I've been there. Takes some amount of force. Good luck!

Do you think it might be easier to bolt the shaft back on to the rubber coupler tight to get that extra millimeter or two, rather than pushing it back?

I didn't. But then again I used a crowbar and a hammer to get those extra millimeters to get the shaft past the rubber bushing

"Hammer & crowbar "!!!! It's funny how the Bentley manual doesn't warn you of this. It just states" reassembly is the reverse of disassembly" ! If only!

I wanted to express my thanks to you all for this very helpful post. After my initial failed attempt to re-insert the shift rod back into the housing bushing I read all your posts and was guided by your advice and experiences. So I tried for the second time last night and to my utter amazement I did it first try in just minutes. I couldn’t believe it. So I had to share my method. As the forceful method didn’t work for me I tried the precision method which worked like a charm as follows:

1. I looped a thick elastic band around the end of the shift rod and tied it tight to the handbrake so the shift rod was pointing upwards.
2. I tilted the housing as much as possible to a 45degree angle (with the cutout in the bushing facing downwards)
3. I reached to the back of the coupler with my other hand and centred it and it just popped in without even having to force it.
4. I then covered the rod and bushing with lithium grease and slid it in.

What I realised is that if things are all aligned properly there is sufficient clearance for the shaft to go in easily. If however things are not perfectly aligned when you will struggle and get very frustrated like I did on my first attempt.

I didn’t have time to put the rest back together but I think I did the hardest part.

Thanks again for all your advice and help. Another happy customer.

Way to go!

atta boy

Is there are trick to getting the smaller O-ring replacement back in? Tolerances are pretty tight and I can't get in back together with the small O-ring in place.

i had to resort to a crow bar too, no hammer though!

re o-rings, i just greased that area very generously - prior to applying grease, the o ring kept getting pinched.

For what it's worth, the parts diagram and the lineage photo in Bentley show the notch on #12 to be oriented at the top.

Okay guys how the heck do you get the #12 bushing into the shifter housing? I've greased the opening, put the bushing into hot water to soften it, and pressed from every angle possible and it just won't go in! What's the secret?

Thanks,
Michael

Wow, I can't believe it but I got the #12 bushing in!!! It involved a lot of pressure from my workmate bench's clamping vice, flipping the table over, and attacking the bushing with a screwdriver until it popped in! Hooray! :) Now it's on to the reassembly. I can't wait to mate the shifter with the rod.

Wish me luck!

Michael

I struggled for more than 1 hour to get the rod back in the housing. The bushing is very tight and looks like I may have torn some of it. It might last a year or longer but I'm thinking of doing it again. I have to say that my rod accidentally mated with the bushing at the right minute. I had a friend hold the housing while I was moving the rod from the coupler.
I think JK911 has it right on, so I'm tempted in trying it again.

1. Softening the bushing in hot water helped me. I used a screw driver and tore 25% of a corner. I used lithium grease on the bushing to finally force it in.
2. Tilt housing 45 deg. with the bushing gap facing down to allow the rod to slip in, otherwise the flange will block the rod. Next time, I will have the rod up with the coupler loose.
3. I kept moving the gears to 1,3 and 5th. Looks like 3rd was the best but can't confirm it.
4. Now its all back together, but I cant get the center counsel front right screw back in to the floor. Maybe a punch will work or new screws. Does PP sell interior screws and clips?

I just wanted to say thanks for all the great help and advice in this thread! For me, getting the shift rod back on the housing was a piece of cake! Thanks to the advice of tying the rod to the hand brake lever (I used a big zip tie) made it rather simple to slide the shifter into position.

Thanks again!

Michael

megerian, thanks for this pic and this thread too.

Guys,
I am taking off my shifter assembly tonight and have couple questions.

1- My shifter assembly is out now and I see that only the ball cup bushing is gone. The lower shift rod busing looks like it's still in good shape. I squeeze it thinking I will break it but I was wrong. I put the assembly back in just to see how tight/loose the rod fit in this bushing. It went in pretty easy; which means the rod is loose in the bushing. Reading how hard the rod should go back into this bushing makes me wonder if I should mess with this rod bushing. What do you guys think?

2- The shifter bushing is gone, doesn't mean the coupler bushing (at the rear seat area) is gone too. Am I correct?

3- Can someone tell me the torque of these bolts? I want to take things apart to clean and grease them nicely while I am in there.
- #2 and #9:
- #3:
- #6:

I am getting this kit. Hope I got it correct: JWST-G50-BUSH

Thanks guys.

Is there an adjustment to tighten up the side to side play? Installed new bushings but stick is way to loose for my liking.

I think they are 18 ft/lbs

In my case only the ball cup bushing was gone, and that was the only thing I replaced.

I am really surprised that your entire shifter went back in easily. Did you at least have to angle it as you moved it back into position to allow the rod to go back into the number 12 bushing?

megerian,
Let me make sure I said it right, my assembly went back in easily with the old rod bushing in place. I have not gotten new bushing yet. Yes, the assembly need to be tilted toward the rear of the car to be able to come out and back in. I used a screw driver to lift the rod, couple times each side. I did read you and others mentioned to use the zip tie. I will have to do that when I get new bushing. New bushings might be tighter?

Is this what you got? JWST-G50-BUSH

Draco,
Only 18ft/lb on those bigo bolts?
Thanks.

Let us know how it goes for you. Several people, myself included, have found the step of getting the shift rod back into the bushing (part 12 in the above diagram) to be the hardest part of the entire procedure. http://loanwebfast.com/green/images/48.gif
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