Speedymaru Posted March 4, 2018 Report Share Posted March 4, 2018 I have a 78 620 that is in need of shifter bushings. I know that they aren’t very expensive, but I was wondering if there’s anything else I could use as a substitute. I was thinking washers for the side to side movement and maybe some kind of plastic on the shaft part? Any ideas would be appreciated! 1 Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted March 4, 2018 Report Share Posted March 4, 2018 Get the bushing kit, it also includes the plastic 'cup' for the ball on the bottom of the shift lever. If you look around you may find these later shifters used on the 720 and '80-'83 S110 200sx maybe others in the early to mid '80s cars. The plastic bushings are much wider so will have less wear. Fits the earlier shifter and pin, and though it looks a little odd it's hidden under the dust boot anyway. Better yet just swap the other shifter in entirely. The shifter is rubber filled and isolated from annoying vibrations. I have one in my 710. Ignore the terrible shift knob that was replaced. For $3-$5 you can get a car door hinge rebuild kit. I think this was a Dodge van but... there are others that might fit better. As you can see it's loose on the pin and tight on the shifter so.... I sliced through it with a hacksaw, pressed the ends together and , a perfect fit. If I remember correctly I had to make a few passes with a file on the soft bronze sides to get it to slip between the two ears on the transmission end. But it never wore out and there was zero slack. There was nothing I could do about the bottom cup. 3 Quote Link to comment
Speedymaru Posted March 4, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2018 Great info, thank you very much! Now I have to find a good shift boot! 2 Quote Link to comment
flatcat19 Posted March 4, 2018 Report Share Posted March 4, 2018 There is a guy on eBay that sells really good repops. 2 Quote Link to comment
Rick-rat Posted March 5, 2018 Report Share Posted March 5, 2018 Used the E-bay kit and now is like new, no more mystery shifting Quote Link to comment
mhub91 Posted March 5, 2018 Report Share Posted March 5, 2018 I'm thinking about making some of these on the lathe out of brass....Would people buy them if they were in the $10 range? Quote Link to comment
kelowg Posted March 5, 2018 Report Share Posted March 5, 2018 brass works great. keep in mind, u well can get vibration noise from shifter. especially at high rpms(datslocos fun runs). oem's r quiet but only last couple yrs with hard driving. although,dodge door pin bushings u can pickup any parts store. Quote Link to comment
banzai510(hainz) Posted March 5, 2018 Report Share Posted March 5, 2018 pettry ez to get a Chysler door hinge kit form O rileys. to make this work . there ia a assortment kit with multiple bushings. I had to ream the bushing out for the pin a little.using a drill bit if you make it might be EZ for a novice to buy if sold thru here. Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted March 5, 2018 Report Share Posted March 5, 2018 That other shifter in the picture I posted has a small spring the pushes up on the metal shifter and down on the plastic to it's somewhat snugger, and the thicker part of the shaft above the dust boot is rubber lined. You can lock the bottom part and the top will still move but very firm. It's like a suspension bushing. Quote Link to comment
flatcat19 Posted March 5, 2018 Report Share Posted March 5, 2018 What kind of noise does a vibration make? It's a Datsun. They're always noisy. 1 Quote Link to comment
Stoffregen Motorsports Posted March 5, 2018 Report Share Posted March 5, 2018 Someone used to make solid aluminum bushings for the shifters. I think it was Nissan Motorsports or BRE. Waaaaaaay back in the day. Quote Link to comment
G-Duax Posted March 5, 2018 Report Share Posted March 5, 2018 I'm thinking about making some of these on the lathe out of brass.... Would people buy them if they were in the $10 range? I think they are all over eBay for less... Quote Link to comment
shacks510 Posted March 5, 2018 Report Share Posted March 5, 2018 I once installed new factory plastic bushings, and they disentegrated in probably 200 miles. Did the brass door bushings, been good for the last ~8k miles. I used to get gnarly vibration and noise from the ball cup bushing. There was space between the ball of the shifter and the (new) cup, so I packed it with RTV and eminimated that noise. Quote Link to comment
banzai510(hainz) Posted March 5, 2018 Report Share Posted March 5, 2018 I had some plasic factory ones also and they disentrigrated also. I went with the above Help kit as posted above. No proplem since. aIf noise from trans in a truck it coulde be pressure on rear of trans bearing or something like that and one needs to raise the carrier bearing( spacer) Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted March 6, 2018 Report Share Posted March 6, 2018 What kind of noise does a vibration make? It's a Datsun. They're always vibratin'. Quote Link to comment
FiremarshalBill49 Posted June 28, 2018 Report Share Posted June 28, 2018 I've got an early 72' PL620 with the L-16 and a 4-speed. I'm pretty sure the transmission is not original. It shifts okay but there is a huge amount of slop (side-to-side) in the straight shift lever. Do you think these bushings help? How hard are they to install? What would I be looking for on eBay? Thanks. 1 Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted June 28, 2018 Report Share Posted June 28, 2018 This A shifter? (also known as the 'Monkey Motion' shifter when worn) This is what came on the early 620. Or the B shifter? Used on the '74 and up 620 and others. 1 Quote Link to comment
FiremarshalBill49 Posted June 28, 2018 Report Share Posted June 28, 2018 I've definitely got the A type Monkey Motion shifter. Would these eBay bushings like Rick-Rat mentioned help? What's involved with installing a new bushing? Also, my shift rod is straight as an arrow and not angle-bent like later models. I happen to have everything open and accessible right now. 1 Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted June 28, 2018 Report Share Posted June 28, 2018 The A shifter uses two cone shaped rubber bushings squeezed between two washers. Try the e bay ones if they are cone shape. You might be able to add washers to increase the squeeze. I did that on my 521... the shifter when in any gear could be moved in a circular pattern the size of a basketball. Shifting was always a lottery. Quote Link to comment
FiremarshalBill49 Posted June 28, 2018 Report Share Posted June 28, 2018 Mike, I can find only one cone shape bushing fitting loosely on the bottom of the shaft itself. What holds these rubber bushings "squeezed" between two washers? Don't suppose you have a photo? Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted June 29, 2018 Report Share Posted June 29, 2018 Shifter goes through the hole, one cone on top and one on bottom. Top washer has tab that fits the notch to prevent turning. Bottom of shifter has washer and is threaded for a nut that clamps everything together. . 2 Quote Link to comment
Yellow Posted June 29, 2018 Report Share Posted June 29, 2018 Monkey motion. Ha. No wonder my 620 feels like a total slop box. 1 Quote Link to comment
DanielC Posted June 29, 2018 Report Share Posted June 29, 2018 This is how I removed a lot of the slop in the shifter. First, you need to get the seat out of the way, to get access to the plate covering the top of the transmission. My garage is too tight to remove the seat out of the truck, and it was late last night and raining, so I just raised the seat on two short pieces of 4x4 wood. The far side of the seat on a block. Now would be a good time to remove the shift knob, Then remove the transmission cover plate screws, and then the cover plate. That exposes the shift lever pivot pin. This is the gap in the shifter with the lever moved right. In the last picture, the pin clip is open side up, I carefully pushed it around the pin until the opening is down, with a smaller blade screwdriver. Then I used the screrwdriver to carefully pry the clip off the pin. Put the screwdriver blade in the opening of the clip, and twist the screwdriver against the pin, and the clip will come up. I also held my thumb against the clip, so to would not spring off somewhere I could not find it. Even thought the body parts of a 521 are Imperial measurements, the engine and transmission are metric, and it would be hard to find a Metric "E" clip. With the clip off the pin, then you can start to push the pin out of the lever. Here I am using the screwdriver to pry the pin more out of the shift lever. after the screwdriver will not move it any farther, it should come out with your fingers, or maybe a pair of pliers. These are the parts I got at Ace Hardware. The flanged bronze bushing has nominal inside diameter of 3/8 of the inch, and an outside diameter for half of an inch. The brass washers are 5/16 inch ID, and 3/4 inch OD. If you can take the pivot pin with you, the pin will go into the bronze bushing, The pin will not go into the brass washers. I used a tapered reamer to slightly open up the hole in the brass washers. And tested the brass washers on the pin. Then you need to use a file to remove any burrs from reaming the hole in the washers. Then you need to modify the bushing. This is the hole on the shift lever. and this is the bushing diameter. The bushing is to long also, and has a flange on it. i cut the flange off with a 1/32 cutoff wheel in a die grinder, and then cut the length of the bushing, so it could be squeezed together. Then I used a pair of vice grips to close the gap in the bushing. 1 Quote Link to comment
DanielC Posted June 29, 2018 Report Share Posted June 29, 2018 Now install the bushing in the lever. I ground a slight taper on the bushing, and started that end of the bushing onto the lever. Then I used a vise to press the modified bushing into the shift lever. This is hard to explain, but you want use some force to push the bushing in the lever, but not so much force as to damage or break the bushing. But it cannot go in too easily or the next few steps will be difficult. This is just some excess bushing. It will be cut off with the 1/32 cutoff disk. I used a punch and a hammer to drive the bushing all the way through the hole in the shift lever. Then I cut the excess bushing off. try not to cut into the shift lever like I did. After cutting the bushing, I used a file to smooth both sides of the bushing and the shift lever. The slot cut in the bushing, and pressing it into the lever now makes the hole in the lever too small for the pin. I drilled the hole with a 23/64 drill, to provide clearance for the pin. this is why the bushing needs to be kind of tight in the shift lever, so it can be drilled without spinning in the lever hole. Just another view of the drill in the bushing. This is a close up of a metal drill gauge. It is really handy to have around. why did I choose a 23/64 drill? because that is the smallest holes in the drill gauge the shift lever pin would fit into. Try to fit the pin in the bushing pressed in the shift lever. When it fits, file the sides of the shift lever again, to remove any burrs. Try the pin again, it still should go in the bushing in the lever. Now the bushed lever can be put back in the transmission. Start the pin into the transmission lever pivot. Put one of the brass washers on the pin. Put the lever in the transmission with the end of the lever in the shift rod end in the bottom of the hole, and slide the pin into the lever. Then put the second brass washer in the space between the lever and the ear of the transmission pin pivot. Now the fun begins. You have to move the second washer around until it's hole lines up with the pin. I used the edge of a cold chisel to move the brass washer. the second washer need to move forward, and down to line up, in this picture. I missed a picture, I used this chisel on the brass washer to move the washer around until the hole lined up, just like I am moving the pin clip. It took a lot of time to get the second brass washer to where it needed to be to line up, but i got it in the correct place, after about 20 minutes. This is just another picture of using a cold chisel to push the pin clip around. This is a small rubber boot that goes over the shift lever, and keeps dirt and crud out of the hole the shift lever engages the shift rod in the transmission. I got it from Dick Hanna Nissan Friday March 25, 2018. This is that boot on the transmission. I then put the transmission cover plate with the shift boot over the shift lever. No picture of screwing it down, do you really need that? Then I put the knob on the transmission shift lever. 2 Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted June 29, 2018 Report Share Posted June 29, 2018 23/64 confirmed. A 'T' letter drill is just a C hair larger. I bought one on the way home last night as I plan to modify my 71B shifter this long Canada day weekend. Good stuff Daniel. Is that a dogleg? They take the same pin and shifter as the 71B. On the A shifter you can try to slip a nut and bolt into the #17 pin location and tighten. This will draw the two ears on the #37 part closer together and remove slop but this must be free to move easily on the #15 bushing!!! I think I once slipped a thin washer onto the #19 pin to remove slack on my 521 shifter. You might slip some C shaped shims in beside the #33 washers too to remove forward and back motion. You mustn't remove all play. There has to be some for the shifter to turn on. Quote Link to comment
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