BayArea06NAmt Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 Car: '06 2.5i I just removed (read: cut out) the stock front shifter bushing from the ring housing on the shifter linkage. Problem: It seems that there isn't enough clearance between the ring at the end of the shifter linkage and the immediately surrounding parts of the car for me to be able to slide on the pieces (or at least the inside piece) of the solid Kartboy front bushing. I have tried putting the car in every gear to see if that would move the linkage enough for there to be adequate room, but that hasn't worked. Is there a difference here between the 2.5i and GT? Or can this be done and am I missing a simple trick/technique for getting these pieces on? This is a picture taken from Mud's thread, showing where I'm stuck. (There is not enough room between the bolt and the ring for the front bushing pieces to slide on) http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16708 http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v509/Warwick_5S/Bushings3.jpg Any help would be MUCH appreciated, as I'm running out of ideas on what to do. If I can't resolve this issue, I'm going to either try to cut the inside Kartboy bushing to reduce its thickness (thus putting on 3 pieces instead of 2) and hope that that allows me to fit it around the bolt, or I'm going to have the car towed to the dealer. It didn't think I was underprepared when I decided to install the front Kartboy bushing, but I definitely didn't predict this hindrance, as other members (of LGT's not 2.5i's) mentioned no difficulty with this portion on multiple posts. HELP! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnarlyMarley Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 Take the first bushing half out, intall on stud. Put the mount with the other bushing half pressed on onto the shaft and draw it all together with the nut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BayArea06NAmt Posted January 13, 2008 Author Share Posted January 13, 2008 I've tried that, yet when I push the linkage as far up as possible (tucked up next to the two other linkage pieces with rollers that go into the transmission), there still isn't enough clearance for the thickness of a piece of the Kartboy bushing to get through and onto the stud. I'm moments away from cutting one of the Kartboy pieces in half, thickness-wise, to reduce the needed amount of clearance. I think if I did this it ultimately wouldn't have any noticeable effect on shifter feel. The lips on the Kartboy bushings would still be solidly in place agains the washer-plate and stud surface, which appears to be all that matters. Somebody has 30 minutes to post and stop me from doing this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qikslvr Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 Any luck with this yet? Did you try putting the bushing on the bolt and then pushing the ring down on the bushing to seat it? A little grease, petrolium jelly, silicone or WD40 migh help. I remember it being a little tricky to get the rod re-positioned correctly, but I don't remember why. Is it like it just won't push back far enough to line up? Let's kick this pig! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BayArea06NAmt Posted January 13, 2008 Author Share Posted January 13, 2008 ISSUE IS RESOLVED, 2.5i OWNERS READ, YOU MAY HAVE TO DO SAME: I was able to resolve the issue last night, but my internet went down and I wasn't able to post. First, to clarify, the issue wasn't getting the stock bushing out, it was just getting the inside half of the new front Kartboy bushing to fit it and onto the bolt, or into the inside of the ring housing on the linkage. The bushing just seemed to be too fat, or thick, to slide onto the bolt, etc... and surrounding parts of the car (transmission, linkage, frame, etc...) made it impossible at any angle for me to work the inside half of the front bushing on. Basically, at any angle, I wasn't able to move the linkage with the ring housing far enough out of the way; a part of it was always blocking. So... Since the Kartboy bushing came in two identical pieces, I cut one of them in half, height/thickness-wise. (Took 30 minutes with hacksaw). I made sure to maintain the outside lip of the cut bushing so it would still wrap around the inside edge of the ring housing. I was then able to slide that inside half of the Kartboy bushing on in two smaller pieces (which required less clearance and thus fit)... and it worked perfectly. When they were in there I glued them together. Perfect fit. Then the I just reassembled the rest (other/outside half of the Kartboy bushing) and I was good to go. Washer plate + nut on no problem. Done and done. When test driving the car, I was kind of disappointed to find out that the bushing alone (I'm running stock shifter, less notchy than my Kartboy STS) made virtually no difference in shift feel, directness, or gear engagement, as people in various posts had claimed. If someone else had unknowingly installed it in my car and then I drove it... I wouldn't be able to tell a difference. At most I would say that shifting is now maybe slightly less spongy, but I may just be thinking such is the case. Really no difference at all though. Also, I notice only a very minimal increase in vibration transmitted through the shifter. This could be because my car produces less power (175hp), and therefore less vibration, than an LGT. Moral of story: skip the front bushing, not worth the $ in my experience. Thanks to those who tried to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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