Gearbox connecting rod. Bush needed?

[Shane'o]

Hi, Guys hoping for some help.
I am trying to change the floor shift back to 3 on the tree and the connecting rod is only around 6-8mm dia and the hole in the gearbox bracket is around 20mm. Is there some kind of bush that I need to buy to end up with a tight fit? I have ordered a new gearbox bracket as the old one looks a little worn........

Hoping for some help.

cheers,
Shane.

[Errol62]

Some models did have a bush, but that looks modified or flogged out. I just used a suitable sized section of fibre reinforced plastic hose as a bush, which works well.


FB ute fixer upper, EK van on rotisserie

[Shane'o]

Thanks, Errol62.
Might give that a try first.
I have just seen that Rare Spares has Gearbox lever bushes in a set of 2 off for $20.00 to suit EK. I wonder if they may also work.
Rare Spares do not miss you.................$20 for 2 x nylon bushes #%^*^%$#!@#$

[In the Shed]

Hey Shane,

Just last week I was under my Ute working to fix a few oil leaks on my crash box, with success, yah! That bracket looks similar to mine except I had the sorry remains of a knackered rubber bush. I made my own rubber bush using two pieces of rubber tube, one inside the other (similar to what Clay said). It was a little tight to get in but it has made a huge difference to the gear selection, feels much better.

I can post a pick if that helps?

Regards
Stephen

[Harv]

That lever needs a bush, Rares or homemade.

It also appears to suffer the common “no bush and selector rod ate the lever until it was oval”. The bush will probably cure the ovality… in extreme cases, weld the lever and redrill.

Cheers,
Harv

[Shane'o]

Thanks everyone.
I will give the home made bush option a try and if it fails, off to Rares I go.

Stephen, if it is not too much of a hassle, a pic would be great.

[In the Shed]

Hey Shane,

Couple pics of the tubing I used. I cut a piece of both sizes approx 12mm long (you can always trim down) and inserted small one inside bigger.

Larger size is approx 19mm outside dia, 3mm wall thickness and 12mm inside dia (old tube off a dishwasher).

Smaller tube (5/15” fuel tube) approx 14mm outside dia and 7mm inside dia.

My underside pics were a bit ordinary in the dark. Hope this helps.

Stephen

[Errol62]

5/15”


FB ute fixer upper, EK van on rotisserie

[Shane'o]

Success!!! (sort of).
Worked on changing over the "3 on the floor" back to the original "3 on the tree" over the weekend and by some miracle it appears to have worked first time around. (No one more surprised than me). Works in the garage anyway. Goes forward and reverse. Next step is to try it out on the road. Fingers crossed. Only have 1 small problem. Sorry make that 2 small problems.
1st problem. When you now turn the steering wheel the horn blows.
2nd problem is the steering wheel horn bar is now positioned level but on the top half of the steering and not on the bottom half where I think it would normally be. But to take it off I will need some sort of better device as I broke the first steering wheel using a normal puller that fitted around the steering wheel housing.
Does anyone know where to buy one that looks like the one in the workshop manual, that fits on the face in the centre, or should I try and make one? (I am down to my last steering wheel and do not want to brake this one).
If anyone has any ideas on how to fix the 1st problem that would be a great help before I go trail and error........

Appreciate any help that is on offer.

[Errol62]

Supacheap should have rem or easy to make. In a pinch just loosten the nut and tap with a hammer while pulling on the wheel. May sound rough but not as rough as your first attempt.

Sent from my SM-G781B using Tapatalk

[Harv]

If you get stuck, I have a puller I can loan you.

Easier to troubleshoot if we understand what you pulled apart, and what changed.
Was the horn working before you started?
How much of the horn bar, steering wheel, horn contacts, honeypot, levers did you pull apart to reinstall 3-on-the-tree?

Cheers,
Harv

[Blacky]

I made one out of a bit of flat bar that I used to carry in my work ute , was pretty rough but it did the job and wasn't hard to make.

The horn blowing when turning the wheel and the horn bar being out of whack would indicate it didn't go back together the way it came off - hopefully another attempt at that will sort both dramas

[Shane'o]

Thanks, Guys.
For the steering wheel misalignment, I think I will make a tool for taking it off, but might try loosening the nut and tapping first to see how that go's.
Re the horn issue I will try a re-assemble and see how we go.

'Thank you for all the advice/suggestions.

(When changing to 3 on the tree I took everything off down to the shift changer tube, where I fitted the shift lever onto it when worked my way back out/up to the steering wheel. Must have something around the wrong way as the horn worked fine before I got involved).

[Shane'o]

Swapped out the honey pot for another one that I already had from a 3 on the tree manual.

[Harv]

The little bakelite insulating sleeves, bakelite spring doover and horn contact get fussy on how they are installed.

Hint: before pulling ANY of the steering wheel apart, disconnect the battery.

That sounds like the kind of advice you would get in a generic Gregory's service manual, but it is for a good reason. It is very easy to arc out between the horn contact and the steering shaft, especially if the bits inside are in the wrong order or loose. When you arc out the horn contact, the little spring glows white like the sun for a second, and then evaporates into a poof of magic smoke.

Don't ask me how I know

Cheers,
Harv