I need to put my shifter bushings in. Quick question, has anyone ever taken their shifter off down to the shaft. I don't have a lock nut as shown in the photo. I only had one nut and maybe it was lost. Therefore I used a nut similar to the one that is on the left of the "lock nut" below. It doesn't seem to be working and I am afraid that I may strip the bolt. I am assuming that the bolt is threaded all the way through and tapping it out will not work. Is the lock nut special and I need to get one? I am out of ideas, any suggestions.

 

You take the nut off of the one side of the shifter and thread it on the other side. Tightening it will pull the bolt shaft off the shifter.

 

Duh!!! Yea, that makes sense. I got confused with the lock nut. Cool thanks.

 

Woops, sorry it doesn't make sense. If I put the nut on the other side and tighten it, it will .....tighten. Is it releasing something inside, because it is really tight now. So I am assuming that as it is shown it was to replace the bolt. So the screw needs to be on the left side, tightning towards me and the bolt will loosen and come off??? The screw is shorter on the left side so there would be more thread to go through. Maybe I am overanalyzing.

 

Got it off. The bolt is a funny loooking thing. The tightening of the bolt works, but to b hones you have to "feel" it. Once the bolt is loose, pull on the shifter and wiggle the bolt as it loosen it can be tapped out. But it is specific, and you may have to play both sides of the bolt to get it right. Luckly, I took my shifter out as an assymbly to make it managable.

 

I don't know why they show another nut in the picture you posted. The threaded shaft that holds the shifter on is tapered. Tightening the nut on the holding side pulls the shaft in tight, tightening the nut on the removal side pulls the shaft out. It does feel like the shaft is going to break while you're tightening the nut but it does need to be tight so the shifter doesn't fall off. Plus, it's probably not been off in a while. The next time will be easier.

 

Next question, are the upper pins able to be knocked out without damage. Mine seem to be in there pretty good and I don't want to damage them. I went to the Ford dealership and they don't carry the pins. What would be the best way to tap them out? Those bushings aren't going in with them in.

 

Good question, I haven't done that yet. Using a brass drift would help as long as the pins are steel, which they should be. The brass will deform before the steel does. More than likely they are stuck from being in so long and steel reacts with aluminum which seizes them together.

 

I finally got it knocked out. I actually used a socket extention abut 6" long. It has a little dimple on the end that allowed it to "hold" in place, then i gave it a few good taps and the pin started to move outward. I then used a weird looking hammer/pliers tool with a curved point (I think it is used to work on fences) and tapped it the remainder. The pins were made of steel so it took the poundings. BTW, when I looked into the tranny I didn't see any broken peices of bushings anywhere in there. But I did find a lonesome wavy washer. It wasn't the same size of the one that came in the kit, nor did it have the rising tips used to "clamp" onto the bushing. I debated what to do with it, but I kept it and put the other bushing parts in as required. The bushings make difference in the feel of the shifter. I also know that it isn't "lifting" out of socket as I shift.

 

That's funny, the little wavy washer is the only thing left on mine. I searched and searched to figure out what it was and the exact placement of it, that's when I came across the shifter bushing link. I don't know if it's shown in that link clearly though but I saw it in a really good exploded view of the shifter parts.