Brass shifter bushings, do they work?

[KNINE]

I saw these brass shfter bushings on ebay. Does anybody know if they eliminate that plastic feeling from the 5-speed shifter? I did a search on shifter bushings and didn't find anything. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...ZWDVW

[Raven]

They're excellent. One of the best mods I've done. gives a much more precise feeling in the shifter.

[Herb]

It definately helps. As for the plastic feel, that might be because the shifter really IS made of plastic.

[DarkSpork]

If anybody decides to go forth with this modification, could you take pictures? I hate the feeling of the shifter in vibe, sloppiest feeling shifter of any car I have driven.

[KNINE]

I just ordered a set today. I'll let you know.

[SeattleJeremy]

Looks like I'm a little late to this thread, but yes, they are worth every penny. Much easier to shift, more direct, not mushie.

[northvibe]

yeah i have them for my ms3, they help with the "slop"

[DarkSpork]

Quote, originally posted by K-NINE »I just ordered a set today. I'll let you know.Thanks. This is one of the few upcoming purchases for the car I'm looking forward to.

[northvibe]

I just reinstalled my shifter bushings into my car (they were like that aircraft aluminum). WOW i forgot how much they helped. So stock has those rubber bushings in, so the feel is a soft shift, smooth etc. but since its rubber and can move its "sloppy" but easy going. After the bushings were in, its a tight, straight shift feel. Like mechanical. Were you go to shift and thats what your doing, not soft, not smooth but right to the point. Feels good.

[bodhi_tree777]

Hey, K-9, did you ever install these? Just got mine in the mail, was wondering how easy or hard the install was? I've read up a bunch on them and I've seen photos of them installed, but no step by step instructions were included. Also, I've read that I should clean and lube the linkages down there, what would you use to clean them?

[DarkSpork]

Quote, originally posted by bodhi_tree777 »Hey, K-9, did you ever install these? Just got mine in the mail, was wondering how easy or hard the install was? I've read up a bunch on them and I've seen photos of them installed, but no step by step instructions were included. Also, I've read that I should clean and lube the linkages down there, what would you use to clean them? Hey, would you mind taking pictures of the install for me ?

[bodhi_tree777]

Quote, originally posted by DarkSpork »Hey, would you mind taking pictures of the install for me ?sure, if I can do it correctly . They may only be good for a laugh, as I've never attempted anything like this before. Seems easy enough though.

[DarkSpork]

Thanks. I've been meaning to do this mode but I don't know how to find the bushing on the linkage.

[bodhi_tree777]

they're pretty easy to find, actually. Pop your hood and look down past the cruise control, near the airbox. To make it easier, have someone shift through the gears while you're looking. They are the moving parts at the end of the accordian-looking arms. If you can get your car up on jacks or ramps you can see them easily.

[DarkSpork]

Thanks. I'd still greatly appreciate it if you can take pictures for me though .

[bodhi_tree777]

okay, I'm going to try and get these installed this week. Questions, though.. I've read that the SpeedSource bushings are labeled upper and lower, and are slightly different in size. Mine (which I assume aren't from SpeedSource, i purchased them from a genvibe member here) are exactly the same size. Should I be worried?Also, there's been some debate about whether to use the stock pins that come with the vibe or use the ones that come with the brass bushings. Mine didn't come with any, so I'm going with stock I suppose. Should I be worried about that either?

[KNINE]

I bought a set of Summit bushings from ebay about a month ago, but I've been too busy to put them in. I can't remember if mine came with pins. I'll have to look when I get home. So I guess I was a big help, wasn't I?

[KNINE]

I just looked at my Summit bushings and no pins are included, so I assume that we reuse the stock pins.

[bodhi_tree777]

Quote, originally posted by K-NINE »I just looked at my Summit bushings and no pins are included, so I assume that we reuse the stock pins. are yours both the same size?

[KNINE]

I'll take a look when I get home from work.

[KNINE]

Both of mine are the same size.

[bodhi_tree777]

I meant to get to this today, my last day off this week. Instead, I bit the bullet and bought new tires instead. Goodyear Assurance TripleTreads, the difference is like night and day. Then again, my Yokohamas were like slicks at this point .Bushings go in next week, I hope. Any tips up til then are much appreciated

[bonzo4ever]

Highly recommended. I got mine for about 23 bucks with shipping. Felt like a whole new shifter when I got done, without spending the $300+ on a short shifter (although that would be nice).

[Herb]

Quote, originally posted by bodhi_tree777 »Bushings go in next week, I hope. Any tips up til then are much appreciated It's alot easier than you might think. The only thing I would suggest is not to install them when parked on grass, in case you drop the pin. In my case TWM provided pins so when I lost one in the grass I ended up using one of the stock pins.I tried taking a photo of where it's at, but it doesn't show well now. I should have done it when I was installing it.

[DarkSpork]

Quote, originally posted by Herb »It's alot easier than you might think. The only thing I would suggest is not to install them when parked on grass, in case you drop the pin. In my case TWM provided pins so when I lost one in the grass I ended up using one of the stock pins.I tried taking a photo of where it's at, but it doesn't show well now. I should have done it when I was installing it.Well if you still have the picture it may help me. I guess what I need to do is get it on the lift and have one of my friends fool with the shifter so I can see the linkage moving and from there I should be able to figure out where the bushings are. Thanks.

[Herb]

I didn't need a lift. It can be installed from above and I found it would be easier. This shot is to give you a point of reference, and so I can show off my engine bay...

Attached files

[Herb]

Here's a close up with the bushings circled

Attached files

[bodhi_tree777]

awesome, thanks (and nice bay, btw). Did you have to remove anything to get down there, or did your intake give you enough room? I have a stock airbox so I think I'll have to unbolt and move my cruise control to access these (or get it up on a lift somewhere).

[Herb]

Quote, originally posted by bodhi_tree777 »awesome, thanks (and nice bay, btw). Did you have to remove anything to get down there, or did your intake give you enough room? I have a stock airbox so I think I'll have to unbolt and move my cruise control to access these (or get it up on a lift somewhere). I didn't have to remove anything, but then I already had the CAI installed by that time. I believe you would have to remove the airbox to get access. I don't recall having to remove the cruise control. All you need for tools would be a needle nose pliers to remove the retaining pins

[bodhi_tree777]

thanks Herb. Last question, were your 2 bushings the same size, or slightly different?

[Herb]

Quote, originally posted by bodhi_tree777 »thanks Herb. Last question, were your 2 bushings the same size, or slightly different?To be honest, I don't remember any mention of differing sizes. I just looked at the stock bushings and they seem to be the same.

[DarkSpork]

Quote, originally posted by Herb »I didn't have to remove anything, but then I already had the CAI installed by that time. I believe you would have to remove the airbox to get access. I don't recall having to remove the cruise control. All you need for tools would be a needle nose pliers to remove the retaining pinsThanks Herb, I think I'm going to order some, it looks pretty easy. And if it makes my shifter feel less cheap and sloppy I will be quite happy. Nice looking engine bay by the way.

[Herb]

Quote, originally posted by DarkSpork »Thanks Herb, I think I'm going to order some, it looks pretty easy. And if it makes my shifter feel less cheap and sloppy I will be quite happy. Nice looking engine bay by the way.It's probably one of the easiest mods to do. I got the ones from TWM when I ordered my short shifter. I installed both at the same time so I can't tell what difference each individual mod had. Guess I should have done them in stages. In anycase the TWM set came with instructions and photos, although it was for a Celica.Let us know what you think of the improvement overall.Thanks for the compliments. I need to take more time to detail the engine bay though.Oh and here's a shot of the short shifter I installed as well

[DarkSpork]

Got them in the mail today, hopefully weather will permit me to install them tomorrow (its supposed to snow again).

[DarkSpork]

Changed the bushings today. It was pretty straight forward, the hardest part was getting the old ones off. The vertical one was the most difficult and the horizontal one had rubber pieces fall off as I pulled the arm off the pin. I didn't have to remove anything, and it took about 20 minutes. Shifting feels more precise, there is less play in the shifter and it seems to go into gear easier, only gear that isn't easy is downshifting into 2nd (but it is much improved from before). This was worth the $28. Thanks Herb for the pictures, it helped me figure out exactly where to look.I attached a picture of the old bushings. Didn't bother to take pictures of the install because there was too much in the way to get a decent picture.

Attached files

[Herb]

Quote, originally posted by DarkSpork »Changed the bushings today. It was pretty straight forward, the hardest part was getting the old ones off. The vertical one was the most difficult and the horizontal one had rubber pieces fall off as I pulled the arm off the pin. I didn't have to remove anything, and it took about 20 minutes. Shifting feels more precise, there is less play in the shifter and it seems to go into gear easier, only gear that isn't easy is downshifting into 2nd (but it is much improved from before). This was worth the $28. Thanks Herb for the pictures, it helped me figure out exactly where to look.Glad I was able to help. I don' t think I had any problems removing mine, but that's the reason they include some sand paper to help clean out the area in case the rubber bushings fell apart.

[DarkSpork]

Your pictures helped a lot. It seemed that there was nothing I could remove that would really make it any easier.

[Herb]

Quote, originally posted by DarkSpork »Didn't bother to take pictures of the install because there was too much in the way to get a decent picture.That was the same reason I didn't photograph the installation too. And the instructions I got with my bushings were reasonable.

[harryyiii]

see attached installation manual

Attached files celica_matrix_tc_corolla_cable_bushings.pdf (728.1 KB) 

[Herb]

Quote, originally posted by harryyiii »see attached installation manualThese were the instructions that came with my set, though printed in B&W. Funny thing was that I tried to find this on the TWM website but was unable to locate it.Thanks for posting it.