gear change bushes

starsailor · Jul 28, 2015

Hi all!

After installing a jk plate to bottom of gear lever with only moderate improvement, I'm now going to change nylon bushes. Is there tips/advice I need to know before I start?

Cheers Chris

starbiscuit · Jul 28, 2015

It's engine/gearbox out to replace the shuttle-**** shaped bushes that are in the main shift tube, but I'm fairly sure you can replace the very front bush (on the chassis pin ahead of the shift-rod) and the rearmost metal-cage and rubber-block thing that connects the shift rod to the gearbox, without removing the gearbox.

I think if you can dismantle the metal cage at the back, you will have enough room to pull the shift rod back off pin at the front.
(I might be wrong)

I had a ton of slop in both of those on mine and they really tightened up the gear change, but I had the engine and gearbox out when I did it, so I changed the plastic shuttle-cocks as well.

One of them was completely mullered, but the other was actually in better condition than the pattern part I bough to replace it :roll: , so it went back in.

HTH

markevo30 · Jul 29, 2015

I did mine a little while back, there's some useful info in the link below.

http://forum.earlybay.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=66321" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

slow-lane-Matt · Jul 29, 2015

Sorry to contradict, but to replace the shuttlecocks you DON'T need to remove gearbox/engine.

The shaft comes apart and you can feed both sections out of the tube with the gearbox in situ.
(that's the reason for the coupling "11" on picture)

I forget if it comes out of the front or back of tube, but it will make sense when you start undoing it.

(That's for a 1968 - later buses may be different...?)

starsailor · Jul 29, 2015

thanks for the info, fingers crossed it all goes well!

jkp · Jun 18, 2019

slow-lane-Matt said:
Sorry to contradict, but to replace the shuttlecocks you DON'T need to remove gearbox/engine.

The shaft comes apart and you can feed both sections out of the tube with the gearbox in situ.
(that's the reason for the coupling "11" on picture)

I forget if it comes out of the front or back of tube, but it will make sense when you start undoing it.

(That's for a 1968 - later buses may be different...?)

Hi - thanks for posting this. I'm going to give this a go on Friday - according to the post linked above only some bushes can be changed with the gearbox on - did you manage to change them all?

Happystamps · Jun 20, 2019

The coupling "11" is to allow fitment of the rod from the rear- as the front "cup" for the gear lever is larger than the ID of the shift tube, the front section has to be fitted seperately. The rear "T" section which fits into the gearbox coupling is also larger than the ID of the tube, so no, you can't replace the rearmost shuttlecock bushes with the gearbox in situ, the whole shaft- not including the front section "10"- has to be pulled out from the rear.

From an old post of mine:

"Gearbox input shaft (31)- linkage rod connector (fork connector) Keep the gearbox in. unbolt coupling, pull gear lever back to seperate.

"Shuttlecock" bushes (13, 16, possibly another 16)- You cannot replace the rear 2 (or 1, depending on the age of the bus) without removing the gearbox. You CAN replace the front one- disconnect the linkage rod as if you were changing the fork connector, disconnect the front linkage rod, push the big 'un through until you see the front bush.

Front rod bush (19)- on an early, that's a wee slip of the thing. Easy to change, take the gearstick out, undo the front coupling between the front rod and the main rod, take it out and change the little bush inside.

And that's all of 'em Once you've done that, do yourself a favour and fit one of those £5 quick-shift kits. Cheap as chips and make a real difference to the feel, plus they keep everything looking stock."

One thing you can do to improve the feel as well- the front shift bush is a sloppy fit on the pin. I 3D printed one, but you can turn one down from a PTFE/Teflon tube. Dimensions are linked in this thread:

http://forum.earlybay.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=78292

Makes a HUGE difference.

jkp · Jun 20, 2019

Thanks for that guide - it helped a ton. As you say the back bush is basically impossible to get to (without bending something) but I managed to do the rest as you outlined.

Added a quick shift at the same time and wow - its like a different bus! Feels almost...modern

mike202 · Jun 21, 2019

Happystamps said:
The coupling "11" is to allow fitment of the rod from the rear- as the front "cup" for the gear lever is larger than the ID of the shift tube, the front section has to be fitted seperately. The rear "T" section which fits into the gearbox coupling is also larger than the ID of the tube, so no, you can't replace the rearmost shuttlecock bushes with the gearbox in situ, the whole shaft- not including the front section "10"- has to be pulled out from the rear.

From an old post of mine:

"Gearbox input shaft (31)- linkage rod connector (fork connector) Keep the gearbox in. unbolt coupling, pull gear lever back to seperate.

"Shuttlecock" bushes (13, 16, possibly another 16)- You cannot replace the rear 2 (or 1, depending on the age of the bus) without removing the gearbox. You CAN replace the front one- disconnect the linkage rod as if you were changing the fork connector, disconnect the front linkage rod, push the big 'un through until you see the front bush.

Front rod bush (19)- on an early, that's a wee slip of the thing. Easy to change, take the gearstick out, undo the front coupling between the front rod and the main rod, take it out and change the little bush inside.

And that's all of 'em Once you've done that, do yourself a favour and fit one of those £5 quick-shift kits. Cheap as chips and make a real difference to the feel, plus they keep everything looking stock."

One thing you can do to improve the feel as well- the front shift bush is a sloppy fit on the pin. I 3D printed one, but you can turn one down from a PTFE/Teflon tube. Dimensions are linked in this thread:

http://forum.earlybay.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=78292

Makes a HUGE difference.

Having just changed my rear bushes with gear box out I would agree, because of the gear box coupler joint.

J4yman · Oct 3, 2024

markevo30 said:
I did mine a little while back, there's some useful info in the link below.

http://forum.earlybay.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=66321" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hi, just trying to do this at the minute and am struggling to understand how I can get the housing off that connectro to the rod in the tube. Maybe it's just pushed on but don't want to force anything. I tried to look at the link but nothing is coming up.

creationblue · Oct 4, 2024

I changed my bushes a couple of summers ago and tbh the original ones were much better than the repro one I replaced them with. If I had have know I wouldn't have bothered. Fully expect to have to replace the repro ones again at some point.
The issue I had turned out to be nothing to do with the gearbox (which I changed) nor the bushes......

gear change bushes

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