I took the rod to a machine shop to have them press out the shift coupler pin so I can replace the coupler bushing and they couldn't get the pin out.

Is there a secret to this proceudure? After they gave it back to me w/ frustration I noticed the bushings already installed almost look "rubberish" can they be made of soft rubber?

The replacement bushings are white plastic looking.

thanks,

The only luck I had with getting the rod out was the BFH method
As for the bushings, I honestly don't know
Mine came out in lots of tiny crumbs when I was pulling the boot off

I tried to get mine apart with a tie rod puller..... and ended up shattering the coupler. So the bushings fell to pieces and the coupler fell to pieces as well. This is after the cone screw stripped

So my coupler is still attached to the forward shift rod..... so I'm interested to hear the solution here.... other than that I can only share your pain.

-Mike

Well, the pins were pressed in and have been rusting for the past 30 years
In order to get them out, you have to break the rust that is bonding the two surfaces together and overcome the tught fit from it being pushed in to begin with
I found that setting the rod up so thqat it was being well hels in a vise (taking care not to damage the rod) and then hitting it with a hammer repeatedly (a fair sized hammer, of course) was able to eventually drive it out anf allow the replacement of the bushings
The tie rod puller may have been applying too much force too slowly
This does require that the rear shift rod be removed from the car so that the coupling pin can be beaten on