i am looking for a bushing that is a bit more robust than a stock bushing....
any one have any solutions.....
i would love to tighten up my shifting and belive that cleaning up the play in the bar should do the trick..
is it posible to build a bushing out of lubricated brass and bolt it on?
or is the side play in the shift bar a necessary thing?
any ideas welcome........

have you replaced EVERYONE of the other bushings steve? don't forget the 2 that cradle the ball on the shift lever.

k

I made the rear bushing out of brass for my car. It is held in place using a snap ring. No problems so far. The brass may wear faster. Time will tell. The opening for the bushing was worn so I was able to clean out the hole in the console and make a special bushing.

The firewall may be a different story. In the one I have which is worn the center is smaller than the outer edges. Contact is only about 1/4" of surface in the center of the bushing. I do not have a new one to compare with. The shifter needs some lateral movement. If I make the hole with straight sides, the shifter may bind a little. I will have to make it and see. I plan on making it out of Nylon 6 with Moly. It will also be held in place using a snap ring. Not sure when this will happen but within a couple of weeks... maybe.

Since the firewall bushing is nylon and compliant enough to press into the boss, a metal bushing would need something to hold it in place.

My .02 is that you could be making a solution for a problem that isn't that bad. The new plastic bushings in the firewall have always worked fine for me.

I am contemplating a Spherical bearing that can be bolted/welded to the fire wall.

Got to remember there needs to be some axial movement of the front shift rod.

then i guesse the Q is ...how much compliancy is needed at the fire wall,
(kevin i have a Jwest shifter)
my bushing at the tranny is brass, with no compliancy or lateral give
and for some funny reason when the car is cold i find 1st fairly easy
but after an hour in traffic i can no longer get 1st with consitency
i can adjust the clutch out a bit more...but i think i am at the end of my play...and it is a new cable....
perhaps the "shifting guru" will chime in....
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The brass bushing won't have anything to do with hot or cold car shifting differences.
But it does have an affect on clutch travel. and the oil in the transaxle is probably in need of changing.

I added some lucas something to aid in old synchros shifting. it helped but then my tranaxle is getting a bit tired. so I figured what the hell.

The rear shift bar should pivot exactly on the axis plane of each end. ( i'm sure I didn't say that right). so no side play is desired there.
But the fact that the front of the front bar moves in a circle through all the gates there is some side play in the front section of the front bar. some of that will show up on the rear section of the front bar.

I think you are correct Joe. I was thinking about a spherical one also. I just never worked out the details. I think the space may be too limiting. The distance from the shift coupling and the shifter bushing when the shift rod is forward needs to be measured.

Yes the brass bushings make a huge difference.

I made a set for my car, posted here, but the pics are long gone.

So,

The front and rear cup bushings.
These nylon bushings rely upon the bushing itself riding up and down in the piece, and they rely upon the round ball holdin them.
They do wear out, they wiggle, the have slop...get rid of that slop.

I had these two made a bit longer, with no capturing of the ball, now the ball rides up and down in the bushing, works much better.

The shifter console bushing.
At the time I did this, these bushings were a normal item at PP, so look and see if that is still the case.

You need a bit of wiggle in that bushing, the rod changes angle there, so it needs to be a bit looser than the firewall.

Now, the firewall.

I hated that bushing, I had replaced all the others, and I still knew there was a good way to improve it.
I ended up making a brass or bronze (cant remember...) bushing that the outer diameter fits tight in the hole in the chassis, and the inner hole is 1.5 thousanths bigger than the shifter rod.
The shifter rod is steel, the bushing is brass/bronze (doesnt matter really) the rod will never wear out prior to the bushing.

The firewall bushing has an outer flange that is 1/8 inch thick, and its as wide as the flat area on the firewall that is right around that bushing.
This makes is close to 2.5 inches,,,might be more or less. not the point.

Then I drilled and riveted the bushing to the firewall.
I was going to use bolts, and good luck to you doing that...there just is not enough room to get in there from the inside and get a nut on there...plus my arms are to short to do both sides...so I used rivets.

Go to a good autobody supply store and buy rivets that are 1/4 inch shank, they have lasted 7 years, no issues.

I grease it once per year in the spring with lithium grease...works great.

So that is the bushing answer.
Look at your shifter, get new springs, and rebuild it...it also helps.

The car shifts like a snap, no issues.
There is no wear on any parts.
Its crisp, and I know where the gears are.

I also twisted and pre-loaded the shifter, it always lands in the 2-3 gate
This is the autox gate that you need anyways.
One last item for safety, once you have adjusted the shifter, you like the way it shifts, all is well....fabricate a small piece of metal to mount on the shifter to prevent you from ever going into reverse, put it on a pivot so you can swing it out of the way when you need reverse, but at the autox, once you are aimed forward, swing it into place..it helps.

Rich

None.
I tested several ideas, mine now has 1.5 thousanths side to side...no issues.

I have to add two more things.

First, replace the engine mounts and tranny mounts, new, rubber, plastic, aluminum..no difference to me. Just new.

Now, make sure the engine is square to the firewall...
Did you know you can mount your engine way out of square??
Measure from the firewall to both sides of the motor, pick spots that match.
Then tighten the mounts for the tranny and engine.
Start square, or loose your mind.

Second.
First gear is hard to get into when hot....
your shifter forks need to be adjusted inside the tranny.
Your clutch and pressure plate most likely need to be replaced...its really the pressure plate, but replace the clutch disk also.

Now, your clutch release fork rides on a ball, with a bushing...haha
Did you know that...well, its what 35 years old.
There are new ones available, new balls to bolt into the case.

Aslo, if the flywheel has been ground down, you need to shim that ball out to match the difference so the release fork will actuate the pressure plate enough to get into first.

Rich

the clutch asembly is all new i replaced it all a year ago when when i put the six in.....
but squaring up the motor is a new idea, i will check it as well
thanks so far....
any more ideas???

Rich you really got my "head gears turning"
I like the rivet and bushing at the fire wall.

Engine out of square?
Never occured to me but yea I guess it could happen. Now I got to measure it.

Mine works great.
Square motor is huge.
Then you get the pleasure of re doing your shift adjustments...but ...oh well.

Rich