I've been looking around, and I've found nylon, brass, aluminum, etc. They all cost about the same price. Which one should I buy? My shifter is very very... VERY sloppy, worst I have seen in any car. Any recommendations?

 

u have 4 speed or a 5 speed? u can go to autozone get a door kit. all u need to do is bore out the bushing and u have a metal bushing.

 

I have a 5spd. In Canada we don't have Autozone. We have Part Source (I work there) it's basically the same as Autozone though. Which door kit are you talking about? The little metal clips that come with the pin?

 

If you want them to last get brass, if you cant get that get nylon...if you get bushings specifically for your car then they should fit correctly without having to modify it. I used plastic plugs for shelving and just cut off the end to make a bushing out of it...I was being creative and after many months I have felt no weakening or extra play from the plastic. I used a little grease on mine also on the insides where the rod goes through.

 

The brass is soft and will peen down smaller because its metal to metal. There is a guy on ebay selling delrin ones. The ball end bushing is the same from '72-'83 so Nissan may still have them. I made a complete set out of hard urethane, I was selling them on ebay but not enough people wanted to pay $30 so I stopped. I found about 50% of shifters in the junk yards still have good ball ends on them.

 

http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/s...ing/index.html hope it helps

 

There is a chance the cup on the ball at the end of the shifter stick that goes into the tranny is worn or missing too. From my own experience Brass has worked well when not shifting like a mad man race car driver...if you really need them to take some abuse have a machine shop mill you some from chromoly steel...good luck wearing them down then.

 

This seems very simple. I'll have to buy a new file because mine are too large to fit in the tiny bushings. If the shaft tapers in, in the middle, wouldn't it be easier to file it down instead of the bushings?

 

If you use the door hinge bushings like on the atlanticz site, then you don't need to file inside the bushing. Use a vise to push the pin through the bushings after they have been installed in the lever. Work it back and forth and it will loosen up. The bushing will conform to the pin.

The only spot you might need to file are on the flats when installing the lever between the ears on the trans.

 

thanks for clarifying, I will pick them up from work tonight and try them out on the weekend. I was reading somewhere that there is a larger bushing on top of the transmission or something. anyone know about that? I want to replace everything, my shifter is a bobble head its so bad. The transmissions sticks a tiny bit, I think with some new fluid and bushings changed everything will be cleared up

 

The stock s30 shifter 2 bushing halves and there is a cup that is pressed on the ball at the bottom of the lever. You can see the pics on the atl z site. The shifter on the atl z site that has the large plastic bushing came from a 280zx, the early 280zx also had the smaller bushings like you see on the s30's.

 

I see what you mean now. If this is worn or missing, do I have to go to the dealer for this part? Or what else could I use to replace it? Thanks

 

wow that door kit was great, it took only 10 minutes to file everything down and install them, about 2 weeks to work them in but what a difference, no more bobble head. The center console was by far the hardest part to remove, my choke cable wouldnt let me lift it off, and i had to unscrew the screws blinded because i could hardly get my hand under the console.

 

Glad it worked out for you.

But the only filing needed would have been on the flats on the bushings to fit between the tranny ears. Everything else can be pressed in with a vise. The pin can also be pressed in using the vise. The pin will form the bushings to size, it will be a little tight at first, but working it back and forth will free it up.