M5OD Sloppy Shifting... Shifter Bushing Bad?

[tcbaklash]

The shifter on my M5OD is very loose. You can see it rattle when it is in gear and it is very difficult to get into reverse or 5th gear because the travel is so far. I was told it's a shifter bushing, but I want to make sure I get all the right parts before I go to work.

I saw on Amazon a bearing for $14, but recommended was a rebuild kit. Wondering if I need both or just the bearing.

 

[RonD]

Yes, most likely shifter bushings.

How to here: http://www.therangerstation.com/Magazine/winter2007/shifterbushings.shtml

MAKE SURE!!!!!!!!! you shift transmission to NEUTRAL BEFORE removing shifter

 

[Edgewalker]

I just had to change my bushing out recently. It was easy.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BJ4EF0C/?tag=959media-20

 

[tcbaklash]

I brought it by a transmission mechanic, he assured me it was most likely the bushing. Bought the rebuild kit you posted, should arrive next week!

 

[jseely]

I brought it by a transmission mechanic, he assured me it was most likely the bushing. Bought the rebuild kit you posted, should arrive next week!

I've been having similar issues, though its more problems going 3 > 2, and 2 > 1 with difficulties getting into reverse first thing... got the bushing kit off eBay and it showed up in a day gonna pop it in tomorrow and will report back.

 

[jseely]

Reporting back... the job was harder than expected, but I think its mostly due to the shape of the floor pan of the van and a little tighter working quarters. Pins were hard to get out, harder to get back in.

Pins that came with my kit were too loose, so I wound up reusing the old ones. They only seem to hold the bushings in place and the shifter on one side, and the old ones seem to do that adequately. It helped a lot having a nice punch to get them in/out.

Original(?) bushings were all still present, but the bottom one was very worn and cracked thru in about 10 places. Lost one bit into the trans trying to carefully extract each peice with a needle nose pliers. Sounds like most wind up in the trans anyway, so probably not a big deal.

Drove it into work today and there was a noticeable improvement. Still grind a little into third every once in awhile but its not as noticeable. Biggest improvement was the downshifts... I can consistently downshift from 3 > 2, 2 > 1 whereas before it would take a few tries or I'd have to be at or near a complete stop. Overall, well worth the $15. Next step will be to remove the MC for a total bleed.