1G too much play in my shifter

[StarFawkes]

Hey guys, my car will be on the road next weekend and I'm trying to address all the small problems that still persist before I get out driving it and they cause real problems. One thing that I really can't find a good solution to is my shifter. It wobbles on the pivot points and the action is just terrible altogether. I've searched for bushings and the like but it always brings up the stuff I don't need.

eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices
I bought this POS off eBay hoping that it will tighten it up; I like the stock height so if it ends up helping I'm probably going to use the stock stick. If anyone knows what I'm talking about and can suggest any fixes please chime in.

 

[bryanwheat]

That cheap shifter will make it worse. The bushings don't fit it as tight as they do the stock shifter. You likely just need new bushings for your shifter.

 

[StarFawkes]

That cheap shifter will make it worse.

I figured that would be the case but it was cheap enough so I thought I could mess around with it and test fit it.

Anyway when I search for bushings I find the ones for the base of the shifter where it attaches to the car and at the transmission end of the cables but there isn't any play in either of those areas.

 

[1983gsp]

This might sound ghetto, but it worked out great for me. Take the main lever off the shifter. Clean out all the old bushing and lube the bore. Take a 2 liter coke bottle and cut a strip the width of the pivot stud where the lever rides about 5 or so inches long. Roll it into a tube and slide the tube into the shifter lever. Reinstall the shifter lever. If its still too loose cut a longer strip. If its too tight take the tube out and cut some off. After it feels tight and has no slop, add a washer where the nut is that holds the lever on to take the side to side play out of the shifter.

I also used this method on the lower bushings and have the best cable operated shifter I've ever felt. This modification took all of an hour and has lasted for over a year without a hitch. Coke bottles are made out of high density polyethylene plastic. There is no give with this plastic and is easily found. I wouldn't hesitate for a second to do this modification again.

 

[DsMWookie]

You more than likely need to rebuild the shifter with new bushings. They can still be had from mitsu and the difference is amazing. I purchased mine from jnz tuning. You should remove the shifter base and replace 8 of the little blue bushings in total. If some of your bushings are still good then reuse them. All but two of mine had turned into dust.

 

[C_Keagy]

You more than likely need to rebuild the shifter with new bushings. They can still be had from mitsu and the difference is amazing. I purchased mine from jnz tuning. You should remove the shifter base and replace 8 of the little blue bushings in total. If some of your bushings are still good then reuse them. All but two of mine had turned into dust.

^^^ DO THE PROPER MAINTENANCE!!!!

Like Wookie said replace all the bushings on the shifter assembly. It is not just the two where the shift knob bolts on.

I replaced all of mine from JNZ. You can barely tap my shift knob now and see it move the cables. I'm talking a hair trigger on this thing


Again FIX IT THE PROPER WAY!!!! Seriously they cost like $1 something.

 

[boost97gst]

I have a similiar cheapy off ebay. I can only say that it did fit very tight in the bracket. Seeing how i have a car with no engine in it, i cant tell you how well it shifts yet. I replaced all the bushings too but still, i cant see any noticeable slop or play in the pivot. It should work fine.

 

[StarFawkes]

It seems 1983gsp has the best solution to my problem, like I said before the problem lies with the shifter lever itself, not the base or any of the cable bushings. I'll mark this as resolved and give that a try.

 

[bryanwheat]

It seems 1983gsp has the best solution to my problem, like I said before the problem lies with the shifter lever itself, not the base or any of the cable bushings. I'll mark this as resolved and give that a try.

Just order the bushings from the dealership. They are cheap and work better than a plastic soda bottle bushing.

 

[DsMWookie]

Agreed. We are not talking about base bushings or cable puddings. These exist in the pivot points within the shifter itself. You have to disassemble it and replace them. The slop comes from bushings just breaking down and turning to dust or falling out.

 

[Dert]

I had a sloppy wobbly shifter and it turns out the bushings in the cables that connects to the tranny were completely disintegrated. I replaced them with "skateboard bearing mod" and the sloppiness went away.

 

[1983gsp]

Look guys..I like to think outside the box. He's in Hawaii and it takes a while for stuff to get there. If the soda bottle bushing doesn't work, he can order new bushings from the dealer. Some of the best tools in the box are the ones you've made. Macguyver was my hero. Give it a shot and if it doesn't float your boat you're out an hour of your time and a soda bottle.

 

[goldeninja20]

I agree with Dert ^ .. I did the skateboard bearing mod and man is there such a better feel. It is loud when it goes into gear, but there is a nice tight feel and no play. I highly recommend it to everyone.

 

[StarFawkes]

I had originally thought that the bushings at the transmission end of the cables were the problem, and I bought a set of brass bushings to tighten it up but when I actually got in there to inspect them they were perfectly fine which led me on the hunt through the rest of the shift linkage.

I'll give the soda bottle trick a shot since it will be easy to determine if that will fix my problem without digging back into my wallet. And if it ends up working I'll shell out the few extra dollars for the real fix, I just need something that won't tear up my freshly rebuilt Shep transmission.

DsMWookie: I guess I just misread your post then, but if there are meant to be bushings in the pivot points then mine are non-existent, so I'm definitely sure I can use all this info to work something out.

 

[DsMWookie]

MB580253 - Save yourself the hassle. Replace these little blue bushings. When you take it apart you will find some missing or they are severely dilapidated.

https://www.jnztuning.com/oempartscat.html

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[StarFawkes]

MB580253 - Save yourself the hassle. Replace these little blue bushings. When you take it apart you will find some missing or they are severely dilapidated.

https://www.jnztuning.com/oempartscat.html

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Yeah, those bushings are not there on my shifter, and thanks for the part number and link, saved me a good bit of searching. I just ordered a set.

 

[DSSA]

For future reference for the part numbers.
1990 cars: MB580253
91-94 cars & Galant VR4: MB367320
There are 6 of each used on the shifter assembly.

We don't have them on our main site yet (never ending list of goofy parts we need to photograph and put there for easier locating), but can be ordered out of the OEM catalog via part number.

 

[DJ23GSX]

Why on earth are the bushings for the 90 shifters $7.99 and the ones for the 91-94 shifters only $1.19?

 

[tay97gst]

Seeing how this thread was brought from the dead already, would worn out shifter bushings cause the shifter to rattle? I get shifter rattle when im in 3rd/4th gear with low rps or when going up a hill and also have a bit of free play in the shifter, nothing too crazy but it does move around. I've never had a look at the shifter base to see the problem but I'm assuming its the bushings, right?

 

[DSSA]

Why on earth are the bushings for the 90 shifters $7.99 and the ones for the 91-94 shifters only $1.19?

No answer, we just base our pricing of off Mitsubishi Motor North America's MSRP.
90 Style MSRP $10.18

We have loaded all of these on our main site, so you won't have to sift through the OEM database if you don't have the part numbers handy.
Short Shifters & Knobs : JNZ Tuning

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[DJ23GSX]

I actually just took my 94 shifter apart and used those bushings on my 90 shifter and they tightened it right up. Honestly I don't see what the big difference is. The bore hole of the bushings might be a couple thousandths of an inch different as there is still a tiny bit of movement in the 90 shifter using the 94 bushings but I can't see that justifying the huge price difference.


I think I'm gonna be a cheapskate and order a bunch of the 91-94 bushings .

Thanks for the info guys.

 

[DSSA]

I actually just took my 94 shifter apart and used those bushings on my 90 shifter and they tightened it right up. Honestly I don't see what the big difference is. The bore hole of the bushings might be a couple thousandths of an inch different as there is still a tiny bit of movement in the 90 shifter using the 94 bushings but I can't see that justifying the huge price difference.


I think I'm gonna be a cheapskate and order a bunch of the 91-94 bushings .

Thanks for the info guys.

In the pictures above, see lever # 24427, there are two bushings used there, in addition to the 2 used on lever 24000 & 2 on 24437 as well, for 90 & 91-94.

 

[DJ23GSX]

In the pictures above, see lever # 24427, there are two bushings used there, in addition to the 2 used on lever 24000 & 2 on 24437 as well, for 90 & 91-94.

haha you read it before I edited it. I realized that after I posted.

 

[turtlebain]

This might sound ghetto, but it worked out great for me. Take the main lever off the shifter. Clean out all the old bushing and lube the bore. Take a 2 liter coke bottle and cut a strip the width of the pivot stud where the lever rides about 5 or so inches long. Roll it into a tube and slide the tube into the shifter lever. Reinstall the shifter lever. If its still too loose cut a longer strip. If its too tight take the tube out and cut some off. After it feels tight and has no slop, add a washer where the nut is that holds the lever on to take the side to side play out of the shifter.

I also used this method on the lower bushings and have the best cable operated shifter I've ever felt. This modification took all of an hour and has lasted for over a year without a hitch. Coke bottles are made out of high density polyethylene plastic. There is no give with this plastic and is easily found. I wouldn't hesitate for a second to do this modification again.

I'm doing this. And ordering solid base busings.. now! The feel of this shifter is crap. Even compared to my N/T (the same shifter).

But also wondering if there is a non "ghetto" way of doing the same thing.

 

[@TDC]

My shifter is horrible! It wobbles in gear as if it was in neutral! I just ordered 6 of jnz's oem bushings for my 90 Talon and I'd be happy to do a before and after video showing how much the bushings correct the sloppiness!