Questions for FJ owners who have a three on the tree FJ or those who have driven one...how difficult is it to drive and how long did it take to get use to driving it...thanks...
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Questions for FJ owners who have a three on the tree FJ or those who have driven one...how difficult is it to drive and how long did it take to get use to driving it...thanks...
If you have the patience and the determination to overhaul the numerous pivots involved in the system, it can be surprisingly crisp to shift. I kept my linkage in very good condition for the many years I sported the 3 on the tree on my dd45. I felt the only disadvantages were those inherent to the 3 speed itself, not the linkage.
Best
Mark A.
Mark , did you do this primarily by replacing worn rod ends, or did you have another approach?
I have a box with a lot of good column shift parts, including NOS rod ends; I didn't end up using ANY of them in the entire time I ran the column shift [over 10 years of daily driving]
During the initial overhaul of the truck [when I brought it home and went thru it to make sure it would be safe to drive] I pulled the linkage, lubed the joints, tested clearance with grease installed, and lightly peened the cups over the balls to a fit I felt was acceptable [no measuring devices were used in this procedure!]
I checked them again a couple of years ago when I replaced the motor. They still seemed fine.
I 'think' I may have replaced the lower support for the column rod [the one that doubles as the steering column clamp at the steering box. I think I may have changed that just because I had another one that still had the boot intact.
And I know I replaced the pin at the top of the shaft that screws into the back of the turn signal switch. That pin was the one part that got a lot of wear. And of course the pin did pull the threads out of one turn signal switch, just like happened to Chase.
Hth
Mark A.