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Topic: Column shift plastic bushing... (Read 938 times) previous topic - next topic

Column shift plastic bushing...

Has anyone had to deal with this little  before?  If not, let me explain where it's at.  It resides near the firewall on the inside of the car at the bottom of the steering column.  It's a little black plastic bushing that holds the column shifter from flopping around.  Mine flops around and as a result I cannot get the car into park.

If it turns out that this repair requres that I take the column back out of the car, then I'll just forget it and do a floor shifter (which I plan on doing anyway, eventually.)

So, anyone know if it's possible to snap the plastic ring-bushing thing back around the column shifter rod and down into it's resident cut-out?

Column shift plastic bushing...

Reply #1
I *think* the column has to come out. I figure if mine ever breaks I'll just do the floor shifter conversion. Can you even get that bushing anymore?
88 Thunderbird LX: 306, Edelbrock Performer heads, Comp 266HR cam, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, bunch of other stuff.

Column shift plastic bushing...

Reply #2
hmm, I havent heard of that....
Quote from: jcassity
I honestly dont think you could exceed the cost of a new car buy installing new *stock* parts everywhere in your coug our tbird. Its just plain impossible. You could revamp the entire drivetrain/engine/suspenstion and still come out ahead.
Hooligans! 
1988 Crown Vic wagon. 120K California car. Wifes grocery getter. (junked)
1987 Ford Thunderbird LX. 5.0. s.o., sn-95 t-5 and an f-150 clutch. Driven daily and going strong.
1986 cougar.
lilsammywasapunkrocker@yahoo.com

Column shift plastic bushing...

Reply #3
It's a bastid for sure. 

I think I'll just fix my e-brake and use that for now.  Then once I get my floor shifter (ahem, Alex), I'll do that.

 

Column shift plastic bushing...

Reply #4
Here's a question, Brian.
What if you went ahead and cut the hole in the floor pan for the shifter, even though you're short on parts.
Then you could hook up a "Rube Goldberg" kind of deal to the shift linkage through the floor.
My Dad did this to an Aerostar we used to have. The column shifter went awry, so he rigged something up through the floorboard. I thought it was pretty cool, actually.
That way you're one step ahead on the floor shifter swap.
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