaced the shift(er) control bushings on a FZJ-80? (1 Viewer)

[Kernal]

Got my shifter assembly out of the truck to do some service and decided to replace the shifter control bushings while I was in there but have been having difficulty getting the bushings and control shaft back into the housing. The tolerances seem too tight between the new bushings, the housing and the shaft.

I'll post up some photos shortly.

 

[Kernal]

In the last photo can see how the bushing split. The outer lip cracked off when attempting to tap it into the housing, that may have been from the tool used (15mm socket), but then the fit into the housing and around the shaft is extremely tight.

 

[Kernal]

Here's photo of a new control shaft bushing in the center with the original bushings on either side:

 

[Tools R Us]

Fit the bushings. If they slip over the shaft, sand the outside till they slide into the tube. It's not that critical, it only turns what a 1/16 of a turn?

 

[Kernal]

Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[ajax1]

I would get bronze bushing and put it into a drill to spin it, and polish it your size needed with 3m scotch brite won't take long, do this for airplanes all the time

 

[Kernal]

I picked up a pair of bushings from Lowe's a couple of days ago, their ID is almost perfect but the OD would need to be milled down to fit inside the tubular housing.

 

[ppc]

I would start by warming the plastic up so they weren't so brittle and would flex, heat the housing to expand that and freeze the shaft to shrink it. Use some KY or liquid dish soap before slipping everything together.

 

[Kernal]

Tried those methods earlier; used dry ice to freeze the shaft to -30F for two hours, same result. You can see in the photos the silicone grease (Molykote 33) I've been using for lubrication. Dunked the bushings in hot water and they softened a tiny bit, not enough to help and they lose the heat quickly being thin plastic.

 

[fencekey]

I'm bumping this because I'm having the same exact problem
I've broken 4 bushings already and this is getting frustrating
I can tap the bushings into the housing with a 17mm socket and a hammer; very snug, but they go in
When I go to insert the rod, it will start (with assistance from a hammer), but if not perfectly centered, it will grab the side of the bushing and tear it out from the inside and push it through the housing out the other side (even if that did work, how to get the 2nd one in is a mystery to me
Please, has anyone successfully replaced these bushings and how?
I feel like I'm going to have to drop this part off at the dealer and have them do it (if they even will)
Simple bushing replacement gone horribly wrong; this should be so simple
Thanks in advance
This is on a 1997 FZJ80 if that matters

 

[LC4LIFE]

I had no idea this was even an issue...

 

[fencekey]

All started when I decided to have the shift lever re-covered
Once I got in there I noticed there was a tear in the rubber boot under the base plate so I decided to replace it
Another thread suggested that "while I'm in there", replace those two bushings along with two rubber grommets on the shift linkage arms.

That thread is here:

Replacing shift lever boot

I've been hunting down holes and such in my rig over the last couple of weeks, and one of the ones that came to my attention after I ripped out the carpet and center console was the rubber boot under the transmission shifter. It's all part of the linkage that goes under the truck, and mine was...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[rolliges]

@fencekey Hey, did you ever get this resolved?

 

[Kernal]

I can chime in here; I thought I had updated this thread when I figured it out but apparently didn't.

In my case I had the shifter assembly plate yellow zinc plated due to surface corrosion (see top pics) but what I eventually discovered (after breaking 4-6 OEM bushings) was that the plating process significantly increased the ID of the shifter axle shaft tube.

I then took a dremel with a barrel type sanding disc and ground off quite a bit of the new yellow zinc coating on the ID of that tube. IIRC I still broke
a couple more new OEM bushings, so then found a pair of (expensive) bushings from McMaster Carr (~$75 for two!!) made of some sort of permanently lubed compressed Teflon. I don't recall the part number or dimensions but they fit.

After putting it all back together the shifter feel was much more snug than
ever before, zero play in any direction.

If I find the part numbers of those replacement bushings I'll post them up.

 

[SucioP]

This should not be this hard…anyone figure out a solution other than @Kernal $75 bushings?

 

[Kernal]

IMO/IME the best option for the automatic shifter bushings is to measure the OD of the shaft and ID of the housing it slides into then go to McMaster Carr and spend some time looking for a few bushings that might fit.

Now that I recall the bushings I used were made out of RULON-J
and should last forever, so the cost per year may be worth it. Or looking
at it the other way, you could spend hours trying to find something that will fit, or trying to make it fit.

Sorry, don't recall the measurements but anyone can get them with the use of a good digital caliper.

Scroll down this link to Flanged Bushings (Rulon J):

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

www.mcmaster.com

FWIW that shifter with the expensive Rulon J bushings still has zero slop.

 

[SucioP]

Sigh….I’ll take the measurements and post up. 75 bones seems like a lot for what it is but considering I just spent an hour + sanding a $2 plastic bushing only to have it bust may be $ well spent. One of Mr. Ts few fails….

 

[QuackAxel]

I would get bronze bushing and put it into a drill to spin it, and polish it your size needed with 3m scotch brite won't take long, do this for airplanes all the time

I'm going to second this! Brass and spin to fit. Like others have said, low impact part, so no super critical.

 

[Kernal]

Agree, if you can find a brass bushing that fits, good deal, but if you have to machine them to fit then any savings would be eaten up if you have to pay a machinist to turn it on a lathe.

I finally went for the expensive bushings after destroying half a dozen OEM bushings and trying a few other cheaper bushings (including brass) and just installed the Rulon J bushings.

 

[SucioP]

Thanks for the link, @Kernal . I'm going to start out with the low $ alternative and report back....

This isn't an exact fit-
Shaft / ID- 15.88
OD - 18mm
Length - 11.73mm